Our Most Glorious Promise

I’m beginning to realize that I’ve had it all wrong. I know what you’re thinking. How could I be wrong about anything? But it’s true. I’ve spent a good amount of my life trying to “figure it out.” I’ve questioned God and religion and faith, studied psychology and philosophy, read poetry and history and books on spirituality, the evolution of consciousness and Darwinism; always seeking, seeking, seeking answers. I have found some. I’ve found pockets of peace and moments of understanding through speculation or insight, through trial and error, falling again and again and figuring out how to pick up the pieces.

But in all of this trying to figure out why why why and searching for life’s promise, I’ve missed the point entirely. The point is (I believe) quite simply: To Be Happy. The point is to do everything we can to make ourselves happy. The point is to know that we have the ability and the right to attain happiness forever and always and no matter what the current situation looks or feels like. It is possible. It is possible.

Here’s how it works: You are here, wherever you are (mad, sad, happy, disappointed, rich, poor, married, single, young, old, black, white, yellow), now. Start here. Now. Even if here and now is not where you want to be. Even if here and now seems like an impossible never-ending trek into the darkness or a bad song on repeat. Because guess what? You don’t have to trek into the darkness; the sun will come out again and you can take a leisurely stroll if you’d like. And you don’t have to suffer through even one Michael Bolten song; you can change the station. No, really!

You are the only one in control of you. You are the only one inside your head, swimming in your thoughts, wading in your emotions. It is your experience. It is your world, you rule, and you have the choice to find joy in each moment. It is there for you; this is a fact. Love and fulfillment and utter bliss are always at your fingertips if you choose to see it. And I’m not suggesting denial; things must be addressed. But they mustn’t be obsessed over. They mustn’t spin your thoughts into wildfire and singe your world to gray.

The truth is, we may never know why. We may never figure it out. We may seek and seek and grasp and flail and throw our arms up and cry and think ourselves mad. We may never get to the bottom of it, never, never. But we don’t have to. We don’t need answers; we need to grab our life by the reins and choose to see the light and love and wonder behind every moment. Never getting to the bottom of it is a minor detail, a detour on our path to bliss. Bliss, that utter happiness waiting beneath our thoughts right now, is what we must take for our hope and our shield and our most glorious promise.

Word Play

We’ve already established that I enjoy words. I enjoy the way they look – the circle, dip, loop, tail of a cursive “q”, the matter of fact, marks the spot “x” – the way they sound and how you can taste it on your tongue, the way letters thread together into little explosions of thought with a place and a purpose.

Words bring me great satisfaction, and if that makes me a complete loser or an utter bore, well, frankly I don’t give two {insert your favorite four letter word here and add an ‘s’}. So in celebration of my fascination and their existence, I am sharing some of my very favorites:

Discombobulate
Clobber (sounds best with that mid-western nasal-y twang)
Juxtaposition
Enunciate (e•nun•ci•ate)
Lackadaisical
Perpetuity (use this in a sentence today; people with think you are very distinguished and smart)
Luminescence
Elucidating (for you mom)
Perpetuate
Fuck (verb, adverb, adjective AND noun)
Relinquish
Profusely (often succeeds “Ang, you’re sweating…”)
Schlep
Shvitz
Shlimazel
Shlimazel
Shlimazel (really, is there anything better? Say it out loud. I dare you to disagree)
(….and while we’re going there, honorable mention to: tchatchke, shmaltzy, and chutzpa….oy vey, yidish is vunderbar!)
Gesticulate
Exacerbate
Razzmatazz (tell me that didn’t make you smile)
Articulate
Wonky (a recent fave…the perfect adjective for just about everything)
Lollygagging
Polypeptides (not entirely certain what they are, but so fun to say)
Smarmy

I assure you the list goes on. But I will relinquish as I do not wish to perpetuate smarmily or exacerbate wonky verbal gesticulation…

What are your favorites?