Humming my way through life

We should consider every day lost in which we have not danced at least once. - Friedrich Nietzsche

I'm a habitual hummer. I can't help it. Usually, I don't even realize I've been doing it until I catch myself after some time or someone points it out. Some might consider this a nuisance. But I have to say, despite not always realizing I've started my little monotone ditties, without humming, my life might be a little less full.

Nietzsche might prefer my dancing to humming. I'm not much of a dancer, but from time to time, I can't help it. The right tune and the right mood, and before I know it, the sway of my hips gets the best of me.

Humming, dancing, singing (which I'm prone to doing in the car). All these things develop out of a personal joy that requires nothing outside ourselves, something so pure and honest, it defies explanation.

I dare you to sing or dance or hum everyday and not be contentedly happy. You don't have to be ecstatic every moment of your life to be happy. But these collections of moments over the course of a lifetime can be what defines us for the short time we are here.

My Shining Friends

As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. - Nelson Mandela

Looking back, sometimes it feels like I didn't choose my friends. And maybe they didn't choose me either. Rather, there have been people in my life I was inextricably drawn to because they possessed something at the time that I didn't realize I was being drawn to, an unnameable quality. But now, after years of friendship, I'm certain of what it was that drew us together: a certainty in acceptance for who I am.

These people relish being their true selves. They're creative, witty, funny as all get-out. They are passionate and opinionated. And (perhaps most importantly) they fight for what they believe. And it seems that when I'm with my friends, I have permission to forgo the formalities, the insincerities, the complicated dance of interacting with others, be it co-workers, bosses, family members (just to keep the peace), or the pierced guy behind the counter at Starbucks (just to keep him from spitting in the coffee).

My amigos let me be exactly who I am, without criticism or disdain. And I do the same. The camaraderie that grows from these interactions are stronger than any that would require even the smallest amount of decorum. And for that, I am most thankful.

Get up!

So, I got up today and thought, "My goodness, how long has it been since entering a daily thought?" It's been over a month. And, it appears that I've been quite lax this year, too. Truly careless on my part, I admit. As an apology, I offer one of my favorite quotes. Enjoy!

If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down. - Mary Pickford


What if Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, George Washington, George Lucas, and innumerable others had given up after a single defeat? What would the world look like right now?

Of these names, I have to admit, the one that scares me the most is George Lucas. Forget about the light bulb, the Theory of Relativity, the American Revolution. But no Star Wars? Good God, what a world!

Humor aside, it was my introduction to this ambitious film series as a small child that inspired the greatest creativity in myself. And so, on a personal level, to think of Mr. Lucas giving up after a few lines of script because it wasn't going the way he wanted, or after hearing "no" before "yes", or sitting behind a camera in a desert in Morocco and thinking, "This is just too hard" is almost too much.

The truth is, when you give up on your ambitions, your dreams, your aspirations, it doesn't just affect you and your experience. It affects your family and friends, and sometimes, a much larger community. Sometimes, your failure is a loss for the world.

And if you think about it, a comparison can show you that nothing is ever really "too hard". No loss is ever too awful to get up from.

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The Most Beautiful Thing

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. - Albert Einstein

I have a problem with know-it-alls. (Yeah, I know. "Look who's talking" right? I have a point, so bear with me.) The source of this is, of course, my having gone to a few fundamentalist churches as a child. This authority who stands at the altar is supposed to give us all a defined direction, tell us what to think, what to believe, how to behave at all times, what's right, what's wrong. And then, this shiny, clean person inevitably falls from his towering position when it becomes ever so evident that he (or she) not only does not have all the answers, but is just as prone to what they consider to be mistakes. It's a front.

My problem with this is that I don't see the point in knowing "everything", having all the answers. It leaves little to strive for, and less to learn. Why do they need to have all the answers? Why do these people try so hard to be something that they clearly are not capable of being? Sadly, nearly everyone I know that succumbs to the idea of a single truth of the thousand (even million) of others fails to see a bigger picture.

My grandmother (God bless her; she can't work a computer) used to tell me these incredible descriptions of the way Heaven will be when we get there, all solid gold sidewalks, and riches beyond imagination. Will she be disappointed if she gets there and stands (or floats or exists) before God and finds that nothing is as she expects?

I recently discovered that I feel that the mystery is just as (perhaps is even more) important than the "known". There's a whole universe out there of mystery. Looking at the pictures of space, I can't help seeing the infinite beauty of it. I don't need to know why stars are born, where the light goes when it's gone, how the universe came to be to see all of the beauty.

Yes, I would admit that I love a good investigation. There are things that I do want to know for sure. The mystery keeps me looking for them. It keeps us all on our toes.

*Picture is of the Orion Deep Field by Rob Gendler

"What if the mightiest word is love?"

I love America. I love the world. Brotherhood and sisterhood have no borders. My heart orbits the Earth, love cannot be measured in longitude and latitude. - Valentine Sterling

It's been three weeks since the historic inauguration heard 'round the world. And it feels as though it needs some reminiscing already. Yes, some partisanship in Congress is occurring, but I think for the most part, people want to believe in the message that our brand-new President is constantly forwarding to the country.

I didn't have the pleasure of attending the festivities in Washington, D.C. on January 20th, but I watched with a strange awe and confirmation of my already strongly held beliefs that we, as a people (and even some foreign peoples), were finally coming together on the same page. Yes, there will be challenges, and we won't always agree on everything. But in that moment, when President Obama took that most solemn oath, a message was sent around the world, loud and abundantly clear, that the status quo, the seemingly endless bigotry, and the sense that we lack connection between us all is coming to an impressive end. It was a message that gave a hope never felt before - a hope filled with oneness.

Through the television screen I felt the bristling, electric air that the millions of gatherers felt on the National Mall, peering up at the monuments around them, hearing those words. I felt the love - a hearty, real, omnipresent love. The kind that makes you think that anything is possible.

What if we felt this all the time? Every moment of everyday we could be aware of the love we have for one another - friend, stranger, family, foreigner, neighbor. What if it was in our every thought and action? What would the world be like then?

Elizabeth Alexander was right in asking, "What if the mightiest word is love?"

Winter... ugh.

Every mile is two in winter. ~George Herbert

Today is Groundhog Day. Yes, we gather together in seeking knowledge of the immediate future, in hopes that our winter is to be short, and our spring imminent.

That said, I must say that it is quite a drag waiting for the weather to get warmer, and the snow to dissipate and give way to grass (brown as it will be, no doubt). Everything takes longer in the winter: leaving the house (shoveling snow and brushing off/scraping the windshield of the car), running errands (factoring in the slower and slippery driving of everyone in front of you on the road), even walking requires more care for fear of slipping and falling.

I wish I could say that I was one of those brave people who love skiing or ice skating (the ice has gotten harder the older I get). Don't get me wrong, I like the changing of the seasons. I like snuggling up in warm blankets in front of a crackling fire. But as the seasons change, the renewal is as important to me as anything that becomes possible with that season. It's another beginning, another start.

Spring cleaning, fresh warm air, the melting of the ice and snow, the appearance of blooms, and the song of birds are welcome. Oh, Phil, may your shadow elude you today.
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This is Women's Heart Week. Friday is National Wear Red Day, a way to raise awareness for women's heart disease. This is the NUMBER ONE killer of women, so I cannot stress the importance of being well-informed and living a healthy lifestyle.

To learn more about this day and women's heart health in general, go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/.