Stain-glass Eyes

When I overheard an elderly woman tell her grandson, “There are different kinds of happy”, I couldn’t wait to sit down with my laptop and write. We live in a culture that worships happiness, so those words struck me as very wise. Americans aren’t taught just to worship happiness. It’s a value most are pressured to convert to, like a religion. We learn how to create a facade of happiness if it isn’t constantly present. We learn the 3 Fs; Faith, Fog and Fantasy in order to keep up the dream. I looked up words related to happiness on dictionary.com and thesaurus.com : apt, blessed, blest, blissful, blithe, can't complain, captivated, cheerful, chipper, contented, convivial, delighted, overjoyed, ecstatic, elated, exultant, flying high, fortunate, gay, glad, gleeful, intoxicated, jolly, joyous, joyful, jubilant, laughing, light, lively, looking good, merry, mirthful, on cloud nine, overjoyed, peaceful, peppy, ratified, successful, thrilled, upbeat,  Many of...

It takes two to see into a heart.   One to look.   The other to open the window. It takes two for trust.   To value actions over words.   Meaning over a promise.   Failure over perfection.   To recognize trust needs to be built, one brick at a time. It takes two to understand each has a past.   Respect the importance of who each of you are, in relation to the past.   Leave the past where it belongs. See the unique people you’ve become because of your past.   Not broken. Wear and tear in life has worn your fabric, But it makes you who you are. Accept your differences as treasures. It takes two to be honest.   One to fearlessly speak truth.   The other to validate. To check that both understand.   Be unafraid to say,   “There’s an elephant in the room.” It takes two to learn and unlearn.   To embrace the other with an open mind.   To ...

Pain got me into my doctor recently. To be honest I was also having difficulty with balance on my left leg. After various tests, my doctor prescribed physical therapy. My first appointment with the physical therapist was evaluative in nature. As she was scrolling on her computer, she said, “It says here your spine has become degenerative.” “Hhuph,” I replied. “I hate that word,” she stopped looking at the screen to make her point. “We spend most of our lives degenerating. It’s why my hair is gray.” We had a laugh and she let me know the use of the word didn’t help her, help her patients. It’s pessimistic rather than encouraging. It does feel negative. Each year when I add a year to my age I understand why my Godmother, Yvonne O’Rourke, was adamant about NOT using the word “Old” in reference to a person. So I’ve lost a half of an inch in my spine. How does it define me? To a young person we might say, “Oh, my how you’ve grown!”. But, I hope to h...