Can I claim that I am a member of the Happy Generation? Well, I suppose so. If I think back over my life, the good times have out-weighed the bad. Count me as one of the lucky ones.
The Tibetans are said to be "the happy people," maybe it's their Buddhism, or the high altitude, or maybe there's something in the Yak butter that just makes them look so darn joyful?!
So, this morning, I'm reminded of the changeable nature of nature. It's a spring day in Chicago, cold, raw, rain, sleet and snow, the wind is blowing three directions at once. Of course, against all common sense, I decide I must go for a run on the lakefront. Heck, it will do me good!
So I brave the elements - we Chicagoans think there's something brave or heroic about contending with the elements. There really isn't. Instead it could be a sign of simple-mindedness, but okay let's go with heroic, kind of like climbing a mountain, or jumping from a plane, or driving loaded on Jack Daniels, is there a kick to doing something stupid and then surviving it, and by so doing, beating or cheating death once again, and maybe there's a joy in that too?
So, I run, I'm pelted with snow, like darts, my shoes get soaked, the cold wind cuts through me, Lake Michigan is a violent, roiling, crashing, chaos of water...still I make it back in one piece, and well, it's almost like I actually accomplished something.
So, back to Buddha, he said something pithy like: birth is pain, life is pain, death is pain...
And then he probably smiled and said, "have a nice day." So, if you start with that in your kit bag, any little joy, or beauty, the impossibility of love, must come as a real kick in the pants...enjoy the day!
