remember,,,

life is a funny thing my friends,,, or, if not life,

the way we move inside it.

 

we run so hard, chasing whatever it is our brains have convinced us is the new necessity - looking for the next fix,,, for a brief moment of respite from epic pressures that seem so real to us.

 

and if we get what we want,,, if it makes us forget our pains for a few moments,,, lost in a kind of self-gratifying distraction,,, then we write off the days, years or people we spent getting there as worth the sacrifice,,,

 

the problem is, it doesn't last long, does it? a few moments,,, and the sweetness turns sour as we realize it wasn't quite what we thought it was. so we rush off towards the next all important destination, somehow convincing ourselves that this time we'll arrive to find the satisfaction we so desperately seek.

 

why do we obsessively follow a pattern that has proven itself wrong so many millions of times over?

 

 

i received a poignant letter today from a friend who has spent the last few days dealing with the death of a family member. fresh from the hard but powerful lessons of loss he says:

 

"...we will find strength. we will not always know how, or why it comes, but it will come. if we remain open to learning whatever lessons there are for us to learn, and do not cloud our minds with things that make no difference--anger, hate, blame--we will find great clarity, great strength, and even great joy in times that seem to have none."

 

and here, he uncovers a great truth,,,

 

we look for joy, peace and strength in things, we look for joy in times, in circumstances and in achievements,,, but they don't exist there. they exist only within ourselves.

 

wealth is knowing what you have,,,

we are our own richness.

 

 

i spend a few minutes playing in the living room with my family, taking a few pictures of my wife and and two sons' precious faces and interactions,,,

 

as i head toward the office, back to work, my beautiful 3 year old son Prevail runs to me and says, 'daddy, daddy,,, remember to take a picture of her ponytail,,,'

 

ah, how i revel in the brilliance that springs from a mind in flight! i pick him up, twirling him around like the unchained bird he is,,, watching the light shining from his smiling eyes.

 

i think,,, what if the way to joy is found not through forgetting, but by remembering?

 

i will not forget, my beautiful Prevail, i promise you.

i promise myself,,,

 

 

i want to be a part of a world that knows exactly how rich she is,,, will you help me remind her?

 

 

jesh *

Done