A bit of joy.

As often happens, most people tend to focus on the negative, to the exclusion of the positive, parts of life, sometimes until it is too late. Look around and you will see that the world is full of folks that take this tact on life. I, too, have often found myself in this rut so, without further delay, I am going on record to say that, all in all, my life is pretty darned good. I have a good wife who loves me and shows it, and together we have a fantastic, smart little boy who is the center of our lives. Below is a photo of him in his ballet class performing warm-up/stretching exercises.

Could my life be better? There is room for improvement, I cannot lie, but, on balance, I am happy with my family. I only hope those of you who read this can, either now or in the future, say the same.

The world is a nutty, often nonsensical place to live; always has been, always will be. If you let it get you down and to the point where you can't appreciate what you have, then you no longer run your own life, others do. If you watch and listen carefully, you'll see that it's astounding how many people are vying for the their turn at running your life. From retailers who proffer the latest fashion or gadget and say you are hopelessly out of date without one, to real estate trends that push mini-mansions as the abode to aspire to, to politicians who imply/say that you have no right to your own life as long as someone else is miserable (usually through their own poor choices), practically EVERYONE wants to push you this or that way.

To rise above this is not an easy thing to do, and too many never get the perspective to do so. Chronological maturity helps, but it is no guarantee. From my own experience, I have found that disconnecting from pop culture is a major step in the proper direction. This includes extremely selective television/movie viewing; a refusal to read most periodicals, which are little more than (sometimes not-so-) cleverly disguised pitches for their advertisers; and being more of a participant and less of a spectator in/of life.

Be all that as it may, look at the photo below and remember when life's joys were simple, encompassing, and satisfying.

Take care.
DAL357