That's all we need sometimes.
Around me, the plants are dry and dead, like paper in the wind. The ice is moving in.
It is so dark, so much of the time, and always growing darker.
Winter is coming, and it will be brutally cold. With it, truckloads of trouble will fall from the sky, and I will have to shovel it for months. I know it.
The world can be a wretched, cold place.
But when the sun rose this morning, everything changed.
Bright colors splashed on the lake, ricocheting off the ice crystals in a joyous explosion of light. Geese floated, weightless, like angels, through the shimmering glass of water and ice. The air was crisp and fresh.
I stood silently on the shore...
Breathing in the joy and the peace and the hope.
I thought of dancing, but I am a clumsy oaf, and the neighbors were nearby.
Instead, I laughed. Out loud. The joy bubbled up like music and my heart danced inside.
Swan Lake in my head, I glided with the heavenly geese, through the rosy atmosphere.
The world is a glorious place!
The next time you feel the ache of the weight of the world, think of a middle aged fuddy-duddy standing on the shore at sunrise. Laughing.
I hope you can hear the music, too.