| Do
you enjoy your life? Think about it. I know it's not the easiest of questions,
but are you happy with your existence? When was the last time you were
happy for a long period of time? Has it been a while since happiness has
overwhelmed you? Since it took control of your life and made you feel
like you were invincible? Since it supercharged your emotions and senses
and made each day seem tragically short? Think about when you last felt
that way. Was it when your first child was born? Maybe the day you were
married? Or maybe it was something as simple as watching TV after a long
day at work? All of these things must be marvelous to experience, but
they don't last that long. For me, the times of true happiness come every
year once the weather warms up. The ability to wander aimlessly outdoors
without being encapsulated in a winter jacket fills me with unspeakable
amounts of joy. To me, true happiness is going for a leisurely jog on
a cool summer morning. Or riding my bicycle around town, feeling the wind
in my face and thundering in my ears. Or walking barefoot across a dewy
lawn, listening to the birds sing songs of incomprehensible beauty. These
things make me feel whole- make me feel human. They fill me with wonder
and happiness no matter how many times I experience them. I must admit,
the power has diminished some over the years, but it hasn't, and I pray
never will, disappear. I think back to the times when I was younger. To
when I was in elementary school or even junior high. These days of summer
were so powerful and so wonderful, a part of me mourns their passing each
time they're brought to mind. These were the days of complete freedom.
The world was still a largely unfamiliar place and each day brought about
discoveries that were mundane to those older than you, but that were nothing
less than revolutionary in nature to you. You could be filled with incomparable
joy by the smallest of things. By playing a game of baseball in the local
sandlot and coming home past dinnertime covered with dirt, somewhat fearful
of a scolding from mom, but still unwaveringly euphoric. By shinnying
up a tree, scuffing up your knees in the process, and maybe building a
treehouse. By chasing down the ice cream truck, yelling louder than you
thought possible, for it to stop. By playing kick-the-can or hide-and-seek
for hours every night, hoping against hope that the sun would stay up
just a few moments longer so the game could go on. By eating supper as
fast as you could just so you could get outside again a few seconds sooner.
By eating watermelon until you felt sick, spitting the seeds out as far
as you could, always trying to best your buddy's previous distance. All
of these things were staples of summer and their memory warms one's heart.
For many, though, these memories seem miles away and this sense of wonder
and warmth is fleeting. Many have forgotten the power of being young in
the summer. They've forgotten how wonderful the smell of freshly cut grass
is. They've forgotten how beautiful your beat up car can look after you
washed and waxed it in your driveway. They've forgotten how wonderful
it feels to fall asleep with the window open at night, the moon's silvery
glow caressing you with transparent tendrils of light, the crickets' chirping
lulling you to sleep. They've forgotten. |
Why?
Why would we ever let things that gave us so much happiness when we were
young slip out of our minds? These are things that should be cherished,
like generations-old family heirlooms, and always held onto. They should
always be close at hand, ready to bring a ray of summer sunshine into
a dismal winter day. So why do so many people forget? My friends have
all but forgotten. My teachers have forgotten, most adults I know have
forgotten. Even my parents seem to have forgotten. I haven't. I've held
on to the joy that simple pleasures can give. I've held on to the happiness
that lying in a hammock, slowly rocking and reading a book can bring.
I remember the pleasure that can be found by barbecuing hamburgers on
the grill. I remember how great it feels to eat a bone-chilling bowl of
ice cream on the hottest of days. I remember how stunningly refreshing
a dip in the pool can feel during the dog days of summer. I remember it
all. Why doesn't anyone else? Why are so many people content to ignore
life's simple pleasures? Maybe it's because of a job. Possibly, but I've
worked 40-plus hours a week the past four of five summers, and all that
did was make me long for quitting time so I could revel in the previously
listed pleasures. Maybe it's having kids that makes one forget. Possibly,
but I would think you'd want to share these wonderful moments with your
kids so you could pass these joys on, rather than ignore them and have
them pass from mind unappreciated. I think that people forget because
they allow themselves to become overwhelmed by their jobs, their kids,
et al. These people get so wrapped up in the complex routines they've
woven in their daily lives that they forget how to unwind in simplicity.
Why does everything in this world have to be so complex? What makes a
several thousand-dollar home entertainment system more pleasing than a
moonlit walk in the park with a loved one? Or what makes a thirty thousand-dollar
car more invigorating than coming into a cold, air-conditioned house on
a hot humid day? Or what makes a weekend retreat to a spa more refreshing
than a cold glass of sun-brewed iced tea after a hot day outside? Why
do people feel the need to get bigger, more expensive, more complex things
to please them? Because they've forgotten. They've forgotten how many
things life has to entertain them with that don't cost a penny. These
people need to drink the intoxicating elixir that is summer happiness.
They need to relearn what it means to be alive and to revel in this knowledge
and the pleasure this knowledge brings. They need to pay attention to
and appreciate the symphony of sounds and the stew of smells that is summer.
They need to think back to those summer days that were bursting with simple
pleasures and embrace the memories, never again letting them fall by the
wayside. They need to recall what it's like to be a kid in summer, with
all the wonder, curiosity, and joy this entails. Simply, they need to
rememberÉ |