I sometimes forget just how blessed I am..... and let petty little problems swell into something that is just, well, non-sense. I do go outside in the morning, early (got to let the dogs out!), and thank God for such a wonderful world. After all, it is not His fault what we are doing to it. Or with it.
I walk over to the new tomato plants, and touch the green tomatos, I look at the other plants and the vegtables and fruit thereon, gaze on the fruit just beginning to size up on the trees, and I can not help but smile. Yes, it is a wonderful world, and if we are not getting out of the world what we wish, then perhaps we are wishing for the wrong things; and that is one of the most profound truths that I have discovered in my more then 5 decades on this earth. That, and what is really important. Which is happiness, and peace, and understanding how to find both.
And I am always aware of the Most Wonderful Thing in the World, and how I treasure it.
And what, you may ask, is that Most Wonderful Thing? Why, it is the 1000th smile that my wife bestowed upon me, and every smile she gave me after that treasured 1000th smile.
And why is that smile so special, and so different from the first 999 smiles? Because that is the smile that I earned. It came after all of the illusions that we all start with were gone. It came after she knows me so well that she knows what I am going to say before I can complete the sentance. It came after the last argument, whatever silly little thing that was about! And it came after she has learned that there are no surprises; this is all there is. But she still smiles at me... AT ME!
And why? Because I have kept my word to her, in every particular. And now she knows that what I have said to her is the truth; I committed to her, and I honor that commitment. No surprises. She always knows where I am, and where I am going to sleep. No surprises. She always knows that when I have money the first thing I do is buy food, buy material for our business, buy something to work on the house, or I buy something for the family. She knows, and trusts me completely, not to waste the money. No surprises.
She knows that I am always going to be there, for her, until the end of our time on this earth. No surprises. Just as she knows that every time she sees me looking at her, there is a smile on my face as well.... no surprises.
And we have come to the point where neither of us can look at the other without smiling. Just can't be done! So yes, I treasure that smile, the Most Wonderful Thing in the World! That smile that is only for me, the smile that I have earned.