light

A rainy morning in Newport, Oregon, following a rainy night. It's the Oregon coast for goodnessakes. What did I expect? Well... sunshine, actually. I always expect sunshine. And when I don't get it, I move on. Growing up in California, I guess I associate sunshine with happiness, goodness, and all things wonderful. Light is the key ingredient. It lightens the psychic load and tends to make us feel happy. Most of us anyway. Not that I mind the rain. We need it. I know that. I even enjoy the occasional sleepy day spent indoors by the fire, reading, knitting, eating and drinking whatever comforts me and makes me feel warm... and sunny. But for the most part, actual sunshine is what I want and expect from life.

Similarly, and not surprisingly, light is also what I want and expect from people. I surround myself with people who radiate that little light from within. Why on earth would I want to hang out with whiny, bummer, black hole people? Here comes October, and it's time to be extra wary of vampires. Black hole people are energy vampires. Run away! Run away! Or better yet, shine some light on them and watch them transform.

I have a little game I play, when I'm at my best and most "awake". I wander around in public places with the tiniest smile on my face. Sort of a Mona Lisa thing more than an out and out grin, which can look kind of manic and overmedicated. I don't want to scare people. The goal is to get them to smile back. I'm convinced that putting out happy energy brings it out of other people, which infects even more people as the day and the grin goes on, passed around like some kind of friendly virus. Poof! Before you know it, you've gone and made a whole bunch of people feel just a little bit better, and I just know that it somehow radiates like sunshine, making the world a better place. I know. Yuck. That sounds so goodie-goodie, and trust me, I'm no goodie-goodie. I have my dark side. But come on... isn't better... just better?

Try it. It's easy. Forget about your face and just smile from your eyes. The rest will arrange itself accordingly. Then walk around the mall or the grocery store and see what happens. Nine out of ten, I can get the most pickle-faced vampire to beam like a light house. Rick plays the game too, but he mostly likes watching me do it. We walk along, chatting and doing whatever we're doing, and he'll stop and say, "Good one! You got her!". Big fun in a small package.

Looking out the window as I finish up here, there's a big break in the clouds and the sun is peeping through. Coincidence? I think not. And I hope this is something of an antidote to yesterday's post, for those of you who need it.