The Silver Lining

This morning at church, a friend said to me, “Every time I see you, you have a smile on your face!”  My immediate response was, “Well, I live in Paradise, so why not smile?”  And while that is the truth, it really goes much deeper than that.  I smile because I’m happy with life. But this happiness is more than a physical state of being – it’s also a mental and emotional place.  I’ve long believed that happiness is a choice; one can choose to view things from an optimistic or pessimistic point of view.  I believe my natural view is that of optimism. Years of stress eroded that natural state. Worrying about things I could not control robbed me of the ability to “see the bright side” for a long while.  It was like I walked around inside a shroud woven from fretful thoughts and worries.  And while I could shake of some of it, unwrap the shroud a bit – it’s only been lately that I’ve been able to drop it completely. How did that happ...

Today was an unusually warm day for mid-January. Taking advantage of this rare event, we unhitched the pontoon and eased it out into the cove.  A light breeze over the cool water made the ride a bit chilly; I wrapped up in a beach towel as we headed out to the “big water.” Wispy clouds streaked across the skies.  Here and there, folks spent the day cleaning yards and raking leaves.  Smoke curled up from brush fires, caught the breeze, and began lying low over the water.  The water was dotted with flocks of seagulls – I suppose they were on vacation at the lake.  Steering the boat directly into the birds, we watched as the birds ascended into flight as we got near them.  Hundreds of gulls were wheeling and gliding above us, or floating in the water directly in front and behind us.  We continued our journey across the lake.  Nearing the shore, we saw a lone bird soaring above the pine trees.  His white head and tail gleamed li...