Warm Bread and Serenity

Tonight, I attended a very pleasurable performance of A Chorus Line. I usually catch most of the Broadway musicals that come to town, but for many months now, life has happened. And while it was happening, there were more important things on my mind than going to the theater. Driving home from the Hobby Center, I felt really good and happy that I could just live in the moment.

Actually, the last four or five days have been marvelous. For some unknown reason, everything has just felt right. The sun and the stars have been exactly where they are supposed to be. I have had the feeling that my life is finally heading in the right direction.. or at least not going in the wrong direction. For the moment, when I try to accomplish something important, it is happening. I am savoring the moment. There is something wonderfully special about this fleeting island in time. What I want most is that no one will jump in and say anything or do anything to spoil this magic. I hope against hope that life will not rudely insert itself and say, "Well! Enough of this nonsense. Time to get back to reality."

My euphoria isn't all that different from being in the kitchen where some bread in baking in the oven. The wonderful aroma of baking bread fills the kitchen. As the timer moves closer to telling us to take the bread out of the oven, our sense of anticipation is only fueled by the delicious aroma filling the room. And then, we remove the bread from the oven and let it cool down a bit. But we cannot resist pinching off just a small piece and eating it while it is still warm. There is absolutely nothing so marvelous as eating bread while it is still warm. When the bread finally cools down, I will still find it delicious, but it will never be so memorably wonderful to eat as when it was still warm just out of the oven.

It is late. Tomorrow is Monday and the work week will begin once again. And all too soon, the usual noise of the world will ruin my lovely moment. Of course, I knew that this lovely interlude would end much too soon and the harsh light of day would return me to being the pragmatic realist into which I have evolved. The realist within me tells me just to enjoy the moment while I can and when it is over, to simply move on to what comes next.

I feel just a small pang of regret. You have no idea how pleasant it was not to feel angry at anyone or to feel pain or disappointment in myself or in others for even a few days. However, one should accept a few days of peace and serenity thankfully, with humility. It is a gift we are permitted to enjoy only from time to time. We should thank our lucky stars for these moments of respite from the difficulties of our lives. During our lives, such moments will be few and far between.