8-23-05 The Meaning of Life

I return to this often. The words of a modern-day poet.

"The meaning of life is the feeling you get when you tap into the infinite flow of love: when you give yourself, heart & soul to someone else: when you sit and watch your kids open Christmas presents: when you hug your Mom on Mother's Day, and play catch in the backyard with your Dad on Father's Day: when you hold a newborn baby in your arms and smell it's sweet scalp, and it coos and gurgles at you, laughing without teeth: when you sit beside your teenaged daughter in the front seat, teaching her how to drive. The meaning of life becomes apparent when you get the opportunity to sincerely say "I'm sorry", and the apology is genuinely accepted. The meaning of life is the thing that makes you feel golden when you do something charitable, when you do something selfless purely on an ethical principle, when you live by the Golden Rule and it manages to Rule The World for a sweet moment.
The meaning of life is when you stand on a hilltop and you can hear a symphony, even though there's no music. The meaning of life is what you feel in your bones when you know you're hearing truth, or experiencing justice. The meaning of life is found in a steaming hot cup of tea when you really, really need it. The meaning of life is found when you open your tool box and can lay your mitts on EXACTLY the right tool for the job at hand. The meaning of life is in the morning dew on the grass, and written in the stars across the heavens. It's written in the clouds that stretch beyond the horizon, in the current of the river, in the gravity we all occasionally defy, and the wind that fills our sails. The meaning of life flows between us when we can put out trust in one another: it sings in our blood when we can take someone in our arms who we love more than life itself, look them in the eye, and have the chance to say, "I love you" - and hear them say "I love you too"."
~Rik Emmett~