RAINBOW MOON

My feet are bare and cold as they cross the threshold to the porch where I often go after my son is asleep and there is nothing left of the day to give. As I open the door a cool yet gentle breeze comes across my face with a tease of Spring in the air. I stare up into the sky looking for something to gaze upon. But tonight, the stars are not shining. There is a haze over the moon that moves like fog. As I stare and ponder I think I spot a shooting star as light seems to twinkle and move. A faint drop of rain touches my cheek and I step under the cover of my porch prepared for a passing storm. But time goes by and the haze begins to dissipate.

A glow of purple seems to appear in place of the night sky and I slowly move forward out of the cover once again in curious delight. Forgetting my bare feet, I walk further where now I am almost to the sidewalk staring up at the sky not taking my eyes off of what I’m about to see. And as if it was a summer day after the rain, in all its glory, a rainbow emerges glowing from the light of the moon.

Still with neck stretched out and eyes wide open, I stare now in complete wonderment not believing in what I am seeing. Every color of the spectrum is above me now on a canvas of soft grey, the night sky, illuminated by the brightness of the moon. I whisper the lyrics of “Comfortably Numb” to myself taking in the moment not able to move. A feeling of enlightenment and peace has overcome me and I am still.

Suddenly in this moment, I feel the cold cement on my feet once again and in an instant of swift moving clouds, the rainbow moon is gone. Darkness fills the sky once again in a haze and I am saddened that I could not somehow be quick enough to share this experience with my son who lays asleep just a few feet inside. But then I remember, a story he was telling me not so long ago of a “rainbow moon” and the dark sky that it filled. Trying to appease him, I asked, “and how would a rainbow come about in the night?” and he said to me “it really is a logical explanation. it had been raining.”

So there in the night sky lives a rainbow and on each rainy day it appears. But if you wish to see it, you must believe in the imagination of a child. Otherwise, you will just be left standing in your bare feet thinking you see “a distant ship’s smoke on the horizon”.

“I Read the News Today Oh Boy…”

Did you read the news today? Did you know that people who curse a lot are smarter than the rest of the world? And are you aware of the 10 tips that every successful person does that you probably aren’t doing? What about the latest trends? Have you seen your eyebrows lately?! If you haven’t then….Don’t look!

With the overload of information the internet has provided us it is so easy to get caught up in whatever your Facebook feed is selling you today. Or maybe it is your local news or the ridiculous amounts of choices we have at the grocery store with every marketing ploy to tell us what is really good for us. But let me fill you in on a secret, none of that is making you wiser.

Our world is full of contradictions. If you were to clip out and save every Huffington Post article, marketing campaign and celebrity opinion you would have something like this:

Take your time. Just do it!

Don’t be so naive. You are too cynical.

Be more open! Don’t be so emotional.

Love to the fullest! Don’t fall too fast.

I’ve spent a lot more time alone in recent years and one thing you know you can always count on are your thoughts. Us humans come with our own amazing devices such as instincts and conscience. Those devices, however, fade over time and are instead filled with preconceived ideas from outside sources. But something very interesting happens when you reject mainstream society and actually listen to your own thoughts. You realize that you know more than you ever thought you had. And you know that you know. You know what is right, because if you are good you will always be right. And good doesn’t come from liking the post that manipulates you into thinking you are a horrible person if you don’t. It comes from liking who you are and being confident enough to believe in your self. And maybe if we all stripped down to this notion that we can believe in ourselves, we can begin to believe in humanity again.

So stop reading my blog and no you can’t eat an avocado seed. Cosmo won’t tell you how to have better sex and your horoscope isn’t right. Just go and be human, if only you can remember how.

Shuffle

Forrest Gump said “Life is like a box of chocolates”, but I beg to differ. Chocolate although may come in several forms, is mostly predictable. Sure you may get a caramel and chip a tooth or dark chocolate making you feel a bit bitter. Certainly all things life can leave you feeling, pain and angst. But that perfect silky, melt in your mouth outer shell, that chocolate, that is the beauty of life and it is found in every piece within the box. Don’t get me wrong, some may relate to the chocolate in it’s familiarity and happy ending. It really is a positive way to look at life.

Now let’s look at life, for real. I like to say music is the soundtrack of our lives. In the real world it’s as though you are playing it on shuffle. That’s right, being a single parent is much like being brave enough to press shuffle on your ipod. Now you really don’t know what you’re going to get Forrest! Most of us only keep music we enjoy, but if you are a true music lover you know you have a song, artist or album for every mood. And since you have a child you know that feeling when you are chilling to Beastie Boys and all of a sudden “I’m a Little Teapot” is blaring from your Kia and your “I’m still cool” confidence goes right out the window and reality sucks you right back in. Now that’s life. No silky melt in your mouth chocolate, just a sudden change you were definitely not prepared for.

I used to believe that life is choices, but to truly be ready for anything, you must believe that life is changes. Just when you think you are clear for a while, Floyd comes on and reminds you that it’s a long ballad until you can catch your breath again. The key is to accept it. Yes you all should embrace a little Floyd now and again and know that soon enough Dave Grohl will come back in to be sure you are awake. Maybe you will be fortunate at times to come across a little Van Morrison and do a little Moondance or your heart will be in the right place to be ok with singing Adele at the top of your lungs(I don’t ever do that). As long as you know that at any moment Zeppelin will come on and over stay their welcome.

So I say life is like a playlist on shuffle. It will bring you challenges, but it will give you joy like no other. It is worth waking up everyday to turn it on again and hit repeat. And remember, you are not alone. There are people out there that still like the Eagles.