'this i believe'

i'll start by sayin this...
i've recently started reading a book called, 'this i believe'...
it's amazing and full of truly inspirational stuff.
it's basically a book of essays written by famous people of the last 50 years, and also some not so famous people mixed in the bunch.
the essays are about what these people believe in...
their core feelings about life, that take them through each day.
this has made me sort of think about my beliefs and how i feel about certain aspects of life that are easier sometimes not to think about.
it's made me think that if i were to write an essay like this...
what would i write?
think about it...what would you write?
how would it start?
what would be the hook?
the guiding principles of your life...wow!
i mean, seriously...that's something you really have to sit down and put some thought into.
some of it though, maybe isn't nearly that hard to know or to relay to others.
by the way we live.
by our example.
the way we walk through our life...or run.
the way we talk.
our actions.
our interactions with others, whether it be family, friends, or complete strangers.
our compassion and passion.
so many things that could be the center of what we believe! geesh!
if you have been reading my latest posts,
you will know that this summer i've spent quite a bit of time, out in the ocean, trying to learn how to catch a wave...
and just a few days ago, my dad bought a longboard off of a surfer guy, and now it is sittin on my back porch, waitin to get dipped into the ocean.
it will happen soon...and i am completely nervous, scared, and excited, all at the same time.
which brings me to a couple thoughts about 'this i believe'.
each mornin i have been reading a couple of the essays, as to not fly through the book, but sort of savor each lil essay, like it was a morsel of the most delicious plate of food, ever.
i think some books are meant to go slow and some devoured.
anyways, for the last week and a half, i've been telling my friends of this really crazy awesome feeling i've been having.
like i'm walking on air.
like nothin can bring me down.
i break out into a smile for no good reason.
i can't really explain it, but it's just there.
it all started on a day that i came home from spin class,
and as i was driving home, i thought to myself,
'i have two hours til work, instead of just hangin in my apartment, i think i'll run down to the beach and catch some waves.'
and i did.
it was a really cloudy day, and i could see a storm brewing in the distance,
and pretty much as soon as i got into the water,
it began raining.
i was the only one out there.
the waves were flowing in kinda perfectly.
not too big, but not too small.
just right.
for a good hour, i caught wave after wave, during the downpour,
and on occasion, i found myself just smiling, laughing, and i even howled
a few times, after trimming off to the left or right.
i ended up catching the best wave so far of the summer...
and i was the only one to see it.
it felt like slow motion...it was a perfect feeling.
at the end of it, i was pushed so strongly to the sand,
i didn't even realized i'd gotten scratched up a lil bit, getting thrown off my board. i just stood up, and laughed and screamed, 'woooohoooooo!'
i walked home afterwards with a huge grin on my face...
when i went to work, i told my story to the young man i was working with, and we both just laughed and talked excitedly about how great life was in that very moment,
which turned into a whole other conversation.
standing there, this young guy, i only met a year ago, because of work, began to tell me what he thought of me...
and i have to be honest...i don't think i've ever heard anything as kind and as sweet as the words that came out of his mouth.
so, there i was, out in the heat of the day, with this young guy, half my age, and all i could do was look down at my running shoes and cry.
since that day, i've felt differently about a lot of things.
i've carried this happiness in my heart that's made me feel so incredible.
trying to explain it, makes no sense really.
and why try, anyways?
when i run into people, and they ask me how i'm doing...
i can't think of anything else to say, but 'i'm amazing',
'life is great', 'i couldn't be better', and the list goes on and on.
i think sometimes the thing we have to remember in our lives,
is that happiness comes and goes...
it's like a visitor.
instead of trying to figure out why or how or how long will it stay...
i think maybe we should just enjoy it.
and when someone asks you how you're doing...tell them.
spread happiness.
which brings me back to 'this i believe'.
this mornin i read one by oscar hammerstein...you know rogers and hammerstein. yep. the big time.
anyways, this is a lil snippet from what he wrote...

"i have an unusual statement to make. i am a man who believes he is happy. what makes it unusual is that a man who is happy seldom tells anyone. the unhappy man is more communicative. he is eager to recite what is wrong with the world, and he seems to have a talent for gathering a large audience. it is a modern tragedy that despair has so many spokesmen, and hope so few."

my thought is this...
yes...there are tons and tons of things that we could complain about.
yell about.
argue about.
be pissed about.
but there's also a whole hell of a lot of things to be crazily happy about.
to shout out to the mountain tops about.
to dance around about.
maybe they're small things...
but a lot of small things put together, can equal up to a pretty darned good life.
i, honey deacon, believe these things...
i believe in showing your heart.
i believe in the power of words.
i believe that if you love someone, you tell them and show them everyday.
i believe in not going to bed, mad.
i believe in saying 'i'm sorry'.
i believe in standing up and speaking up.
i believe in playing til there's no play left in you.
i believe in the joy of laughter.
i believe in the kindness of strangers.
i believe that good friends can make your life that much better.
i believe in wrap around hugs.
i believe in the sublime lovelyness of a prize. (giving them)
i believe in the equality of all people.
i believe that happiness does not come from the stuff you have, but by how you live, and how you treat others.
and yes,
i could go on for quite awhile, it seems...
but...
i'll just stop there.
think about it...these are our guiding principles of how we live.
not to be taken lightly...but not to be so serious that we forget to just smile, laugh uncontrolabley, and maybe do a lil fist pump, hands in the air and everything :)
so, the next time someone asks you how you're doing, and you're feeling absolutely unstoppable...by all means...tell them...just like that!
people need to hear that good stuff.
a lil HFD terminology...'fo sho fo sho!' haha!
question is now...
what do you believe?