You Look So Happy

“You look so happy.”

That’s what my sister said to me after she snapped a picture of me standing beside Cascade Falls just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“I am happy,” I said.

And it was true. In that moment, standing beside a waterfall, listening to currents rage, feeling mist on my face from water crashing on rocks, I was happy.

And I was happy the day before as well. My niece and I went creek hiking, carefully maneuvering over slippery river rock, trying not to fall in, feeling water drift swiftly over our legs, until my foot got caught under a rock and I did fall in, fully dressed, emerging safely with a huge grin on my face.

“Nothing makes me much happier than being in a mountain stream,” I confessed. And nothing does. Except maybe being in a mountain stream with my niece.

In a time when the world feels out of sorts—when a pandemic has stopped everyone in their tracks;

In a time when the world feels out of control—when rules, customs, and history are rapidly changing and there is so much unease;

In a time when the world feels full of suffering—when fear and sickness are accompanied by isolation and death;

I must confess that I struggle to be happy…not because there aren’t things to be happy about…but because I feel like I shouldn’t be happy when so many others are not.

I know that life isn’t about being happy. To make happiness our ultimate goal is futile. But I believe that life IS about being present. And being present means being fully available to all times, circumstances, and situations…

Friends: Even in the midst of a world gone awry, it’s okay to find moments of happiness and joy.

And so I ask you today: When is the last moment you were happy? Please share. I’d love to hear