In Both Directions

http://www.shareinweb.com/imgs/30663-beaming-download.jpg
*The word "delight" is my addition to the above photo.*

"Delight, being another form of love, tends to bless in both directions." - S. Dawn Sievers, 1/12/2014

I wrote the above quote in a thread on my Facebook wall.  The thread was my sharing of a lovely moment experienced the other day, and to give everyone full context, I will share it here:

Best moment of the day: driving home from errands, I stopped at a local Walgreen's to pick up a couple of things. Today's weather was springtime warm, so I had on a short sleeved t-shirt and comfy yoga pants. As I walked out of Walgreen's with my purchases, an elderly gentleman was walking in. He smiled at me, swept a courtly bow and said, "If I were some years younger, I would be sparking you, my dear. Any young lady who wears a Snoopy t-shirt with such panache deserves to be wooed, pursued and swooned." Then he winked at me and sailed into the store. I can't recall my heart being that delighted in ages! 

*Thank you, kind sir, whomever you are! You did, indeed, swoon me!* 

I have experienced this kind of delightful moment many times in my life, and each one remains steadfast in my memory.  Each moment always brings a smile, as did this most recent experience.

Life is so short for each of us. We're given a short span of a lifetime to learn, to grow and experience so much.  And we're asked to cram all of this into the same existence that is barraged by stress, confusion, fatigue, sensory overload coming at us from every direction.  Work, family, governing our personal health, taking care of our home, earning a yearly wage to bank away and provide for our needs....it is no small wonder that many of us go through life on auto-pilot.  I am of the opinion that every single day contains delightful moments such as the one I shared here, but so many of us are so deeply zoned out, our senses dulled by that sensory overload, that we fail to recognize them.

I don't know why I do notice them more than some.  I have always been this way, from my earliest, youngest years.  Unusual moments capture my focus....the tiny ones that vanish in a twinkling of an eye, unless you're looking for them.  And I admit that I tend to lose outward focus on the daily ticking by of everyday life, so captured am I by these delightful moments.   I don't become completely oblivious to the waking world, mind you, but I do get distracted momentarily.  In the best way possible.

That lovely gentleman who gifted me with his own sparkle recognized the power of a simple moment.  He was so full of brightness and happiness that he found a wee moment to share his sparkle with me.  I daresay that his life isn't perfect, or spotless, or without sadness, frustrations and challenges.  Yet he made time in his day to give a complete stranger a moment of delight.  

"How beautiful," is what my deepest heart declares.

I believe this is one of the reasons we sojourn to this Earth School, to embrace an experience where we are allowed to give voice and expression to Love.  We translate the energy of love into music, into architecture, into farming and gardening, into the pursuit of excellence of the physical body through athletics and sports, into the written word in books and poetry, into the visual through movies, dance, painting, sculpting, weaving and more.  We do these things in a human effort to express what is unspoken inside us, that core of brilliant, white hot pulsing of wordless Divine Presence.  

And sometimes, we express that wordless brilliance with a simple human interaction that produces delight. 

Then we share that simple human interaction, and the delight is experienced in an exponential manner, touching hearts, tipping lips to smile, and eyes to twinkle.  The courtly manners of that beautiful man came shining right out his heart to entwine with mine, gifting me with something that is difficult to put into words. I am attempting that here, yet feel I am falling short.  What I do know is that such courtly manners from an earlier era will always bring delight to me.  I see so little of this type of politesse these days, and when it is expressed in such a whimsical fashion, it simply must be remembered and shared so that it inspires others to act on an impulse moment to brighten the day of another.   

It is worth repeating....

Delight, being another form of love, tends to bless in both directions.