"Blue Skies"

February 1995

You know, a strange thing happened to me the other day. Now, I won't exactly say it was profound or even unique, but to me it seemed noteworthy so I thought I'd share that experience with you folks.

It was a typical day and at precisely 6:30 am I was startled out of a peaceful sleep by Nina Tottenberg and Bob Edwards cheerfully reporting the world's latest events on NPR's Morning Edition. After slapping them down a few times, (they rally every 7 minutes) the cat convinced me that she was reaching the critical point in her morning regimen and needed me to unlatch the pet door so she could go out on patrol. I staggered into the hallway and grabbed my beautiful, new, blue bathrobe. The sight of Mickey's perky embroidered smile reminded me that it was just another work day. 24 hours that I would again spend coping with the daily little struggles and irritants that pepper all our lives.

This fact firmly established, I continued to go about my daily morning ritual, the shower, the teeth, the shave, but I decided to skip the coffee and grab a "McCup" on the way in to the studio. Still half asleep, I gathered my faculties and pointed the car due west from Pasadena. Without giving my actions much thought, I automatically pushed the little buttons around me that control the radio, windows and general environment of the vehicle while merging across 5 lanes of traffic, when suddenly it hit me. It's a beautiful day! One of those really special and all too rare Southern California winter mornings.

As I tooled down the freeway I got this incredibly exhilarating feeling. The warm sun shown down on me from clear blue skies strewn with wispy stratas bunting. The crisp, clean air that flowed in through the open sunroof gently tossled my hair and caressed my skin. The aroma of fresh hot coffee filled the cab as Sarah Vaughn's velvety throat warbled "Over the Rainbow" on Classic American Music. And then, all these elements came together. Swiftly the traffic, Sarijevo, Bosnia, the hole in the ozone, unemployment statistics, the depletion of the rainforests and all the other problems facing me, and mankind in general, just slipped away. For about 5 minutes I found myself basking in that fleeting, "Good-To-Be-Alive" kind of feeling where all seems right with the world.

And I realized, in that moment, that everything I did was a choice. I could choose to continue my trek to work and go about my day in a normal, logical manner or I might decide to direct the car south and end up somewhere in Baja before nightfall. I could hop a plane and within hours be almost anywhere in the world I chose or I may elect to spend some time hiking in the local mountains.

"The possibilities are limitless", I thought to myself. What an empowering feeling to realize, even for a short period of time, that I have been given free will and, provided I am a responsible adult, willing to accept the consequences of my actions, I am able to do, (for me) as I see fit. To understand that I am not owned or governed by any authority outside of myself. This is not to say that I would act on any of these thoughts or begin exhibiting aberrant behavior but the truth of the matter is, in keeping with this theory, that even my daily routine is something that I have created by choices I have already made.

These thoughts finally lead me to the realization that happiness is a state of mind and that, for the most part, what we focus on in our lives really has bearing on our perception of the world and our experience of life. Now, I'm certainly not advocating looking at the world through the rose-colored eyes of Pollyanna. There are, indeed, real concerns and problems out there that need to be addressed and we can all be a part of the solutions, but I am recommending that everyone allow themselves to slow down from time to time and be reminded of the simple and good things in life and how great it is just to be alive and relatively healthy.

Now I'm back at my desk working on an irascible hummingbird and the experience is over. Yet, each time this phenomena occurs I feel slightly changed and in the back of my mind I know that a little relay holds the experience intact to be replayed at some future time when I least expect it. And, you know, sometimes it is simply the anticipation of that curious event brings me hope and keeps me going.

"Back to the cupboard with 'ya now",

Dave Pruiksma