On the Sweet Where You Live

People are sweet. I don't mean just the obviously kind, helpful and loving people, I mean all people. Beneath all the posturing, all the positionality, all the sticky icky stuff and habits that might indicate otherwise, people are just downright sweet. Now, granted, you can encounter some very finely crafted disguises out there and often some hastily constructed smokescreens. People go to great lengths to hide their sweetness. But I have seen it and I know. At the root of the root, in the heart of the heart, in the soul of the soul, an outrageous sweetness resides in the essential core of every human being. Every human being.

I have not met every human being, of course. It just occurs to me that if one or two or three of us have this sweetness, then all of us do. It only makes sense. The human blueprint would have to be fairly consistent in its essential elements, wouldn't it? So, I keep my eyes open. Sweetness is not always easy to spot. But every once in a while, like a bolt of lightening illuminating the darkened landscape, you see a furtive display. Once you've tasted it you're a junkie, looking for sweetness everywhere and often in the most unlikely places. Why? Because you know it has to be there. When you see it, you smile. When you don't see it, you look for it. If you still can't find it you lay in wait, you keep the faith and you know, you just know, it will reveal itself to you when the time is right.

Wake Up Caller ID

Have you noticed? There are teachers everywhere. The grocery store is full of them, the gym, the library, the mall, the bank, the gas station, the office, north of here, south of here, in state, out of state, everywhere. It's strange how I had not noticed them before. In all fairness I was so busy, so much to work out in my head all the time, how could I possibly be expected to pay close attention to everything around me? When I first started noticing them, probably in a moment I had inadvertently and imperceptibly dropped below the radar of my constantly vigilant mind, I was intrigued. That's when I started seeing teachers everywhere. I don't remember who they all were. There were, there continue to be, so many. I wonder if they are aware they are my teachers? Some of them definitely don't seem to know but then I see the occasional twinkling eye that tells me they are all not as clueless as I might guess.

The morning buzzer goes off, I awaken and the day begins. I do not carry the buzzer around with me to keep me awake, I am already wide-eyed. Buzzers are forgotten as soon as they awaken us. Their job is done and the rest is up to us. Good teachers are the same. And they are everywhere. You'll see.

Angels All Around

There are angels among us. Now, I don't know what your idea of an angel is. I hardly know what I conceive them to be, yet I know my life has been touched by them. Wherever grace is, an angel has just passed. Wherever peace descends, an angel has had her way. Wherever joy lives, an angel lives there too. I don't speak here of a halo and flowing gowns kind of angel, the kind of angel who lives in ethereal realms and occasionally pays a visit to lowly humans to bestow kindnesses. No, in my life at least, they seem to have materialized out of thin air and emanated, usually, from one of my fellow human beings.

You know, like when it's late, you're exhausted and you're in the grocery store to pick up a few things. In line a woman senses your low spirits and makes a point of smiling and making eye contact. She didn't have to do that, she could have remained in her own little world waiting for the checker to finish with the customer insisting on her second price check. Angel.

The guy who sees you struggling with your packages and rushes to help. Angel. The mothers, whether or not they have children of their own, who nurture and love and support everyone around them. Angels. The people who see an unrelenting flow of vehicles in their rear view mirrors and stop to let you drive into the flow from a side street. Angels. Folks who smile and wave and spread joy and helpfulness wherever they go and whether or not they know you. Angels.

They're everywhere. They come in a wide array of sizes and shapes and disguises. Very often we are not even aware of them. Be alert and you will find them. All around. 

 Are you an angel? Yes. Yes, you are. And the degree to which you know that is the degree to which you bring your angel magic into the world.