Spicing Up Your Life

I found this old post and thought it would be good to repeat it again here as it speaks very well to living a spiced up life.

Do you sometimes feel like you are connected to something bigger than yourself?
We often go through our days oblivious to anything outside of ourselves and content to ignore the life that is all around us but sometimes life forces us to notice what is always there.

Last weekend Sandy and I took a short trip to the beach (one of the great joys of living in Central North Carolina is the ability to be at the beach or in the mountains within 2 ½ to 3 hours) and I was once again confronted with the majesty, beauty and power that is our living planet.

As we climbed over the bridge on the dunes to the beach I was awe struck at what lay before me. This gigantic body of living ocean lapping up on the shore with the power of untold gallons of water, salt and sand. With every wave crashing on the shore I could feel the very planet inhaling and exhaling life and vitality.

It has been some time since we have been to the ocean so I am sure that the impact of being in the presence of this massive body of water would not have struck me so profoundly had it been a more mundane experience.

What I was left with was a profound feeling of connectedness both with the planet but also to every living person, animal and plant that was present around me. The feeling was so profound that you might even call it a religious experience, a deep gratitude for the senses to experience such beauty, power and grace and the profound sense of my connection to it all.

If you have never had the opportunity to feel a connection like this, I encourage you to take the time to get out in nature, put your mind on hold and just get present to the planet that is alive all around you.

Regardless of what we create as humans there is nothing to compare to what God has created for us. It is free and available at each and every moment of each and every day.

I hope you can take a minute today to experience a little and give thanks for life you have been given.

I am thankful for mine.

Marc

Here is the video of our trip. I hope you enjoy it.

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Sandy and I spend a lot of time together. We love to go for hikes and find places where we can listen to music. We have a lot of tastes in common, not just our need to add our pepper to everything we eat, and we enjoy each other’s company.

Last weekend we had one of those days where we took a new hike in Duke Forest and then went down to the Durham Farmer’s Market to listen to some Reggae music. We were talking about how we live such a wonderful life and how we might express this on our website when we saw the perfect example approaching us right there. When all is said and done we all just want to live free to be.

The best way to express what we mean is to show it to you and let you see the best example we have seen of living free to be.

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You have probably been to a Waffle House at one time or another. If not you should stop by just for the experience. Try about 2:00 am on the outskirts of a small city or get there when the breakfast crowd shows up. You usually will get a decent show with every meal.

I stopped by for breakfast today. I was on my way back from Morganton where I had dropped Sandy off at her sister, Lora’s. Lora, Sandy, Marcia, Tina and her daughter, Lauren were all headed to Orlando for their maternal grandmother’s funeral. She was 95, so she had a good long life. It will be a good time for all four sisters to bond again.

Anyway, I stopped at the one at the second exit going East past Highpoint. You never know what you will experience when you walk into a Waffle House. As I opened the door 4 people said hello to me; one patron going out and 3 of the 4 waitresses behind the counter. It made me feel good even before I sat down. My waitress, Rhonda, was young, quiet and had a handmade nametag. All of the others had yellow plastic tags with their names embossed on them. After she took my order she just stood and waited to deliver it to the cook. Finally, one of the other waitresses, Cathy, said “go ahead honey”. With that she belted it out, waited for the cook to repeat it back and then confirmed it. I asked Cheryl, a third waitress, if they were breaking in a new one. She said “no, she has been here a couple weeks and she almost has it down. She just can’t remember all of the items yet”. I was really impressed with how the two older waitresses were coaching her along.

As I waited for my food the 3 of them began to banter back and forth about what they were going to do tomorrow, if Cheryl was going to cook dinner and whether and who was going to come over. It was obvious that they were either all related or close friends. They talked as if they were the only ones in the place while they included us all in their light, friendly chatter. It felt a bit like eavesdropping on a private conversation, you didn’t want to seem too interested, but you also didn’t want to miss anything. So you found yourself laughing right along with them.

I was enjoying myself so much I hardly remember eating my eggs, bacon, grits, toast and waffle. It was all over too quickly and before I left I complemented the manager on the fine people she had working there, loud enough so that the whole staff could hear. I left a nice tip, really paying for the entertainment rather than the service, and paid Cheryl at the register. As I left they all wished me a good day and I walked out feeling full, satisfied and happy.

It is funny how being a part of someone else’s life, even for a short time, can make you feel good. As I drove away I thought, what if everyone could feel that for everyone else, would there still be killing in places like Iraq, Darfur, and Durham?

You see, deep down we all want the same things.

To be heard, to listen and to love.

So the next time you sit down in a Waffle House or anyplace else, take a minute to listen in on the lives that make up your world. We all have something to share with each other, listen, appreciate and thank them, for that is what makes life smile.

Marc

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