"Being happy is a matter of personal taste."
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Yesterday morning I heard an uplifting story from a young woman who works in our community. I was inspired by the answer she gave when I asked how she happened to move to Clermont, Florida.
With joy in her voice and on her face,
Michelle explained.
When she was a child, while on a summer vacation with her parents and siblings, their little motor home broke down in downtown Clermont. Instead of bemoaning being stuck and delayed and having nothing to do while their vehicle was being repaired, they explored where they happened to be. They didn't have the funds to go to the theme parks or the means to get there, so they did whatever they could do within walking distance. They
bowled, ate a smokehouse, relaxed by the lake, and had fun being together in a place new to them.
The happiness that Michelle experienced during that unplanned stay stayed with her as a warm memory. Last year she decided to check out that long ago time and place. When she visited Clermont, she felt happy, just as she did back
then.
Who would have imagined that things would turn out that way? Of course, we never really know how things are going to turn out. There are many surprises in life. But I'm convinced that, even if the consequences take 20 years or more, wonderful things come into being when we choose
to be at peace with the things we cannot change and to hold good pictures in our minds.
With
joy,
Charlene
JOY: May it keep your heart open and filled with light.
from The Twelve Gifts of Birth
