Thursday, February 21, 2008

sweet nothings

Photobucket

My goal this morning was to make you smile and to get you thinking about "bliss".

The dictionary says it means joy, rapture or ecstasy and as in many things those words are woefully inadequate to describe bliss.

Nowhere in the dictionary do I see any reference to it's fleeting nature, or that bliss is as individual as a fingerprint. For me bliss comes in moments not in hours. It's like jumpin in the air and experiencing that split second when you're weightless, the moment before gravity snatches you and brings you back to earth.

Chickens are noisy and gossipy, roosters are mean and turkeys are as dumb as rocks, but pigs......pigs have a certain quality I'll call "dumb goofy". It's as if they're blissfully unaware of their situation. They live in dirt, bathe in slurry and love to eat other people's garbage. But their dumb goofy nature doesn't realize that any of these things might be undesirable. And in life I've met some dumb-goofy people who were happy in some pretty trying circumstances.

But I think the pigs and the dumb-goofy people are on to something. Basically what they're saying is, I choose to be happy. It's a choice, everyday, whether we're going to let really insignificant things chink away at us. You need to clear your plate of worry which will leave you open to living in the moment and snatching some bliss of your own.

And look, the pigs have found some bliss outside their comfort zone. They've taken a cool shower and are resting in a fresh bed of wood chips. In an hour they'll be strutting their stuff on stage. But for now they're weightless and waiting for gravity to do it's thing.

(I took the above photo at the Kane County Fair - Nikon D70)

8 comments:

Vee said...

Every so often, like the jump that you describe so well, I experience a moment of true joy. I've become so accustomed to not experiencing "bliss" that I can't imagine life any other way. "Dumb goofy" may apply here. :> So bliss is a choice? Hmmmmm...

Sorry to hear that the farmer is terrible at packing. Hope that you're breaking down the chores into manageable chunks so you have plenty of time for recuperating.

Suzanne said...

Perhaps that's not accurate. The choice comes in creating the conditions in your life where bliss can enter. Does that make sense?

Most of the work of preparing for the vacation was done before this hit, so now it's just tying up some loose ends.

Jan said...

I'm not sure what bliss is for me...today, because it may be different tomorrow. : ) What I DO know is that piggie is experiencing it at that moment. I can't think of another word to describe that expression other than bliss. Have a wonderful day!

Jan

Kelly said...

what a beautiful post. That photo will stay with me all day, I hope, and remind me to drop down out of the thinky-think-worry-worry and into the place of easy smiles.

C.C. said...

We can learn a lot from the animal world, I think. Loyalty, living in the moment, trusting our instincts. This is a wonderful post!

Mary said...

What a terrific post, Suzanne! I think I need to come back in my next life as a pig... LOL
xoxo,
Mary

Jennifer Paganelli said...

wow great photo!!!! really wonderful..thinkin about bliss now..Jennifer

ausurfer said...

Hi -- I subscribed to your RSS feed a while back and occasionally visit for a read. This morning, as I do almost every morning, I logged into my computer and randomly picked a blog that I had subscribed to and read a post -- and I am so happy to have picked your "bliss" posting.

It really struck a note with me, because there have been some niggly things happening in my life recently and I have worked hard to not let them wear away my life. The photo of the pigs is priceless, as is your description of "dumb-goofy". It fits them to a tee.

I have sent an email to a few of my friends and work colleagues here in Brisbane, Australia with a link to this post -- because I think we all need to be reminded from time to time that life can be wonderful if we just choose to be happy.

Thanks for such an uplifting post, Suzanne.

Cheers from "Down Under".

Kim