Endless Joys of Summer

I think back to my childhood, riding a bike to the little store in the trailer park where luscious, rounded top, Fudgesicles were a nickel and a big, fat, pink, Bazooka bubble gum was a penny. We’d bike there, my sister and I, and dream of all the lovely things we could buy with our 10 cents. We were rich.

So what’s changed?

Trailer parks are full of low income people and shady characters. Life taught us to be judgmental and afraid of such people.

We shouldn’t eat sweets. They cause tooth decay and diabetes. Life taught us that too. I don’t’ care how good they taste, you should choose something healthy. Besides I should be on a diet.

You have to have a bike chain to prevent theft, a helmet per the law, and special biking clothes to be cool.

It's too much effort to just go biking. Besides didn’t you hear about the guy that got hit by a car riding his bike? Safety and fear have crept in. We call it wisdom.

Money shouldn’t be wasted on frivolous things. There’s not enough of it to go around and we have to be on a budget. Lack is always around the corner. We bought that belief system hook, line and sinker. Can we just let go of that fear?

Where is our joy? Isn’t all of this just perspective? Can you jump on your bike or walk to the nearest corner mart and spend your dollar on something yummy … like joy? Can you take that dollar and go in the store and just focus of what you CAN buy with it? Wealth is a state of mind. What state is your mind in? What tapes do you play? Put in some truly old tapes, from the days of innocence and see the abundance you DO have. It’s just a shift of focus.

If you can’t ride that bike anymore, go take a walk. Try nature. It hasn’t changed. It’s still full of spring buds and life pushing up and popping out all over. It’s free. Can you just shift your focus to that?

Every action is new and interesting if we give it our full attention. We encounter people daily. Can we ‘spend’ the wealth of time with them? Who would receive more, you or them? A minute of real connection, a compliment, a listening ear, an eye contact, a smile; these are free and we both end up wealthy. Be present.

Now it’s your turn. Recall a time of your own innocence. Copy that emotional energy and bring it into this very now moment. It’s still there just under the surface. Give up worrying; it adds nothing. Act as if the world is your oyster and it will be. It is. It’s all in perspective. The endless joy of summer childhood is an option.