The best things in life are free!

Even though the proverbial best things in life are free, by no means do they come easy. Achieving the best things even the free; takes effort. The bottom line remains, you can’t expect the best things if you don’t do the right things. Take me for instance, only when I took the necessary steps was I able to enjoy some of the “free” things that life had to offer, and only because I identified earlier on what the best things meant for me based on my value system. I didn't have to venture far but I had to sacrifice a few things such as some of my favourite TV shows, sleeping in on the weekends, and even some of my family time in pursuit of the free. It paid off because, there is nothing I could compare to sitting by a stream or a swift moving river listening to the chirping of birds, with the sun’s rays peeping through the branches like sparkling diamonds at the break of dawn, to the backdrop of the relaxing, melodious sound of the water as it makes its way to the ocean in the cool of a lovely summer’s morning.        

Or watching the sun slowly rising over the city as I sit on top of a hill and breathe in the fresh morning air as the first rays of the sun hits my face (an hours’ journey or more worth every step) or, to watch the sun going down over the horizon, stretched out on my back on grass as soft as carpet, looking up at the infinite sky while clouds floats lazily by; immersed in the warm glow of the setting sun as it permeates my cells and orange is no longer a colour but a feeling. Acutely aware of the fact that as it disappears it is rising somewhere else, ushering in a new day with new promises of hopes and dreams and possibilities like the one I just had. How about to  be in total bliss  as I marvel at the heavens as
the stars sparkle like diamonds, wrapped tightly in my lover’s arms on a cool summer’s night, or watch my children search the night skies for dippers or  shooting stars -  priceless.   These are some of the things that remind me of who I am and where I fit in the bigger scheme of things, and of how minute and temporary I am on this little planet - Earth. Most importantly I had to remember that not everyone valued the same things. It had to be a personal choice, which meant charting my own course and being confident enough not to be influenced by the choice of others. It took courage for me to decide that I didn't want to imitate the self-appointed victors who moonlight as critics of the masses. Even though I crave material beauty like everyone else, I had to deal with the hand life dealt me with self-love, patience and understanding for my own well-being.  I had to reach beyond the physical to the things that made me feel balanced and connected to something greater – Source. Living a life of simplicity; interpreting beauty and success through my own eyes, somewhere off ...