The smiles that make you wonder

I am sitting here in a café and watching teachers grade exams for their students… as I take a break from a very draining work effort… I notice that one of these teaches has a desktop picture of kids from a third world of some kind… of course I am assuming that this is the case … but it very much like one of those pictures where all the kids have nothing but hope and smiles on their faces… the kind of thing where you can’t even image where they get it from considering the conditions that they live in… and it puts you in a totally different world of appreciation of sorts. The appreciation of what it is that is important to us in our lives… And so I am transported for this moment as I looked at that picture to a place where hope and joy fills the lives of these young kids…

And at the same time I am thinking of the pain and suffering of all the souls right now – people who have lost everything and having to start all over again and those who are the casualties of war … and everything seems so amplified – the pain the suffering.

The other feeling that comes over me tonight is one like in the scene of “Jesus of Montreal” – I remember watching that movie for the first time a few months back … watching it unravel slowly and just kind of watching and – then all of a sudden the movie takes this amazing turn –which hit me like a bug smashed on a windshield … and the scene at the end of the movie where he connects with everyone and their suffering. We are all so connected I hope we can pull together as people of this world in peace.

Then you have this moment of joy in the eyes of young kids – and just their joy has translated to overcoming the pain in the world for this moment - for me tonight … and I am also connected to the power of putting yourself out there… stepping out and sharing these thoughts with the world.

So I stand in my apartment in Oakland overlooking the skyline of Oakland tonight and feeling entirely grateful for all that I have been given in my life and wanting nothing more than to help make a difference in the world and connect with more people in the same spirit.

So I thank those kids for their smiles… hope and joy is contagious – smile when you feel like it – you never know who will be touched by your smile.