One moment we seem to be wandering through life, lost and confused. And then, all of a sudden, life gets really, really good.
You find yourself riding the metro home in the dark on a week night, buzzed off a pitcher of margaritas, smiling ear to ear about your day. You stumble upon a new coffee shop on your way to work and the smell of coffee becomes that much sweeter. You go out for a hike and wander onto a trail that overlooks this beautiful river and you feel on top of the world. Day after day you laugh until your belly hurts, with new friends and old friends each special and unique, each bringing an incredible joy to your life.
Nothing big happens. No huge surprise. No magnificent moment. But each tiny moment strung together in a series of images flashes in your mind and you dance sillily in your seat, smiling ear to ear, because you know this is it. This is happy. This is life.
This is living — living like you’ve always wanted. You are where you once dreamed to be. You’re not rich or famous or saving the world, but you are alive. So alive. You know you’re doing all you’ve ever wanted… And perhaps it’s not because you’ve reached all your goals and made all your dreams come true, but for once in your life you are finally on what feels like the right path to do so.
Maybe you don’t even know what those dreams and goals really are. I know I don’t. In this moment I have no more clarity than I did when I thought I was sad because I was lost. But that’s simply it — I was lost. I lost myself because I thought life was about those big milestones.
But in the small moments is where I found this place of insane happiness. I am surrounded by amazing people. I have a job that excites me each morning. I’m studying exactly what I am passionate about. I can’t afford everything I want but I have absolutely everything I could ever need. It’s a glass half full kind of thing… I have more than enough. And in that, I am rich.
I feel love wrap around me each day like a warm blanket on a cold winter evening. I hear laughter even when it’s not near because there is a constant ringing of happiness in my head & heart. My soul sings loudly to the world as I open it to be vulnerable to the universe. I am free.
Evan Petschke 