I used to think that when I had read a book, watched a movie or listened to a message, I knew the contents. I now realize that is partly true. I can usually recite some part of such material but not the entirety, by any means. We used to say there is a big difference between recall and recognition. Sitting alone with a pencil and pad, I can list some parts of a book or set of ideas but not usually bring every part to mind. Then, with a little prompting, I may recall more. Given a multiple choice test, I may recognize which passages or ideas were mentioned in the book and which were not.
I have read and thought about happiness and how to have it. But a couple of months ago, Lynn picked up "100 Ways to Happiness", a small book on sale at Barnes and Noble. It is filled with snippets explaining an idea or practice that may increase one's happiness. It wasn't the sort of book one would normally read through, like a novel. I read aloud to Lynn many evenings while she does a jigsaw puzzle so she began reading one snippet each morning at breakfast.
We both enjoy having our heads refreshed in the contemplation of happiness and finished the whole book. The practice of her morning reading aloud was fun and intimate so when we finished the book, she thought of another to continue on with. We are now into "Everyday Sacred" by Sue Bender, also author of "Plain and Simple".
"Everyday Sacred" is a very powerful title. Of course, we aren't going to live in a way that we actually are aware of each moment being sacred but in a way, it is. The fastest way I know to refresh my awareness of the steady miracle of life is to think of my mother's ashes. Once she was alive and vibrant but she is not now. ( I would not only like to have an hour with her, I would like that hour to be when she was 40 or 50, not 88 as at her death.). But I and many people that I love and enjoy are alive now. Many sacred, fleeting and lovely opportunities are here now.
I can be aware of them better when I get my awareness refreshed. Sermons, poems, photographs, text messages, short readings can all remind me to look around and see beauty in people, places and things to enjoy.
