is the 1st of twelve articles for light holiday reading in my 2020 series of Tom's Summer Shorts. The tales are a blend of my real life experiences, professional insights, personal views and fun stories. My hope is that in them you find joy and inspiration.
Dawn's first glimmer of light glanced into the bedroom in company with a cool morning air. The breeze brushed my chest with the softness of a mandolin lovingly strummed. Erna too felt it, her back being bared to the open window. She murmured a soft moan of appreciation. Slowly we awoke.
Avocado, strawberries, rye bread, olive oil and spring water followed our arisal - subtle stimulations to taste to supplement our physical stirring from slumber. On the terrace, shielded from the sun still low and red to the east, we lingered long, unwilling to release ourselves from the languor of night fantasies and the lazy opening strands of day. Why move on? Whatever awaited further on in time, however enticing, could not surpass the idyll of the moment. Within that realisation lies the source of true happiness.
Happiness, you see, is not life as in a perpetual belly laugh. Sure, that is fun. I'd recommend that you do it heartily and often. But true happiness is the contentment deep in your spirit which embraces you unflinchingly at all times. At some unexpected moments you feel it wrap itself around you, cling to your being and envelope your very soul as if in a warm chocolate goo. Yes, happiness is sticky! Once found, your inner self will not easily let it go.
So, seek out happiness. Look for it in doing the things for which you have the greatest passion. Not only will that please you, it will please others and inevitably help them in some way in their lives. Doing what you love always rubs off on other people. That is the first great realisation of true happiness.
The second great realisation of true happiness – and it will find you – is coming to appreciate the value of life's simple pleasures; those things which many people regularly take for granted and fail to fully appreciate. Are you daily grateful for fresh air, cool water, shelter, food, nature in all its forms, family, friends, love and, yes, laughter? You should be. They are not only the building blocks of happiness, they are the finished product. There is no further life experience beyond relishing these fundamentals from which to draw greater joy.
Understanding this gloriously simple reality, seeking it out and installing it in your life is a time of immense spiritual awakening. It is in fact, the greatest awakening of all. An awakening surpassing even the subliminal dawn of which I write – and that is saying something!
I am Tom Riach. I live and write in the sunny south of Portugal.
My latest novel is 'Too Early For A Glass Of Wine?' Claim your copy by clicking on the image below.
AWAKENING is an original copyright Tom Riach feature.
I hope you enjoyed this Summer Short and found it to be of value.
To learn more please visit me on my Author Page.
See you there! Regards, Tom.
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