Here I was, putting the cart before the horse, or to put it another way, thinking that it was the tail wagging the dog. I began to remember some of the simple rules of life that Gideon had taught me: live one day at a time; do the best with what you have; love and help one another. In the process of remembering these truths I became extremely elated. The joy of these recollections generated considerable excitement in my mind, and before I knew it, everything seemed well with the world. It was as if I had just taken off dark sunglasses and was finally able to see clearly. I had been living in the past, but had not actually been brilliantly alive in the present.

I continued my walk, noticing things that I hadn’t noticed before. The trees seemed to be more alive, the flowers more beautiful,and I was aware of butterflies floating gently around me. A passing motorist waved and smiled. I picked up a pinecone and tossed it with unbounded pleasure at a lamppost something I hadn’t done in years. I felt vibrant, alive, and at one with the world.

I reached the point where I usually would have turned around to walk back home. I stood there for a moment and looked up at the sky. How blue and beautiful,I observed,with clouds chasing one another across the span. The wind ran races through the growing grass, and way off in the distance I could hear a dog barking. There I was, in the center of a whole new world that was not really new at all. I looked at my hands and feet,felt the sweat on my brow and realized that all my physical being was just a part of the universal scheme of things. There was order in the world and order in the universe, and even though at times the order might be disguised by the pressures of everyday living, it was there gloriously every moment of our lives.

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