My day was made really special and beautiful yesterday because of the kindness of other human beings and because I was able to have a really wonderful interaction with a stranger. I felt great for hours afterward-- totally fulfilled and profoundly satisfied with my life. This got me to thinking about what makes people happy and fills them with joy. We search for fulfillment in various ways, but what are the root causes of happiness? I suspect it all comes down to love and connection with others.

What happened yesterday that catapulted me into a state of near-bliss started when I was playing meditation music in Harvard Square in my hometown, Cambridge, MA. I was enjoying myself anyway-- it was a totally gorgeous day, cool, breezy and sunny!-- and the musical improvisations were flowing pretty effortlessly through me. I'm sitting there playing to a steady stream of passers-by, many of whom are in town for the River Festival nearby. Many smiles and nice tips, and a few CD sales. But along comes a lovely man with a beaming smile who makes eye contact and smiles at me, looking somehow familiar. I'm finishing a musical arrangement, so he stops to talk, and I find out he's elated to see me and Jonathan again-- he hasn't seen us playing music for years (now it's just me playing, but Jonathan was at my side). He tells us "It makes me so happy to see you still together, clearly still loving each other after 20 years." He listens to my music awhile, moves on down the street, and a few minutes later he's back with an incredibly beautiful bouquet of roses and exotic flowers for us. I was totally taken aback by such loving-kindness.

Then a little while later a street performer (a musician) appeared in front of me as I was taking a short break, and I recognized him as a guy who had yelled crazily at me about a month ago, evoking a strong reaction from me which I immediately regretted. I had gone home and meditated for awhile to bring light to the situation, forgiving both him and myself and sending him love. Well, the first words out of his mouth were "I want to apologize profoundly to you for the terrible way I treated you the last time I saw you." :-) I hugged him and apologized for the way I had responded to him, and we are even better friends now.

Finally, I noticed a young man in a wheelchair panhandling across the way from me near the bank, and at some point I saw him rip up his cardboard sign and mutter something. When I finished playing I counted my tips, put the bills in my wallet, and took the change, which amounted to about a dollar, and went over to him and asked if I could give him some change. He was very thankful, and started a conversation with me about what was going on in the world and our community; he was really sweet. He had ripped up his sign and prepared to leave, because someone had yelled at him and accused him of being a whining crybaby, and it had made him feel really bad. We had a great conversation about the current economic struggle of the poor and middle class in the U.S., and I went and got another homeless person's cardboard spare change sign that had been abandoned nearby and gave it to him, encouraging him to feel good about who he was and to go right ahead and panhandle, knowing that most of the people in Cambridge are supportive of him.

What makes YOUR heart sing? Is there a common thread that runs through all your peak experiences, and if so, what is it?

Just wonderin'.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

Reading things like what you just wrote!

The Stock Market makes my heart sing

:-) Thanks Sundancer, for a big smile, Lois, for a hearty laugh. Love ya both!

You're welcome! And thinking about the common thread that runs through my peak experiences, I would have to say a combination of synchronicity, mystery, a lesson, a sense that there is a much bigger picture, and love.

true connection

it is sacred grounds

i revere it

For many many years I would set up a small Christmas village on our mantle,with the fire burning,the holiday music playing,and many times looking out the window to see snow falling outside on a crisp December afternoon.I did this totally alone,and those were some of the most peaceful moments in my life.

This same state of mind has carried over into many hobbies I have.
Just that total absorption in what you are doing in the moment.
So most of my heart singing moments have been alone.
I guess its the way I am.

Brian



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2008 04:11PM by Raw1228.

that's cool

Vegans.

Late Beethoven piano sonatas.

My doggies.

Tall trees.

True entrance into the NOW moment. When the excuses dissapear, and the love is flowing. When we have our faces to the sun, and our hand open to our fellow man.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

The Gratful Dead, but it broke when Jerry s broke, Still have Phil and Friends-still beating rock on! this site not eating animals.
YOU ALL riverhousebill

Thanks guys-- you're all so diversely fabulous and open-hearted.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

climbing trees
being at the crown of it
looking down

looking up at the sky
feeling like ...

Oh,thats a good one too..climbing a tree.
I remember a 75 ft tall maple I used to climb in my neighbors yard.
At the top could see downtown Philly,and I was 25 miles away from it.
Great memory.
Brian

trees are my friends

As Sundancer stated, your post made my heart sing.

My heart sings when nature overpowers me and the only appropriate response is to bow down in reverence, rapturously dance to the rhythm that surrounds me or throw my hands up to the stars while my spirit soars to infinite depths. Anything that causes me to reflect on great mystery of existence while reveling in the astounding beauty of nature causes my heart to sing. Hope, love and gratitude make my heart sing. I love the wild wilderness inside us and outside us all. Animals make my heart sing. They put me in tune with a part of myself that civilization has attempted to make me reject since birth. Reflecting on the vastness of the cosmos while gazing up at the stars, swimming in the ocean (one of my favorite things), forests, mountains, beaches, hot springs, streams, caves, plants, and much more, all make my heart sing. When I meet people with a certain light surrounding them, who reflect a genuine quality and whose boundary of 'self' reach far beyond their immediate existence to embrace the entire earth, my heart sings aloud. Deep and honest connections with other people make my heart sing.