WORDS THAT AWAKEN: Eager

June 3, 2021, 4:43 a.m.

eager

            This morning, I’m hoping I can feel eager, all day, to see what the day will bring. I hope I can feel, all day, like I can’t wait to watch the miracles that will unfold in the coming moments. When Delycia sees me throughout the day, I hope she might see an ardent look on my face, as if something wonderful is always coming into view. The word ‘eager’ derives from the Latin word for ‘sharp’, and that’s what I want to be today – sharp, perceptive, observant, always alert for the coming marvels. And ‘sharp’ is what life will be like today, as it always is. Life itself will be quick-witted and clever today, always stylish and snazzy, and I want to be sharp enough – eager enough – to notice the fairy-tale spectacle of each passing moment. I want to be keen, all day, to stay at the exact center of life’s continuous extravaganza. What’s interesting is that the day itself, life itself, is always eager – always presenting itself in a wholehearted way. There’s no apathy, no laziness, in the way life presents itself moment by moment. Life – the universe, reality, experience – will be always passionate today, always earnest in its presentations. My toast and eggs at breakfast will be bright-eyed toast and eggs, my elderly hands will be enthusiastically elderly, and each ordinary moment will be avidly ordinary. The smallest breeze passing among Delycia’s peonies will flow in a fervent way, just like all the moments, and – I’m hoping – just like young 79-year-old Hamilton Salsich. 

Below is a view of the patio and gardens of our favorite resort. (Actually, no – it’s our beloved backyard and Delycia’s beloved gardens.)