For my team, the Mets, today’s opening day. For baseball fans, it’s a yearly exercise in hope (often unreasonable) for a year of magic. There’s always something special about a pristine season where everyone starts at 0-0 and everything is possible (if not probable).
The cool thing about baseball is that it’s always there when you want it. I can out the Rays game on in the car. If I’m writing, I can listen to or watch any game that’s not the Rays on MLB.TV. It’s a blessing I probably won’t think twice about once the season rolls into gear.
Maybe it’s not baseball for you. Maybe the majesty of a sweeping 12-to-6 curveball when the batter’s sitting on a fastball doesn’t do it for you.
Whatever it is, those things that give your life a little extra color are often treated like extras, frivolous. Something around the edges.
Don’t let it be. Happiness isn’t frivolous. Those little joys that balance your life are just as important as the obligations often push their way to the front. Maybe it’s bird watching, or biking, or gardening. Maybe cooking a meal and having people over brings you contentment. Maybe it’s just finding a place no one knows and pulling out a book.
Sometimes that needs to come first, and you’re not selfish if you force it to from time to time.
The world is a lot of things. Parts of it epitomize the worst of what humanity can be. But there’s also plenty of magic to be found, if you look for it. Relief for those times when the worst of humanity forces its way into your life.
Chris Hamilton's Stuff 