Take A Tour

                                                             Everyday is a brand new day,
                                                                everyday is a journey.



As morning hears before it run
The music of the mounting sun,
And laughs to watch his trophies won
From darkness, and her hosts undone,
And all the night becomes a breath,
Nor dreams that fear should hear and flee
The summer menace of the sea,
So hear our hope what life may be,
And know it not for death.

--Algernon Charles Swinburne.

There are moments in our lives where we cannot see the rainbow for all the struggles, trials or just plain humdrum of life. Sometimes, we need to be reminded of what we have. Sometimes, we need to take a tour of what we have.

As I sit in my favorite chair in my living room, something I rarely get a chance to do, I take a long look around the room. In one corner stands my bookshelf, already spilling over with several books onto the floor. On the other side of it, stands another, filled with all my music boxes and carousels. On the wall an oil painting is hanging that my mom bought at Sears Tower over forty years ago. Of course, it's no longer known as the Sears Tower, but Willis. My beautiful rocking chair, something I've always wanted, stands next to the front door. 

These are all my treasures, my personal trinkets that mean so much to me. There is a story, a sort of history, behind each item in this room. The same can be said of every room in this apartment. I can walk into the bathroom and see the picture of flowers that Emily painted for me when she was young. In the bedroom, a framed letter from Joey hangs upon the wall that he wrote before my surgery. 

Yeah, life has had many ups and downs, but it also had many beautiful memories wrapped up into a special gift that no one can take from me. We forget these moments way too fast when the days turn sour. We have no problem remembering the awful stuff. Isn't that a shame? It should be the other way around.

Beautiful memories dissipate into the cold atmosphere, lasting only seconds while anger smolders into a full blown fire. Why is that? I have seen so many friendships and partnerships end bitterly, everyone forgetting the love that brought them together in the first place. I think we all need to take a tour of our lives. A slow tour, taking in every precious item so full of memories. So many stories to tell, to remember. Won't you take that moment?

Have a blessed day everyone.