Pause.

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate.
Give in to it.
There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be.
We are not wise, and not very often kind.
And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left.
Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world.
It could be anything, but very likely you notice it
in the instant when love begins.
Anyway, that’s often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty.
Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Mary Oliver. “Don’t Hesitate.” Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver.

Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are
before me. I vow to live fully in each moment
and to look at all beings with the
eyes of compassion.

Thich Nhat Hanh