Okay, now this is probably going to be a weird post coming from me, but yesterday I was sitting in a tire shop awaiting repair of a damaged tire (working on a manuscript while I waited), when in comes a mother with her twenty-something daughter, and the daughter’s infant daughter. The twenty-something was quite talkative, as most twenty year olds can be, but then the two of them get to playing with the twenty-something’s infant daughter–which got the infant to laughing.
Yeah, and it was here that I was taken right out of what I was doing, out of my world, and began actively listening to this child’s pure and unbounded laughter as I worked on a manuscript involving death and destruction. Now, of course I’ve heard plenty of infant laughter throughout my years on Earth, but in this one instant, this one moment in time…it really hit me in hard-to-define way, like all goodness in the world had suddenly converged….
It was so pure.
So crystalline.
So untouched by any of the ills of the world.
Most likely every mother reading this is nodding knowingly and going “Oh, yeah, you got it….” And it’s not like this has never been considered by me, but sometimes even the everyday sounds we all hear take on more depth, more resonance, an indefinably weird and heightened clarity that it’s like there is zero distortion in what we’re hearing or seeing…that the particular sound or sight was created just for you. No one else. That this particular sound has a message, and you’re finally getting close to metaphysically getting it….
That’s what this laughter sounded like.
It sounded like the joy and exhilaration and playfulness of life was trying to reach out and shake me…to let me know that, yes, it is still here, the joy, exhilaration, and playfulness of life…that no matter what else is out there, no matter how bad other things can be, there is also this.
The uncorrupted, unadulterated (pardon the pun) delight of living…the thrill of breathing, the pleasure of existing…in the moment and happy and blissful and amused by just being.
I don’t know the age of the infant, don’t know at what age actual wonder sets in to the developing infant mind, and I never saw him or her…but for that one moment in the microcosm of that tire shop, the unfettered joy of that infant’s laughter caused much more than just a physical smile. I felt the playful energy in that infant’s laughter and soul pick me up and shake me silly.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s what we all need every now and then–and perhaps a little more in today’s times…to smile…a deep, soul-affecting, blissfully elated smile.
This is a brilliant and well written post. I tried liking it but word press didn’t like me. I recommend you add facebook and twitter so we can like you a lot.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium
Wow, thank you, Nancy, for your kind words. Thank you. And I already do have this linked to both, so feel free to go on in and “Like it a lot!”
Nice moment, captured nicely.
Maybe we should pipe infant laughter into boardrooms, and legislative chambers.
B^)
You know, THERE’S a thought, Ron! :-]
Thank you for sharing this, Frank. I smiled AND had goosebumps while reading it.
Wow–really? GOOSEBUMPS?! And you are most welcome, Janet!
Nice post, Frank. It’s funny but this morning I went for a swim and it sort of dawned on me half way through my workout that it was a special moment/event. The more I thought about it the happier I became until I started smiling. The other swimmers probably thought I was a bit daffy but I didn’t care. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
You see THAT is cool! You’re aware of these kinds of moments. I’ve had many such moments, and they’re so cool, cause there’s such an added depth that nearly defies explanation. And yes, they do tend to put “daffy smiles” on our faces, but, yeah, so? Way to go, Mark! You’re most welcome, and thanks for stopping by and for your comments!
Yesterday my daughter-in-law posted a video on facebook of my grandson laughing as he was being tickled. It lifted my spirits and I watched it several times. Thanks for sharing your story and reminding us that wonder and joy still exist when there’s so much bad news.
It’s so easy to forget the other side of life when we’re bombarded with the negative. I recently had some pretty in-depth discussions with a friend of mine about world events, and I feel this little event was a direct result of that. Synchronicity. It’s not that the negative is or should be so much “ignored,” as we should focus more on the positive, try to draw in more of the positive and constructive into our lives. It’s a fine line. If we believe in “like attracts like” (and MANY of us at least give great lip service to this phrase…) then either it always works or it never works; there’s no “it only works sometimes.” So…try to draw more positive into all our lives and that will attract…like.
Thank you for stopping by and thank you for your comments, Jill!
What a wonderful observation, Frank. We’re so busy rushing through our days, we often miss the simple pleasures that awaken our senses and have the ability to bring great joy. For me it was the sweet song of birds the other afternoon. At first I was annoyed because I had the sliders open and trying to concentrate on something, then I thought: what a beautiful sound and was thankful that I could hear their music. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Adrienne
Thank you, Adrienne–and thank you for taking the time and having the presence of mind to “hear the music.” :-]
I love those moments of joyful clarity. I’ve been trying to write my first really dark book and finally discovered that as much and I love the unbridled laughter of my kids, it makes it really hard to stay dark long enough to get all the work out.
On the other hand, they are the perfect snap back to reality after a long day of imagining and living horrible things in my head and on the page!!
Glad you had your moment of light! We all need those.
And that is an issue with working on “dark projects” for the year or more it takes to complete them–you have to focus on the dark and the nefarious (I love that word…). So, yes, it’s great you have a way to get away from it all! Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for a beautiful, meaningful post.
One key to these moments, I think, is that they sneak up on us. It doesn’t work nearly as well, for me at least, to try to create it.
If you’re open to the possibility, you may get the joy of a baby’s laugh in the tire shop, or the exuberance of a woman’s laughter in the long lines at Target. Some dry place in the soul is refreshed.
You’re most welcome, Jane, thank you. I think the key is as you say, to not so much as “try to create” them (but who am I to impose limitations on such things…)…but to let them manifest in our lives…to be open to them. To have the presence of mind to not push them off as something stupid and to be ignored. There’s all kinds of “cool stuff” out there if we’re just open to them….
Frank:
You WERE that laughing baby, 50 years ago!
Mommy
Awww, Maaaaaa! But, thank you! Just glad you said “50 years ago” and not NOW….
Thanks for reading, Mom! :-]]]