Things I Love

I met an extraordinary person recently who keeps a list of things she loves, which seems like really good exercise to do every now and then. Actually, it's a good exercise to do every moment of your life. If you're not doing what you love, what is the point of life?

Earlier, I posted Myths of Our Time, which was about what I consider to be the misguided values of our Western culture. But what do I know, really? Do I have a right to judge others, who arrive at this moment as the sum of their experiences? I haven't lived their lives.

So, this is entirely personal. Things I like to do. Things I like to experience. Things that make me want to jump out of bed feeling relaxed and peaceful and looking forward to the day, instead of saying, "Oh, crap!" It's in no particular order and subject to change and updating. If this list lies fallow, put a mirror to my nose to see if I'm breathing.

I love:

• That time in the evening when the sky is aglow at the horizon and fades to deep blue above, especially when there is a crescent moon and Venus in the western sky
  
• Sunlight reflecting on water
  
• Music of all kinds: loud, soft, fast, slow, with or without lyrics, it doesn't matter, so long as it moves me
  
• People who understand we are all part of something bigger, more resilient than ourselves
  
• Being a father
  
• Having two amazing sons and watching them grow up (still, as men)
  
• Thunder and lightning, especially when it's very close
  
• Big, fat snowflakes drifting slowly to the ground
  
• A full moon rising over the mountains you didn't expect
  
• A full moon rising over the mountains you did expect
  
• A sky so dark and full of stars the Milky Way gets lost in it
  
• Homemade soup by the fire on a cold, rainy day
  
• Touching the earth by pausing barefoot on a patch of dirt in the front yard when I pick up the newspaper in the morning
  
• A cold, fresh navel orange off my tree after a long bike ride
  
• A long bike ride or hike in the mountains
  
• A long bike ride or walk on the beach
  
• A long bike ride or hike anywhere, so long as there is no industrial noise or evidence of the machines that created it
  
• Clean air to breathe
  
• Clean water to drink
  
• The sound of the wind as it rustles the needles of a thick stand of pine trees
  
• Days when I don't start my car
  
• The view from atop a tall mountain peak
  
• The act of getting to and from the top of a tall mountain peak
  
• The sound of a mountain stream
  
• Listening to that sound with your eyes closed
  
• The sound and rhythm of the ocean, especially at night, when you can't anticipate the waves
  
• Fresh-baked bread right out of the oven
  
• The scent of the hops when home-brewed beer is cooking on the stove
  
• Licking the malt extract off the spoon before it goes into the home brew pot
  
• Dark chocolate (the darker the better)
  
• Café mocha
  
• Reading David Sedaris
  
• Listening to Davis Sedaris read David Sedaris
  
• Watching people laugh and smile
  
• Making people laugh and smile
  
• People who take seriously the work we need to do to make the world a better place
  
• People who can do that without taking themselves seriously
  
• Being able to get the printed version of The Onion from a newsstand in San Francisco
  
• San Francisco
  
• Spending a day doing nothing but walking around and photographing San Francisco
  
• The guy who plays makeshift drums on the sidewalk near the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero
  
• The Embarcadero
  
• The Ferry Building
  
• Taking the steps to Coit Tower
  
• Golden Gate Park
  
• Café Zoetrope
  
• North Beach Pizza and an Anchor Steam
  
• New York City
  
• The New York City subway
  
• Rockefeller Center at Christmas time
  
• Central Park
  
• The Met
  
• Seeing Van gogh and the Impressionists at the Met
  
• Times Square
  
• Washington Square
  
• Broadway, or not: Pick a theater, let's go!
  
• Music that makes me feel something
  
• Words that make me feel something
  
• Movies that make me feel something
  
• Creating something that makes other people feel something
  
• Playing the guitar until my fingers are so sore I can't
  
• A fresh, crisp, slightly tart apple in Autumn
  
• Memories of good times with my late sister Cheryl and my dad (rest in peace)
  
• Still having my mom, the last person who will ever call me "Donny"
  
• Being so far ahead you can raise your hands in the air when you win a bike race
  
• Not setting an alarm
  
• A full day of not having to be anywhere or do anything at any particular time
  
• The kittens Gracie and Suzy falling asleep together on my lap
  
• Staying in a cabin in Red's Meadow
  
• Rainbow Falls in Red's Meadow when the sun hits just right
  
• Riding my bike to Forest Falls around the time of my birthday when the lady bugs hatch en masse
  
• Checking my bike and clothing for tiny red hitch-hikers when I get home, then setting them free
  
• The sound of rain pattering on the window ledge
  
• Watching a spider spin its web in the evening
  
• Watching a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis
  
• Tiger Swallowtail butterflies
  
• Moments of beauty, flashes of enlightenment