You Can’t Help But Smile.
But first, you have to notice.
She said, “You can’t help but smile,” as she described how wonderful it was to leave the house without wearing layers of clothes and lugging extra layers around in case she got cold.
In our part of the world, this is spring, a time of celebration when we no longer need layers of clothing and for the unfolding beauty that spring provides.
Sometimes, it feels as if we pile layer upon layer of lesson-learning upon ourselves as we weather the winter seasons of life.
But today, in the celebration of spring, instead of adding another lesson layer, let’s walk free of layers and enjoy the beauty and abundance of unfolding Life.
Spring is an interesting season.
It behaves like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, clutching his watch and muttering, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”
It moves fast. Blink, and you miss it. It requires attention and time to pause in order to fully appreciate and enjoy its show.
Driving down the street in the morning, the trees have a light, hazy coat of red or yellow. Returning in late afternoon, they have developed into wearing a many-shaded green coat of unfurling leaves.
We wait and wait for spring, but when it arrives, it only stays for a brief visit before making room for summer.
It’s as if during the winter, spring coils tighter and tighter upon itself—like a spring—and one day, it pops open, and the entire world is full of buds, leaves, daffodils, tulips, birds singing, grass growing, and warm sunshine.
The infinite array of blessings that arrive with spring is amazing.
Hawks circling high in the air, tiny flowers blooming on the lawn, from spring beauties to violets. Bees buzz, and hummingbirds return.
You can’t help but smile.
Spring asks us to pay attention to details because otherwise, we will miss the intricacy of a flower bud, the warmth of the sun, and the lengthening of the days.
If we pay attention and pause in our observations, we may feel and experience the force behind it all—the power of Love, knowing, and sharing Itself.
The artist Henri Matisse said this about love, “Nothing is more gentle than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing larger, nothing more pleasant, nothing more complete, nothing better—in heaven or on earth—because love is born of God and cannot rest other than in God, above all living beings. He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back.”
That’s what we smile about. We are smiling because we see the obvious presence and power of love.
We see it as nature in all its glory, in our friends and family, in good books and classes, in time with people, in time alone; all these are the outpourings of Love offered in such a way that we can see and appreciate it.
My mentor and friend, Dorothy, told me she never experienced poverty again once she realized Love was unlimited, and that meant she could love without limitations, which is exactly what she did.
Knowing her, you couldn’t help but smile.
Our grandson stopped by for the afternoon one spring. Well, his mom brought him by for a brief visit; at three months, he wasn’t quite ready to drive himself.
After they left, I couldn’t help but smile the rest of the day because he was literally an enormous ball of love. That was his only job, to be love.
I am sure Dorothy was saying the same thing.
Our job is to be an enormous ball of love, filled with gratitude for each moment we experience.
Because if we look closely, we see that all that springing, and growing, and gifting is Love Loving Itself.
For sure, knowing that, we can’t help but smile!
Here’s a book that may help you smile: Blooming Your Life