ARE YOU HAPPY?

Photo by S. Auberle

At the opening of an art exhibit last night, a woman I hardly know walked up to me and, after the requisite amount of small talk, asked are you happy? There was so much noise I wasn't sure I'd heard her, and she said again, are you happy? I was stunned. How often does anyone ask you that, let alone someone you barely know?

At the guitar concert afterward, as I drifted with the music, the words kept swirling through my mind.

And then I knew--yes I was happy--to be hearing the notes of this haunting song, composed in 1509, and for the way it connected me to the man who had written it so long ago. I was happy for Tom Sheely--the guitarist, in his tux and tails and his neat, snowy beard and mustache. I was thrilled to watch him on stage--in front of 200 people, yet alone--making love to his guitar and I was happy for being allowed to feel that love.

I was happy, later, to walk out into a cold night, under the great lion constellation, and look for shooting stars of the Leonid meteor shower. There were none visible, but it didn't matter--all the other stars and a quarter moon in the satin sky were more than enough.

And most of all, I was happy that there are still people in the world who care enough, even when they hardly know you, to ask are you happy?

If there's no one around to ask, ask yourself...the answer might surprise you...

- mimi