Pretty, shiny things from my neighborhood that make your day go pop!

You know when you are just walking down the street, and you catch, out of the corner of your eye, something of such great, right on, tremendous beauty, that you catch your breath a moment? You nod, you think, Right ON, and then on you go. A little surprise in your day. You were lucky. Maybe you were the only one that noticed. Maybe not.


Life has a lot of surprises. Some of them are super shiny and covered with frothy protrusions of every shape and size. Palm sized. Whatever. You just have to keep your eyes alert and open at all times to see them. Because maybe they start out covered up in mud or shit. Buried. All you see is the  mud at first.


I believe one of those secrets is, you have to keep looking for these things that shine. Happiness is not ready made. You know who told me that? The Dalai Lama, that's who. That guy is wise. That guy, he knows what to tell you when you're in a muddle. He's all about the Keep Calm and Carry On. Stiff upper lip and don't be an asshole.


Otterpop is pretty much an asshole. She has to work hard on her temper and all that. But she knows, she can just pick up a stick. She sees one that seems right, the one that sparkles shiny to her eye, and she picks it up, and she holds it tight. Then maybe throws it up in the air and goes and grabs it again in her nubbed out teeth. Her happiness, it isn't ready made. A lot of the time all she sees black. But when she gains her composure, even if that last stick got tossed away out to sea, she looks for the next one and pounces. No sitting around and moping. Look for a tiny sparkle and just go.