Happy Thoughts

Today, news channels reported actor and beloved entertainer Robin Williams  passed away, secondary to an apparent suicide brought on by severe depression.

This evening, my youngest son and I watched "Hook."  Directed by Steven Spielberg, this 1991 film is one of my top three favorite movies of all time. It captures the worst of adulthood and the best of childhood, wraps it up with imagination, silliness, adventure and joy, then delivers hope with a moral to remember what is important about being alive.

My son, Mason and I sat together on the sofa and laughed after the movie finished. The joy of the characters filled our souls and we just sat there and laughed with this strange kind of full joyful peace. Truly, it was hard to stop smiling and laughing!

More than six feet long on the sofa next to me, Mason came into this world at just over six pounds in 1993, small enough to lay out on my lap. By the time Mason arrived, the lesson of "Hook" made its impression on my soul. Happy thoughts. Remember happy thoughts. Remember to play. Remember, intentionally remember the sweet stuff, the laughter, the good feelings. Remember people matter most. Love matters most.

In the movie, Peter Pan forgot how to fly. His situation demanded that he practice happy thoughts again! Now! Forced into being happy. What an idea.

One could say his happy thought resembles what business people or professional coaches call a "Big Why": a cause, a mission, a focused and articulated reason behind what someone does.

At 16 or 17, not sure when, I promised myself that I would "rise above the ashes." I set my mind, heart and soul to not repeating the chaos and need of growing-years experiences in my adult life. No, whatever the price, it would not pass through me to the next generation. This decision became my primary motivating drive for the next three decades.

Then I realized I missed something. Targeting what I did not want, I forgot to aim at what I did want. I did not have a "happy thought" as part of my personal mission. Before Mason's birth, I learned to hold onto good memories, sweet moments and savor them, keep them in my pocket and pull them out when I needed to get through difficult times or simply enjoy the good times again. But, this simple practice did not influence my actions and relationships enough to create more positive results for my mission.

Now, with my sons all grown, I see. Winning the fight, I gathered only half of the treasure.

Another decade rises with the sun tomorrow. The treasure waits. It calls an invitation with exquisite patience.

Yes. I'm on my way.

I pray Williams found his happy thoughts again, where ever he is.