So much of my day revolves around how I see things. I was driving on the Vespa to the train this morning and I am thinking about my timing and where in the bus stop route I will get stopped. I know if I am late or if I am early based on where I get momentarily delayed. I also think how much of my life is taken up commuting, going into NYC, and working at my job. Am I solving world peace? Am I getting any younger? Am I going to look back on my life and think that was awesome!??

I do think that no matter how much money you have, it is the relationships you enjoy that give you the most pleasure. I could be sitting with my family out back on the porch laughing and enjoying the sunshine, or I could be sitting atop a beautiful yacht with my family laughing and my pleasure in that moment might be largely the same. I guess I do need to perform this test, so I’ll be reaching out to the crown princes of Europe to borrow their yacht for a quick test…

I don’t know if you get it, but I am starting to feel that as things are constantly changing on the surface, the important stuff is just underneath, and we should pay attention to it. Last night our family was talking about practicing their instruments because their music teachers have been complaining, and we pay a lot of money for those lessons. I have to say that the Sunday afternoon concerts at Norwalk Youth Symphony are the most beautiful days I have ever experienced, as the sun shines in and the classical music is played by a symphony of talented young musicians. It is pure joy.

Riding on the Vespa today I thought about the weather and finally enjoying the fact that I can ride a scooter to the train. The leaves and flowers are blooming, and I easily could have focused on how much time I do not spend enjoying the weather as I spend most of the daylight hours in a train and an office.

But I checked myself and realized that I AM spending every moment in this beautiful weather. Even though my commute and my job take up almost all of the daylight hours, I enjoy or should enjoy what I do and with whom I work. I have known colleagues who died right after retirement, or of my father who died before retirement… I had better see the value and seize the enjoyment of every day. The kids may not want to play their particular instruments, but they should enjoy creating music and playing for enjoyment, like their Uncle Peter who plays the piano every day. There may be other jobs that I want to do, but the key underlying is the value of the work that I do. Does it help others? Does it help the world?

So that’s what I mean when I say the important stuff is just underneath. Its so easy to get wrapped up in the dynamics of the day, and complain about or fight the wind and the currents. Like the sea that can be windy and turbulent on the surface, yet when you get just below you feel the calm and quiet, and see a new amazing world that is totally different from the world just a few feet above. It is finding the importance below that keeps you sane. Getting below the drudgery of practice, getting below the yelling and the fighting, getting below the tasks and todo lists, getting below the reorganizations and personnel changes, and finding the common goals, the creating a life with order, the remembering the love, and finding the music. Finding those finds are what keep me going with a smile on my face.