House of Apollo

In Roman mythology, when Jupiter ascended the throne of the gods, his father Saturn fled to Rome and established the Golden Age, a time of perfect peace and harmony. This makes the name Saturday, or “Saturn’s Day” seem all too appropriate, for Saturday is a day of perfect peace and harmony.

Saturdays are days when I get to sleep in and wake up late. A day for spending quality time with my wife and family. A day to enjoy the home, in fact the life, that me and my wife have worked to build. I am grateful for even the little things that happen on this day, like being able to prepare a leisurely lunch and eating at the kitchen table. How fantastic it is to get to spend time doing the activities I enjoy, such as relaxing on the couch reading a good book.

I simply love the calm and tranquil feeling that a slow Saturday provides. I forget about any stressors from the week, and just relax into the knowledge that today, there is nothing I need to do. There are no obligations except to slow down and let all the less relaxing feelings simply flow out of my body. There is a feeling of balance that this day gives me. It is as if the freedom which Saturday offers allows me to get in touch with my inner essence. And so I always leave Saturday feeling centered. But perhaps the best feeling Saturday provides is fun, a kind of joyful happiness that comes from spending time with the people I love, doing the things I enjoy. Saturday is truly a happy day.

I enjoy the thought that, while an individual Saturday may end, I need only wait for another seven days and Saturday is back! Saturday is called by the Jews the “Sabbath,” the seventh day when God rested from making his creation. Having a day of rest every week is truly important, which is why I make it a priority to maintain the restful and relaxing nature of Saturday in tact. And I know if I ask God to help me keep a Sabbath, he will, for God knows the value of a day of rest.

New day, new beginning. This morning I can see a line of trees out my window, and between the line of trees and the blue sky is a thick layer of white-yellow light. It is as if on the other side of the trees Apollo has laid his Helios orb on the ground as he once again prepares to put the sun in the sky for yet another day.

I am not sure what it is, but morning is often my favorite time of day. Not always. I admit, there are days when the alarm clock rings and there is nothing I want more in the world than to turn it off and go back to sleep. In the winter, my mornings are often dark, the days are short and so the sun still sleeps, which makes my body feel as if it, too, should be asleep. Other days the sun is up but hidden by dark clouds.

But not this morning. No, even as I write, the sun in all it’s glory is rising above the trees and beginning to shine over my piece of the earth. Somehow these mornings give me hope. Seeing that bright light rising gives me the feeling that something big is out there. That something large and wonderful is rising up from the horizon. The feeling that a new day means a renewed hope for unlimited possibilities. All the baggage of the past dissolves and leaves me at that moment. All I see is the luminous potential of what can be. All I see is a light that is rising and getting brighter.

I was taken by a beautiful image described in a recent post on Behold The Stars

The lotus begins in the mud, grows through the pond’s muddy water, and breaks the surface to produce a clean and beautiful flower. It grows beautiful despite its surroundings, despite its muddy beginnings. One of the most beautiful Buddhist symbols, the lotus represents a way to approach our lives. Like the lotus, we can rise above our environment to find peace and happiness.

It is a spectacular thing when I see the lotus growing in the souls of people. You often see it in young children who are living in conditions many would perceive as abject poverty. And yet I see no poverty in their spirit, just small kids with huge smiles on their faces, running, playing, laughing carefree, as if nobody has yet taught them that they should be miserable in such seemingly dire circumstances.

In fact these children are the ones who should do the teaching, for they do not limit their joy by the amount of mud they see around them. Oh, the old are wise, but for each dose of wisdom can come two doses of limiting beliefs, beliefs that can cause a wealthy corporate lawyer to sulk in misery because things at work didn’t go his way while poverty-stricken youth have the time of their lives playing with sticks and an old shoe.

My happiest moments are when I let my fears, anxiety, and expectations go, and simply live, accepting the circumstances around me as they are. And perhaps more importantly, accepting myself as I really am. But more than just accepting myself and my circumstances, I strive to be grateful for everything I’ve been handed, and see joy in the things other people take for granted. I believe that is part of the lesson the lotus can teach us, to not wait until conditions are perfect before attempting to grow, but to accept things as they are, to see in things the beauty other people don’t see, and to choose to prosper and grow in the blessed place you were given.

Sometimes I just turn on some Bach or Vivaldi, lay down somewhere comfortable, close my eyes, and smile. We live in amazing times, because in times past this type of luxury would never be possible. It is such a treat to have music of such quality and depth available with just one click on iTunes. Late Baroque music has an amazing ability to uplift my spirit. Yes, I enjoy Mozart and classical music too, but I simply love Baroque for the polyphony, the counterpoint voices, and the upbeat tempo.

As I sit comfortably with my eyes closed, I start to feel the music’s delightful sound actually coming into my head, as if it is occupying a space in my forehead.  I soon begin to feel myself disconnecting from my bodily form, carried away on a journey to a more beautiful and peaceful place.  I maintain a smile as I sit there with closed eyes, sometimes it’s natural, sometimes forced, but the result is always the same:  the smile uplifting the corners of my mouth begins to uplift my spirits to greater heights.

Often pictures will begin to form in my mind, powerful visual images of tranquility and joy; a cool lush green meadow, or perhaps a hidden sandy beach.  This is where the last of my senses finally turn inward as I hear the gentle crashing of the waves, taste the salty ocean air,  smell its reinvigorating scent, and feel the nourishing sun warm the surface of my skin along with the soft sand I feel under my feet.

And for a brief time I forget everything else, the noise of the world, the buzzing of thoughts in my head, as all goes quiet.   When I finally awake, renewed and vitalized, I thank God for the gift of music, the gift of musical talent bestowed up individuals, and the gift of mp3 technology that gives me the power to create these moments anytime I wish.

It is that time of year when the days are finally starting to grow longer. Five o’clock and the sun is still out. You can hear children playing outside, birds chirping, and the hum of cars in the distance. I stand on my deck to soak up those last minutes of sun shine. The air is cool and fresh; as I breathe it in it clears my head, but even more, it clears away the foggy thoughts. There is clarity from this point coupled with a sweet excited joy. I love these late afternoons.

People are coming home from work and families are reuniting. This is what you worked all day for: To come home, relax, slow down, and spend time with the people you love doing the things you enjoy. It really is quite worth it. I don’t kiss my wife as she gets home like in the movies, but she kisses me with her voice as she brightly says hello, as if totally happy to see me.

I take in this quiet moment because it makes me smile, it really makes me quite happy. Sometimes I wonder if one of the big secrets to happiness is just slowing down and breathing in deep. I am feeling good and don’t want this small moment to end. But now I smell barbecue emanating from somewhere nearby, and that gets me thinking….

Everybody is chasing things that will make them happy, but it is happy things that chase happy people. Pears do not grow on apple trees, and figs do not grow on pear trees. In the same way, happy fruit will not grow from angry trees, for happy fruit can only grow on happy trees. If you are angry then the fruit of your life will be more anger, and if you are sad the fruit of your life will be sad. But, if you are happy than the fruit of your life will be happiness.

When you desire a better car because you think you need a better car to be happy, then not having the better car will make you anxious, and your fruit will not be happiness - it will be anxiety and more things to be anxious about. But if you are grateful for the things you have, you will be happy, and your fruit will be more things which make you happy.

I like what John the Baptist says when he says that all trees will be examined, and if any tree does not bear good fruit, it will be chopped down and thrown to the fire. If something in your life is not bearing good fruit, chop it down and throw it to the fire so that you may make room to plant good trees in your life that bear you good fruit. When you do this, happiness will be your fruit.

Apollo, god of the light and sun. This Greek god has always held in me a special fascination. He is, after all, the god of the sun and light. The sun and the light happen to be two of my favorite things. I live high up in the northern latitudes, in a place where the sun often retreats, so every day that Apollo breaks through the clouds with sunshine is a gift. I do my best on these days to go outside and let the glorious sun shine on my face. My eyes, my pupils, open wide and absorb this greatness that they call light.

We all know what light is, and yet we know nothing about it, for the way that it shines through and defeats darkness is a mystery. All I know is that the light from the sun fills me with warmth, both literally and figuratively, and that I cherish each and every moment me and the sun are together. Helios Apollo, they call you the sun god, and they also call you the healer god, and that you should be both is no surprise. For your light shines brightly into my life and heals my soul. If you look into the sky and see the sun shining bright, understand that you are at this very moment blessed and thank God, the true Apollo, for his Son, the true sun. I do love the sun.