Pork Chops and Positive People

The first bite of pizza when the hunger pangs are folding in on themselves in your stomach was always something I appreciated and recognized as a source of happiness. Or how about a sip of rich coffee after a bite of cheesecake has melted on your tongue? Delicious, satisfying and something that makes you fall back in your chair and relish.

When I was in college, my roommates and I made a list of all those things that made us sit back and relish, even if it was only a 2 second recognition. I forget many of the things, but here is what I remember:

1. Putting on a warm pair of pajamas (straight from the dryer).
2. The pain in the apple of your cheeks after a full-blown laughing fit.
3. The cashmere silence of a morning snowfall.
4. The dividing line between hard laughter and appreciative crying - that moment when it can go either way.
5. A compliment.

Those are only five things I can remember, although after we posted it on our dorm room door, we found that the girls across from us (who were kicked out for partying) had written their own comments on ecstasy. The three additions to our list of 25 were as follows:

1. The first hit of a bong.
2. Puke and rally.
3. An orgasm with someone you know.

To each his own, I guess. Our list was a hit and we ended up taking the moments of all of our dorm buddies and making a comprehensive list. (I have it somewhere and as soon as I am done writing this, I know I'll be going crazy trying to find it).

As I write this, I realize that doing things like that are essential, and I have since started writing things down - things that catch in my throat. A great passage of a book, a glance that says something essential about the character of another person, the clean, pure knowledge of knowing who you are and exactly what you want in your life... finally!

In the last few months, moments have accumulated, but more importantly the accumulation has been of positive things. I seek and I receive happiness, and it's because I have opened myself up to people, revealed my insecurities as a fact but not a factor of who I am. This positive approach to life has magnetized me! I am wonderfully surrounded by positive people. This positive approach is the secret to happiness... because by staying positive, faithful and kind, I've found a greater happiness than I have ever imagined. Positive people - they recognize the tastes on their tongues, the sounds in their ears, the sights before them and the feelings inside of them. I am happy to have them in my life because I know on the days I'm not feeling all there, they'll provide the missing piece as I have and will try to do for them.

One more thing: Pork chops are the most underrated food on any restaurant menu. Next time you see them on the menu, order them - you will not be disappointed.