Peace in Silence

"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence." --Max Ehrmann

I have begun to take a peculiar delight in small pleasures. I have begun, in fact, to fully reject the slimy decadence of a constant desire for something better, the very disease that runs our current America. I find myself these days enjoying the taste of a ham and cheese sandwich, a moment of peace, or the way the light plays on a curved glass, as though I were recently released from bondage in some foreign cave. I find myself appreciating things in a way that is crudely represented by the phrase, "looking on the bright side." It is more than that, however; it is to purely ignore that which is unpleasant, insofar as it is safe to do so, and to accept and enjoy that which is enjoyable. For, why reject joy?

On Fridays I have a 7:30 AM lab, which was primarily a terrible idea, and which invariably means I do not get enough sleep the night before. However, when I am walking to class, I do not mind it at all. There are few people on campus at that hour and the air is generally pleasant. There was one Friday morning that I experienced an impossibly beautiful fog, and quite delighted in strolling through the soft air. Last week, the sky was an absolute symphony as the sun rose and spread his colors throughout the variously-shaped clouds, the visual incarnation of a loud and vibrant music, played for me and me alone since no one else seemed to hear it. To notice this, and not my desperate need for coffee, indicates that perhaps amid the homework and the noise I have found some small, perfect note of peace.