#12 Cherish Your Boogers!

So I sat down for lunch today, when a sudden ick fell upon my nose. We all know this ick. It’s the ick of a crust-bunny clogging up the back end of your nostril. Usually this type of thing comes from dust, but it can come from a dry room, or even dehydration. Whatever the case, the ick arrives. You know with absolute certainty that if you went in, you could liberate yourself from this crusted stain, forever free from its evil tyranny. 

So cautiously, I looked around. Lunch break seems to be a great time to sleep. Or socialize. Or otherwise not pay attention to me and my horrendous plight. So I took one last glance to make sure that I had alerted the gaze of absolutely nobody, and made the dive. Into my nostril I went, digging like a miner, in search of precious diamonds. And within seconds of vicious diggery, I had struck gold! Except, what I had thought would be a small piece of crust turned out to be an avalanche! I was Aladdin, touching treasure other than the lamp to awaken a fierce tidal wave of molten lava. 

With booger in hand, I made little hesitation. I thrust the beast into my now-empty lunch container and slammed down the lid. It was over. The beast was sealed, and no one had to know what had happened. 

Except for me, that is. 

And how sweet that release was! You would think I would feel guilty for committing to an act so shameful, but all I could feel was the sweet release. My nostril was free, and I couldn’t be happier. And as I went through my day, I realized how silly it is that we shun such a practice. I believe that everyone should experience the freedom of picking their nose at least once in their lives. Oh, how sweet it is to feel the release of freedom! I wish for all to know it! 

What if, sometimes, that’s what it takes to be free? What if our liberation is just on the other side of that thing we don’t want to do? Could it be that our greatest dreams require us to…get our hands a little dirty? What if dirtiness isn’t the “end-all, be-all” disaster that we thought it was? I say sometimes we have to push back on our understanding of good and bad to be able to enjoy the sweetness of life. 

And while such an idea may sound like I’m pushing you to do something questionable, dare I say even evil, I am talking more about the rough-and-tumblies of life. One of the greatest weapons in our arsenal is our ability to laugh. To make light of what should have been a darker moment. Laughing it off isn’t necessarily saying that the bad thing is now good, but it redeems the moment that has already happened. I have always said to myself “heck, this thing has already happened, why make misery out of it?” Laughter can often be our best form of redemption. 

So as we wrap up this chapter on cherishing our lives, laugh a little! Get up, get on your path, and cherish the journey. There will always be somewhere new to go and somewhere further that you’d like to be, but one of the best decisions you can make is to smile along the way. After all, without that cherishing spirit, all our hopes and dreams crumble, turning to sand in our hands that could never hold them anyway!

I pray that laughter finds you and that joy finds you wherever you are on your journey.

Until Next Time

May Peace be your Guide.