Bus 9 to Paradise

I was at a used bookstore today and found a whole bunch of books that I had read years ago. 

Most of them were by Leo Buscaglia. 

I certainly recommend reading any one of his books. 

He talks about loving, loving ourselves, loving each other and how to be a decent human. He even taught Love classes in a university. How cool is that? 

The book I'm re-reading is called Bus 9 to Paradise. He starts out by saying how wonderful it would be if we could just hop on a bus that would take us to Paradise. 

The trouble is, Paradise means a different thing to each of us. 

What is your Paradise? 

Do you even know? 

Where could you go that would be the ultimate Paradise for you? 

For some, a sunny beach at a tropical destination is their Paradise. Someone else might find their Paradise hiking in the jungle. Others might find Paradise at a ballet, or a football game, or cozying up with a good book in front of a roaring fire. 

What does Paradise mean to you? 

For me, it really is metaphor. Paradise really is a state of mind. 

If all is going well in my life and I am balanced, I can find Paradise in various places. 

Mostly, it is finding the quiet and serenity that fill me with calmness and peace. That is Paradise for me. 

I don't find that peace in my day very often. Not because it's not available...mostly because I don't necessarily take the time to find it. 

Why do we do that? Why are our days so jam-packed with stuff that we can't even take 15 minutes to find our balance and our Paradise? 

Maybe that's why we think Paradise lies in exotic places or in activities that occur outside our daily lives.

It's a shame really, isn't it? 

Paradise is this close to me and I don't take the time to bask in it. 

I know that I don't get to travel very often, so if I was waiting 5 or 6 years to get to Paradise, I would sure feel cheated for those years. And I'd probably be miserable, grumpy and unhappy for most of those years as well...just putting in time....waiting for happiness....waiting for Paradise. 

Maybe we need to look for mini-Paradises. 

Those activities or locations closer to home that can feed our souls until we can actually travel or go somewhere. I believe we could. If we just looked a little closer to home, we could find places, people and activities that would lift our spirits. 

Reading is one source of Paradise for me, that I know, so I can't wait to start reading my book. 

The passage on the back says "Step onto Bus 9 with Leo and open yourself to a life-affirming journey to paradise. Buscaglia offers refreshing, detailed advice on looking around us and finding delight in the simple things--in food, in flowers, in music, in dance, in art, in memories, in our families, and in loving." 

Oh, I'll probably be up all night reading...... M