Happiness

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
Nigel Hawthorne.

May we all find that moment. Working in the Abbaye today. On to The Romantics for a big revision. I spent yesterday in the Abbaye proofing The Barrett script, which is akin to getting your teeth drilled without novacaine. But, it is done and into the world it now goes. Onto England and David Parfitt, my producer, Jane (aka mother of us all, Soul Sister and my producting partner) in L.A., Julie Harkin our genius casting director (genius used in the most genuine sense of the word) extrodinaire, and of course, the lovely Anthony Neilson -- the man who will have to wrangle these parts into a whole.

Saw a terribly boring play by Moliere, in French thank you very much -- this from the girl who can barely utter "Mon Chien mes Manque." Meaning "I miss my dog." But I did it, sat there and actually understood a word here and there.

The children visiting the Abbaye are breaking into Freres Jacques...again! Encore! Yikes....like clockwork.
I better get writing.

p.s. on the play. Went with Charles-Henri, Annette's friend, who is a gorgeous soul and great fun at a play where we were both ready to tear out our hair! Thank God we didn't.

In light of the death of two lovely friends I have been reading various pieces on life and how to live it. I came across something I remember reading at the time of the death of the author, it resonated. I am miles away from home and I thought rather than write about France today I would write about life.


This is inspired from a piece I read by a wonderful woman writer who died of cancer, Erma Bombeck. I loved her column as a girl and related to her humor as an adult. I’ve used her format and added my own musings as well. So a deep thank you to Mrs. Bombeck and to everyone who inspired the various musings below.

It reflects the thoughts I am having about us, about life, about gratitude.

I am stopping what I am doing and taking a look at all the good things in life and will stop thinking about the things I don’t have that I think I need.

Instead I will give thanks that I am awake and can watch the sunrise and am grateful to have a whole day for my life.

I want to see the things I take for granted and give the deepest heartfelt thanks that I have so much; a loving family, dear friends, my health, my humor, my sanity, my good heartedness.

So at this moment if:

If I had to live my life over I would have gone to bed when I was sick and enjoyed the rest and been grateful that I was taking care of myself and stopped pretending that things wouldn’t get done without me.

I would have shared more of the responsibility taken on by by my partner rather than letting him fill the gaps I was missing

I would have burnt the rose shaped candle and let it burn down instead of saving it--rather than letting it melt or get old and covered in dust,

I would have had friends over to dinner more even if the house was a mess

I would have eaten popcorn in the living room and worried less about the mess

I would have listened to my parents and your parents talk about their childhood more..

I would have rolled down the car windows more,

I would have sat in the grass and not worried if it was wet,

I would have cried and laughed more with all the good things in my life and used up those tears for that instead of for sad tv show or as tears of regret.

I would have never have bought anything just because It was practical, cheaper, or lasts a lifetime.

I would have enjoyed every hug and kiss from anyone who loved me and never ever shrugged one off, not matter what.

There would have been more I love yous and more I'm sorries

I would be grateful for the walks at the beach,

I would make turkey burgers on the grill on a summer day, fall day, winter day, spring day, any day that I felt like making them

I would stay up late to watch BBC Mystery and wake up refreshed the next day

I would let the little dog snarffle in the bed longer, bark a second longer at the UPS man and play with his toys longer late at night

I would stop everytime to listen to Diego talk up a storm as he came downstairs from his parent's apartment and enjoy the moment of his joy,

I would watch the roses bloom in the garden and realize they are there because we loved them,

I would get the bike out and go for a little ride even if there wasn’t time, there is always time.

I would want to know that I used up everything God gave me as a gift, as a talent and love in my life instead of keeping it at arm’s length or ignoring it.

I would use up every minute with more awareness and gratitude knowing that moment is the gift

Live the moment and never give it back unused, it’s a waste of the most precious commodity you’ll ever have in life. More precious that air, water or gold.

The small stuff is small stuff don’t sweat it. Repeat DO NOT SWEAT IT.

And Don’t worry who doesn’t like you, has more or is doing something you’re not doing, who cares. Cherish the things you are doing and the people who matter to you.

Jobs, bills, jealousy and anger build barriers between us and what really matters. It’s easy to forget what living is supposed to be.

Get up right now and call someone you love, e-mail someone you have been thinking about, apologize to someone you know you hurt or forgot, kiss the person you love most as if it was the last time and hug them like they matter.

Janet