ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

Recently, I saw a sign that read, "another day in paradise." It reminded me of an article in Rolling Stone magazine in the 80's about Chris Blackwell, former record producer and founder of Island Records. He was hanging out on his luxurious sailboat in the Caribbean, being interviewed with his French girlfriend. She was complaining about clouds blocking the sun, preventing her from getting the perfect tan. His response was, "yeah, just another sh***y day in paradise." That phrase stuck in my head.

As I sat in my favorite coffee shop this morning, sipping a frothy cappuccino and wishing I could just live there, I considered "paradise." What is paradise? I've always thought of it as getting what I want, when I want it, and then discovering that it is as fabulous and fulfilling as I always dreamed it would be. And somehow, I know that full fat lattes and pastries would be involved, sans the fat, cholesterol, empty calories and zero nutritional value, of course.

However, the official definition of paradise is, "a place of timeless harmony." Clearly, that does not describe life on Planet Earth. But even with all of the negative stuff, it does have its moments, doesn't it? Just when the clouds block your sun, something will happen to remind you that snippets of paradise do exist. You just have to seek them out; or as they say in Coronaville; find your beach.

So never give up. Clouds come and go. Magnificent little pieces of paradise are out there; and they might be closer than you think...