The Simple Treasures

I've accomplished a great deal in my life.

For one, I've met and befriended everyone that I've everyone wanted to meet.

Elizabeth Montgomery...Farrah Fawcett...Lindsay Wagner...Lynda Carter....David Carradine....Lee Majors...all my childhood idols and dreams come true.

And it's been wonderful.  Meeting each of them was lovely.

For the last thirty years or so, I've also attended Hollywood galas, and parties and events, and shared numerous other good times, all of which has also been joyous.

And yet, none of it compares to the simple treasures of life...like visiting the corner drug store for the right last-minute decorations at Christmas-time...or just having coffee or playing cards with family members or friends.

Certainly, too, of course, having a family to care for - or be a part of - is an immeasurable joy.

Being a father is one of life's treasures that I have yet to discover.

That too has always been a dream of mine.

But for whatever reason, that has yet to be...and maybe it might not ever be.

It all depends, I guess, I what I truly want...because I do believe that we always get what we sincerely desire...whether we're conscious of our life choices or not.

In the meantime, however, I make every conscious decision to be joyful...to be kind to others...and myself...to always appreciate more than ever the simple treasures of life.

For it's the simple treasures that keep us sane, stable and grounded...simple treasures help us to live a more balanced and fulfilling life.

Yet many, mostly the superstars of our culture, are unschooled in how to attain and hold on to the simple treasures.

Elvis tried...more than most...but he failed.  Marilyn Monroe had a good heart...but she was a lost soul in a land of vipers.  Philip Seymour Hoffman, God bless his soul, was a mammoth talent...but he just couldn't hold on.  His talent and his drive outweighed his ability to appreciate the simpler treasures. 

And while I'm not sure why that happened...I know why I have always been strong enough to see the forest through the trees.

I had a solid if modest upbringing.

I was never taught to feel I was better than other people...and somehow...that filtered into every aspect of my life...in many productive ways.  I always learned to treat people as equals...including Elizabeth Montgomery...Farrah Fawcett...Lindsay Wagner...Lynda Carter...Lee Majors...and David Carradine.

Each of them appreciated that I treated them like real people.  I respected them, but I didn't fawn over them.

Somehow, they knew that I appreciated the simple treasures of life...that allowed me to experience the unequaled riches of life...like having childhood dreams come true.