Soul Happy
The poet Rumi writes: no one knows what makes the soul wake up so happy. Maybe a dawn breeze has blown the veil away from the face of God. If there is a face of God, it is Eden, one of our youngest customers at six months old. (She may not be the one that writes the check, but she’s the reason her parents hired us to paint her room).
I call her the Happy Baby. She has such a warm and beautiful smile for anyone that comes her way – friend, family, and stranger alike. Her mother, referring to herself, describes waking up with lots on her mind– planning, worries and anxiety. She takes one look at Eden’s smiling at her and suddenly the whole day just falls into place and life into perspective.
When I look at Eden, I don’t think of happiness as a virtue or a constant obvious smile, but rather as an internal energy, a light that we all possess. I see it in Eden, before the journey of life with its bumps and bruises dissipates the energy and dims the light. But this is the thing, as agents in life, I believe we, as citizens of this earth, have a moral responsibility to keep our light and the lights of others bright and energized with the energy of hospitality and happiness. In other words, at the Larkin Painting Company, we recognize that we have a moral obligation to be transformative in the lives of our customers. We see it as our responsibility, as the guide in our customer’s painting projects, to be like Eden. With our planning and attention, everything falls in place. When we are the light, the positive energy for our customers, their worries and anxieties dissipate.
When we complete your painting project and you are satisfied with the quality of the service, that is not the end for us. Just as Eden continues to live in me now as a positive energy, we want to continue to live within our customers. Being a small part of the continuing energy of hospitality, happiness and light in your lives is part of our mission. As we work together as human beings to overcome the far more significant anxieties of cynicism, hatred, shame, fear of other that pervade the culture of our times, I hope we can all recover and uncover the light within. I hope we can uncover the light buried by life’s challenges and disappointments.
In the painting industry, there is a product called Fresh Start. It is kind of a behind-the-scenes product. Unlike the top coat of paint, you don’t see it, but it’s there, providing a strong foundation for the finish coats of paint. It actually enhances the beauty of the top coat. The same can be said for our light. It doesn’t have to be a big, constant grin on your face. In Rumi’s poem, the light he refers to is the light within all of us. Eden is calling us to recognize this energy and light. We want to be like Eden. We strive to be that energy of happiness and to constantly remind ourselves of the light we have within ourselves.
Be well,
Bill