Sometimes there are encounters that make you realize again just how lucky you are if you can get out of bed without taking twenty pills, put on your clothes by yourself, eat what you want, exercise when you wish and begin the morning with coffee because your body allows you to do so. Because at this moment, there is whimsy in realizing you are healthy and free and not everyone has this luxury. 

Well I was metaphorically runnin' from 4:00 this morning to 6:00 this morning. And it was not the kind of pleasant running that takes place under the blue skies with tennis shoes and dream-filled pavement. This was the kind of runnin' where your body rejects literally everything you ate the night before resulting in unwhimsical runnin.' So quite literally I was miserable and to top it all off, I had to get myself to work. The entire day was filled with teaching and runnin' and teaching and runnin.' So unpleasent and exhausting was his day that I began to think "Maybe I just can't do today."

But I did. Because I found whimsy once again in a children's book my class is reading entitled "The Junkyard Wonders." And I found myself thinking that I too, was in a junkyard this fine morning-feeling like I was surrounded by thousands of pieces of garbage and misfortune. But there is one quote in this book that my student brought up during our Socratic Seminar that made me think twice about my junkyard Tuesday. Patricia Polacco writes: 

"Often times we look at a piece of junk and say "Why Me?" but I want you to look at that piece of junk and ask yourself "Why Not?"

Perception of your junkyard is almost as important as the realization of the fact you have a junkyard. But regardless there is multiplying love wherever you go.Why Not? I sat on my junkyard for quite some time in the whimsy of my runnin' but I spent a lot of this time in prayer and deep contemplation about life. Changes. Situations. Circumstances. Love. Loss. Good Health. And often I never sit. So maybe this was His way of saying. Well, you're going to actually stop this morning, quit thinking and have some time to sit and think. Sometimes you're forced to stay in one place for a few hours. And you know what, why not? You can find wisdom and thoughtful reflection in any place at any time. Don't wait until you get runnin' to sit, pray and reflect about the whimsy you have in your life already. Appreciate where you are. Appreciate the Junkyard Runnin' Whimsy.