Somebody close to me told me that when she hears this song, it reminds her of me. I can't tell you how touched I was. Not only did I feel special, I felt truly loved and appreciated in ways I can't express.

Without diminishing how special that made me feel, I love the idea that this is really how everybody should feel. So I thought I'd share it. Hope you enjoy it.

(Since the original won't embed, I found another version from Dutch TV. The song begins about 40 seconds into the video.)

Learning to trust. Once I started turning things over to the Universe, surrendering and releasing, I've found that I can deal with most anything. I trust that everything will lead me to where I need to be.

Lately I've come to understand that even though I'm a writer, I can't put everything into words. God/The Universe/Source/the Unified Field is a perfect example. As Michael Beckwith said, "God made man in HIs image, and we've been trying to return the favor ever since."

The other example that comes to mind are feelings.

Feelings are those things we feel (as in, not think). Every now and again, we find a way of verbalizing feelings in a way that we can share with others. But, for the most part, feelings are something we feel, with our bodies, not our minds.

Trying to put words to something I feel takes the feeling from my body to my mind. And that's the exact opposite of what I feel I need to do at this point in my evolution.

You see, I've always been a pretty smart kid. I can wrap my head around most subjects pretty easily (calculus and romance being notable exceptions). For most of the past forty-plus years, I've experienced the world through my mind. But this year I encountered a woman who has been teaching me how to experience this life through my body. Not in a sexual way, but in a sensual way. Through my senses.

The thing is, when I try to explain what I just felt, two things happen: I remove the experience from my body, and I fail miserably at trying to explain it. That's because it's something I felt, something I experienced through my senses — sight, smell, taste, touch, sound — and usually all of them at the same time. How do I explain the smell of vanilla, the taste of coffee, the sound of an appreciative mmm, or the touch of silk? I can't. I can only remind you of an experience you've had with those senses.

Love, trust, faith, courage, joy, relief, and connection are sensations I now want to experience rather than rationalize. I just want to be with these feelings, embrace them, roll around in them, and smile as they return the favor.

Just don't ask me to explain them.

I love this line from today's Inaugural Address, along with several others.

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

"Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them"

(You can find the transcript of the whole speech here.)

I love the idea of choosing hope over fear. I've seen a huge influx of hope in my friends, in my colleagues, in watching the millions of people freeze while watching the inauguration.

I get the feeling we're looking at a brave new world. And maybe now John Mayer can stop waiting...

What we do today and tomorrow, we do thanks to those who sacrificed so much before us.

Thank you to all those great spirits, those who sat, walked, stood, and ran to make a difference, to right wrongs, to make this world a better place.