Sometimes when life is playing rough and pushing you too hard into a corner, you have to find your balance in the most peculiar places. For me, it was this scoop of strawberry ice cream. My gritty, hot, tangy-bitter day met the cool silk of frozen cream, sugar and strawberries and for a moment - exactly the duration it takes to eat a scoop of ice cream with a tiny shovel-like spoon, plus about 10 minutes of afterglow - for a moment, all was well.

If I've learned anything in this strange and wonderful and twisty-turn mountain climb called My Life it's that nothing lasts forever, so when you encounter something sweet and silky-smooth and melty, it's important to lap it up with as much attention and pleasure as possible. Let it linger on your tongue and in the corners of your mouth. Make a righteous mess, with sticky drips running straight down to your elbow and dribbles on your shoes, and let loose all the laughter that comes with it. The word is savor. Savor the moment, lap up every last drop.

Of course my strawberry ice cream pleasure glow didn't last, nor did it entirely change the circumstances of my day. But having that punctuation of coolness and pleasure in the middle of the difficulty did alter things a little and help them feel more manageable. This was in part because of the deliciousness and in part because of the attention brought to the deliciousness, allowing the weight of the pleasure to register and balance the difficulty.

Every day's a good day, even the lousy ones.

Related: Here's my Weekend Meditation from last year, with a more Mother's Day theme. I enjoyed revisiting this and hope you do too. Weekend Meditation: Lullaby

(Image: Dana Velden)