cookies and sunrises

The other night a little 2 year-old was at our house. I happened to give him a cookie and the smile that was on his face was one of those smiles you'll never forget. He just held the cookie, staring at it, with a smile filling up his whole face as well as the room. It was as though he simply could not believe that he was holding such a gift and he didn't want to let the moment go. 

This morning I was with a man who should be dead. He survived a car accident that he shouldn't have. He told me that once a week he wakes up at four in the morning to watch the sun rise and he cries every time he does. He began to cry to me. "I shouldn't be seeing anymore of those," he said. "I'm grateful for them."

Damn. 

It never ceases to amaze me what I learn from children and from people who have been through the pain.