My column for the December issue of Mom Writers Literary Magazine (www.momwriterslitmag.com) has a specific line..."lots of sunshine", because I like that more than dreary, dull, over-used "silver lining".

I love cloudy days, it's no secret that I love a good downpour of rain, making pilgrimages to snowlands, watching a powerful storm churn up some good size waves and not at all last, and certainly not least, the way the pavement smells and steams after a tropical mid-summer rainshower.

Because - forgive me for being trite - there is sunshine in my soul and in my spirit at all times.  The weather is incidental because my mind is set to happy.  It's a decision.  It's an inner thing, if you don't have it there, you won't get it anywhere else.

The climate is so temperamental here in So Cal.  I decided long ago that external conditions were no reason to cause internal unrest.

Does the same hold true for daily life?  You bet.  The energy flowing in and out of all of us, all around the universe is too fragile to feel or send out anything else.  

Thank you God for this sunny autumn (it is not yet the winter solstice) day.  Though my skin tone and hair type favor the dampness of the Pacific Northwest, you have placed me in Paradise - I may not know the reason, which may cause a pensive stare rather than a thankful smile - but I'll go with it.  I am so blessed.  I am so thankful.  Cloudy skies or Santa Ana - I welcome the climate that envelops me, the wind that carries me.

Sunshine starts in the heart.