And don't let opportunities slip by ...

While there's everything to be said for living a life of integrity and goodness, balance and moderation, service and love — here I want to talk about life as CELEBRATION.

Each of us is born equipped for pleasure, for enjoyment. That's basic design, no argument. The news flash, folks, is that sensuality — the art of enjoying the pleasures of the senses — is not only a good thing, it's a VERY good thing. We can embody both correctness and joie de vivre.

As we carry out the duties of the day, we can have fun with sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. There's a whole array of possibilities for living with pleasurable appreciation.

Don't let those opportunities slip by. Regret, I'm here to tell you, is one mangy, ill-tempered dog that's best kept outdoors.

How many of us are able to live fully, enriching our days with satisfying experiences, accumulating warm memories that will keep through the winter of our lives? We all can pull from our pasts those special events once embraced and wonderfully absorbed, then permanently recorded for future delightful replay.

Who has not taken deep pleasure from a sound snooze, a sumptuous meal, an especially memorable interpersonal romp?

For those who believe in an eternal existence, life can be viewed as a dress rehearsal for the hereafter. Are we proving our worthiness by being open to life's pleasures? Are we able to recognize that life is many things, but that it is also succulent? Do we know how to enjoy and have fun? (And for those who believe this is all there is: Get it while you can!)

Anyone can be miserable — there's no talent in that. Anyone can live a dull and unimaginative life.

Whether proactively or by opportunity, our task — should we choose to accept it — is to live with gusto. As we proceed through life, let us do so with playful deliberation, with a twinkle in our eyes and a bounce in our steps.

We need to relish the moments we've been given. Are we up to the challenge?

~ By Leslie Miklosy, author of Which Is More Round, the World or Your Tummy?: Offbeat Reflections on Serious Living
Originally published on November 11, 2006, in the Saturday Extra's "The Readers Write" column of The Fayetteville Observer.