After 33 years of marriage, one would think that I would get used to my wife's morning ritual. Soon  after she awakes and puts on her socks and some intimate apparel, her face goes blank, she leans forward slightly and stares at her knees. This can go on for several minutes.

At some point, my curiosity comes calling, and I interrupt her stupor with, "Are you stuck?"

"Yes," she replies, as that is what we've come to call this momentary escape from consciousness.

Recently, I've noticed that she is not alone. Look into the eyes of someone passing you on the sidewalk or sitting in a nearby cubicle. What do you see? Darkness? Emptiness? A deep pool of nothingness? More often than not, I see my fellow humans walking in a daze; sitting in a cubicle wishing they were somewhere else; staring at their keyboard, trying to write the first word; walking along, surrounded by thousands but completely unaware; washing their dreams away with music plugged into their ears; doing nothing but marching to the steady beat of dullsville.

How can that be? How can we not see the spirit within those around us? How can we not want to arouse that spirit, smile at each other and say, "Hey, great day, isn't it?" Hear the birds, see the clouds, look at the towering creations of WoMan. What gives?

Whatever it is, get over it! We owe it to ourselves and to each other to love the moment. Forget yesterday, it's gone. Don't worry about tomorrow--it, too, will soon be gone. Appreciate your life and the lives of those around you. Get to know someone new today. Join a book club. My God, read a book. Do something to make a difference in someone's life. And stop making everything so complex. Live simply, speak simply, write simply, love simply, create simply, work simply. Just enjoy the moment simply because it is now. Get unplugged and instead get plugged into life.

Create happiness and everyone and everything benefits. Life is too precious to get stuck.