A friend got married today, in a moving civil ceremony of beautiful speeches and enchanting songs, the bride and groom radiant and utterly happy. I was reminded of our own wedding, and of countless other moments of deep and unwanting happiness. And then the Reverend Norman Viss got up to perform the spiritual part of the wedding, and spoke of those moments in words I just have to commemorate here.

The Celts and early Christians, he said, believed that Heaven and Earth are only about three feet apart. Fairly close, but far enough for true separation. There are, however, places, times, people, and connections where Heaven and Earth come much closer. In the joy of being with a loved one, or finding yourself in a beautiful place, or seeing your child smile its guileless smile, or simply on an afternoon where everything is just right, we encounter these thin places, and a chance to enjoy pure bliss; a taste of Heaven.

You don’t have to be a religious fella to recognize this experience.*

* As I am demonstrating by posting this.