In case you haven’t noticed, it’s all around you.

There are times when it is difficult to discern — like at this time in our nation’s history. It can be very personal or found in a pleasing sense of community. What is this ‘it’?

Goodness!

I am certainly not a goody two shoe type of person nor am I a mushy gushy do gooder. Life’s experiences have taught me much about the good, the bad and the ugly of life. Because of those lessons, I call myself a sentimental realist. Like you, I try to be a positive influence, but also know that everyone must eventually stand on their own two feet.

Therefore, allow me to share with you some examples of where I have found goodness.

A friend of mine is at the opposite end of the political spectrum from me. However, we talk to each other. We ask each other for advice. We support each other. It’s sitting with a cup of coffee in our local coffee shop where we find goodness in our opposites.

Of course, there’s goodness in wine. A recent wine tasting event was filled with goodness. Not only because of the wine, but because of the joking and laughter that prevailed. A participant had brought a bottle of Kunde Merlot. We both expected the wine to taste like the merlots we’ve previously tasted. But it was different. It was much sharper tasting than our usual merlots, and had a much dryer finish. Did that make it a bad wine? No! Once we explore it further, I think we’ll discovery the goodness in this wine.

Goodness doesn’t always equate to the usual.

Did you realize we are in the season of fall? Yes, the summer raced by, and it is going to be comfortable having the cool air of fall surround us and enter our lungs.

However, don’t miss the beauty and goodness of nature. Mama Fall is trying very hard to decorate our neighborhoods with amazing colors. See those colors and stop for a minute or two to fully see them. Savor those decorations — they are fleeting. Find the goodness of fall.

Speaking of goodness, I just tried a bottle of Noble Vines Marquis Red Blend wine. The wine is made with merlot, cabernet sauvignon and Syrah grapes, and I found it to possess a lot of dark cherry tastes, which is balanced by some vanilla softness leading to a spicy finish. It’s a good wine!

Like many of you, I enjoy music. It has been discovered that listening to music helps people connect to the day. Isn’t is satisfying to sway with a song or head bang to a rousing bit of music? Music grants us peace that is found in many classical music pieces. It can get us energized — think about any of your favorite past or present rock ‘n’ roll/hip hop or jazz songs. It can tell us powerful stories like those found in good old country and western songs. Finally, music can relax us with its melodies and lyrics. There is so much goodness to be discovered in music.

Thinking again about the aforementioned wine tasting, we had a very special moment at the event. One of the participants donated a bottle of Vintage 2013 Dom Perignon Champagne. Most of us had never tasted this fabulous liquid, and even if the popping of the cork was a bit weak, the bubbles brought everyone to life. We raised our glasses to toast our benefactor, and enjoyed the tart bubbles and acidic dryness of the wine. It was a special moment filled goodness.

And don’t we all find goodness in our favorite food? Of course we do!

One of my grandsons is very knowledgeable when it comes to pro sports. He is a died in the wool New York Yankees fan, and I’m a Minnesota Twins fan. Needless to say those two teams are finishing this years schedule at different levels of competence so I’ll not bet the Twins will win the World Series. However, we both thought it would be cool to have the Minnesota Lynx play the New York Liberty in the WNBA championship game so we placed a ten dollar bet on the game. We’ll see how that plays out!

There’s goodness in our families.

A bit of goodness always surrounds us. Seek it, see it and embrace it. We all need as much goodness as we can get.

As always, eat and drink in moderation, but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!