Do you ever think back to when you were little and loved to read Story books? There was always some kind of adventure that you just wanted to keep coming back to. Those "once upon a times" were enough to catch interest and take you places you could never go except in a book.

What about that is powerful? Especially in times that get harder and maybe less magical through adulthood, it's about learning to laugh again. Before the hard. Before the pain. Before the tears. Maybe it's that "laughing again" that make our Stories not so far off from childhood fairy tales. There's good and there's bad. There's crazy adventures and wild rides, or quiet days in story book attics with a mug of hot chocolate.

Part of the mystery of our lives is the fact that we have to embrace life as it comes to us. It could be that rediscovering the "once upon a time" is an answer to that mystery. The thing about stories is we are all rooting for that main character. Sometimes that's all you need, having someone in your corner. We carry people in our hearts, but maybe we have to let ourselves be carried in someone else's heart once in awhile.

"Once upon a time" refers to the past. I would argue though that it could be said of right now when you find the joy in the moment. In doing that, you are connected to all moments in time, all those you love, all those moments of triumph in your life when you could have given up but you didn't. That's a story worth reading . . . worth living.