The Secret o' Life

Those words jumped out at me while listening to James Taylor on my iPod on the Bolt Bus (yay, Bolt Bus! The Internet sometimes works, but the $49.50 is well worth it) a few weeks ago coming home from ridiculouschick's shower.

If you're not familiar with the song, the refrain goes something like this: "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time."

I was reminded of that again when chatting with HappyLiving yesterday, who was having some of her own revelations about her own current stage of life.

We all spend so much time analyzing what's behind or straining on our tiptoes to see what's forward that it's all too easy to miss what's happening right now.

If I were writing a letter to my younger self in a few years from now (not to sound like a scene from Spaceballs here), I think that might be one of the most important things to know, and to remember.

Catching up

OK, lots of loose ends to catch up on.

First, Rainn Wilson may just be my new favorite celebrity. This guy is truly the real deal. Here's why: The cause he was in town supporting is an incredible group called the Tahirih Justice Center, which provides legal aid and support to women fleeing gender-based violence. What does that mean? Women who are trying to get away from their African tribes to protect their daughters from FGM. Many have them stolen in the middle of the night, no matter how hard they try to protect them. Women who are in arranged marriages who emigrate to the country only to be abused in any number of awful ways, and be left with no legal status to defend themselves, because their visas are tied to those of their husbands.

Not exactly the kind of stuff you'd think the guy who plays Dwight Schrute would support, let alone wholeheartedly.

Yet he did, far beyond the call of duty. He ransacked "The Office" prop closet to bring goodies for the silent auction (including Michael's Dundie award and Andy's Cornell sweatshirt, both used on the show). He posed for picture after picture, in between playing with some of the clients' children. He went to the executive director's home earlier that day to meet with clients and hear their stories. He auctioned off brunch with himself on Sunday for another fundraiser.

He even sat down with me for an interview long after the event was over and most other celebs who come to Washington charity events (Sharon Stone, I'm looking in your direction here) would have been whisked away to their suites or Towne Cars.

As it turns out, both he and the director of the group are Baha'is, and the religion places a heavy priority on seeking social justice. As his celebrity grew, he said, he got all sorts of requests to participate in charities, and finally decided that he had to focus on one cause that spoke to him.

All in all, he was a really cool guy, even if I did sound like Chris Farley on "The Chris Farley Show."

Awesome.

There are other things, but this blog post has well overstayed its lengthy welcome, and you're bored from all that scrolling. More to come.