It's my birthday and I'm feeling good.

Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know?
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That's what I mean

And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me. . . . 

And I'm feeling good.

~ Nina Simone

Picture me swaying from side to side and singing this--including the awesome scat at the end--and you'll know where I'm at today. I love how this song appreciates life and its little things. I've just been sitting here quietly at my kitchen table taking an inventory through images of what was an amazing age 43. Little things. And the little things really become the big things, don't they? 

Yeah.

Man. . . here's why I love this song: Because now more than ever, every single day that I wake up in my right mind, this old world is a new world for me. A day filled with promise and brand new mercies. And something about that just fills me with so much joy that it oozes out of me. 

It's my 44th birthday today, y'all. And you know what? I'm feeling GOOD.

***

Happy Sunday. And thanks for being a part of my new, bold world.

Now playing on my mental iPod. Thank you, Ms. Nina Simone for giving my feelings a voice today. 

And this, too, which plays on my mental iPod nearly every single day. Because turns out not where but who you're with that really matters. Thanks Mr. Matthews for this beautiful anthem that always lifts my heart into the heavens.