What the heck is "alacritous" and is it contagious?

You may have seen the title of my blog and subsequently questioned my sanity. I mean really, the word “alacritous” isn’t one you come across too often and to live that way just sounds painful. But it actually comes from the word “alacrity” which means “Briskness, cheerful readiness, liveliness, promptitude, sprightliness” (as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary) and that’s how I try to live my life, with “cheerful readiness.” I believe that life is a circle which takes us through the good times and the bad at regular intervals - a delicate balancing act in which everything happens for a reason. Yes, I’m one of those people that believe you will always end up where you’re meant to be and that every experience, no matter how traumatic, has some small bit of good.

Now, even with this small definition of both the word and my personality, you may ask how I ever came to call my blog such. Well, dearest readers, I was inspired by a poem I wrote (one of my favorites actually) called “With Something Much like Alacrity.” It’s whimsical and nonsensical in the e.e. cummings and Emily Dickinson sense, although in no way as well crafted. Here it is:

With Something Much like Alacrity

Last night I dreamed of a place

Where I was all alone;

The quiet was complete,

The stillness whole,

But I was far from home.

I lay down for a while

To contemplate infinity

Until the ending I found.

So I decided to fly away

Because my feet tired the ground.

I soared over seas and summits,

Grasslands, greenery and glens.

I swirled with snowflakes

And drops of rain

While learning their secrets of suspense.

I then lie down in a downy bush

And dreamed I was awake.

The paradox of dying to live

My waking dream did make.

I was spun around so hard and fast

The way home was a mystery,

But this was not a defeat for me

The challenge was a treat to me.

Still there was no sigh or sound

No creature to be seen,

So I split into two

And played games with Myself

Until Myself grew mean.

I then dived down into the ocean

Breathing in its salt

But since an ocean dead

Is no fun at all

I quickly came back to the start;

But I got my ending confused

With the beginning of smile

So I just sat down

With chin in hand

And thought about things for a while.

I figured out the meaning of life

Seconds within its asking

And I discovered ungravity

With something much like alacrity.

All this came to not, though,

Since without you I remained

So I hitched a ride on a humpback whale

And now am with you again.