Passage—Lyrics: Finding Hope in "One Good Day" by Solomon Hayes

Maria Popova writes about how there are some things on Earth that we don’t need to live.

For example, music.

We can survive without it, but living is so much better with it.

__________

In Costa Rica, I met a woman named Suzanna who, five minutes after meeting her, makes you feel like you’ll be friends for life.

Suzanna Leff

Suzanna and Miguel live on the most beautiful farm I’ve ever seen. Horses. Milk cows. A bunch of dogs. Crops that include everything from corn to cacao to peanuts. They make chocolate on site!

A lovely river runs through it. Its acoustic magic is its ever-changing-flow. Depending on the time of year or your position alongside, it’s range of sound can be anything from a trickling-over-rocks whisper to a raging waterfall roar.

On the farm are two houses. One traditional with a roof and walls. The other has a roof, but no walls. When you’re hidden away and the temperature rarely varies from 70 at night to 80 during the day, who needs them?

I tell you all this because it was the warm-spirited Suzanna who just posted this song with no explanation why, probably because no explanation was needed.

Typically, I need to hear a song several times before it sticks. Rarely am I an instant fan. But when I listened to Solomon sing “One Good Day,” I was immediately hooked.

To me, “One Good Day” has a Bob Marley, feel-good vibe. Perhaps because of that, I figured it was a song from the past that I just hadn’t heard.

It seemed too upbeat, too sweet, too kind—too positive for today’s angry, cynical, divided world.

But no, it just came out! (July 18, 2026)

The lyrics in “One Good Day” bond me with Suzanna. That we both connected with his message of hope, resilience, personal reflection, and perseverance so deeply is a reason why we will be friends for life.

Thanks, Solomon.

Thanks, Suzanna.