Positively
The past few weeks I have written about some not so fun subjects; lying, being old and an exercise disorder. I was trying to think of something new to write about, maybe cellulite or callouses, but I needed to change gears, even if it’s only for one post. I was afraid of getting into the habit of writing about silver linings to things that pretty much suck. I didn’t want to get stuck writing about all the negative things going on around me and then ending with a happy little note about how I can just smile my way through a bad moment. I decided to just write about happiness. I decided to write about the good that happens and not the good that only happens because we searched hard for it (aka a silver lining). I mean the kind of good that just is.
We have a lot of say in how we are in the world. We are in charge of a lot of the person we become. And this does not mean that we have to be perfect or that we always have to be a glowing ray of sunshine on a rainy day. What I find is we can just put a smile on our face and see who smiles back. We can have a conversation with someone and really listen to what they are saying. We can take experiences that happen around us and hold them tight to help create our futures. And most importantly we can make the effort to laugh and joke and have fun.
As kids, this seemed to be just what we did. Life was easy and our basic needs were met. We got to just go out and enjoy all of life's little adventures. And somewhere between those elementary school years and college graduation we took for granted the simplicity of those things. We complicated it with bills and commuting. We made it harder to attain by caring more about what people think about us than being true to ourselves. Basically we lost touch with the ability to just be.
One thing that can be a really good exercise is to think about who you want to be. What person do you want to be that walks into work? Or into a party? Or around your friends? Or better yet, what sorts of friends do you want to hold onto? And what sorts of friends do you want to attract? What are the qualities you look for in your life partner?
If we can sit down and ask ourselves a few of these questions and really take the time to answer them, we can learn a little more about ourselves. I am by no means perfect and I am definitely a work in progress. But when I look at those questions, I try not to get stuck on what I should be doing or what I am missing in life. What I try to focus on every so often, but still not often enough, is what I am doing right. It is so much harder to think of the positives than it is to think of the negatives. We can be so critical of ourselves, and what do we gain as people from that. When I spend time thinking about whats right, it changes the questions.
I love owning my own business. I love walking into work and putting together workouts for my classes and clients. I love the relationships we build along with our time together getting our asses kicked. I want to walk into work every day and know that I am lucky to be doing something that I love so much. And as I’ve mentioned before, I cherish my friendships. I am so fortunate that I get free time in my week to spend with friends. I am also lucky that I get to be with my little minis through out the day. I love walking home from school with them and I love family dinners and Thursday morning family breakfast.
I could probably get all too excited and start outlining all that I love about life. But I really just wanted to say that most of us have so much to be thankful for. And yet sometimes life tests our patience and our ability to see outside of stressful moments. But when the stress starts to relieve, try to enjoy some time. Try to find ways to laugh. Make time for yourself and time to just be happy. Start with a happy thought and let your mind travel from one happy thought to the next without landing on anything negative. And when you are alone, just smile. Don’t look in the mirror, smile just to smile.