Choosy Folks Choose Happiness...

Photo courtesy of me. :-)

My husband and I went out of town this weekend. Now, this is not something we can typically afford and we had a blast! A total blast with too much beer, but a blast nonetheless. We met some nice people and some who weren't having the best of days.

I'm a very sensitive person. Like a sponge, I absorb what people are chucking out into the world and a lot of people don't give a rat's ass that they throw chaotic energy and negativity out like solar flares. I've been working on deflecting negativity (it's an issue at work and well-life) and not letting other people's issues poison me as it has in the past oh- say 32 years.

There is this Polish proverb I found that says "Not my monkeys, not my zoo". This phrase has aided me so much this past week. It helped me decide to start this blog, to be positive no matter what gets thrown at me; and hilariously some negative juju was thrown my way this weekend. I would have considered being rude or cleverly veiling an insult right back to this person, but instead I laughed. She, poor thing, was hammered at the beach town we were visiting. She went from being drunk and amiable to quite mean in a matter of seconds, calling me and one of the servers at the bar "c--t-faced whores" for no reason and made fun of my signature red lipstick.

That, to me, is so friggin' funny now. The server and I joked about it all night. We turned some bizarre Harmony Korine moments into fodder for laughter, and laughter can fix a lot of things. The next day I spent mostly alone as my husband paid the price for the delicious beers we consumed. I took myself out to breakfast, treated myself to exactly what I wanted on the menu and enjoyed watching everyone. I smiled at strangers and accidentally listened to their conversations. When people approached me, which funnily happens a lot when I dine alone, I had very pleasing, brief but engaging conversations. I learned a lot about a handful of people I would have never gotten to meet otherwise.

The point of that rambling is that just a shift in your mindset can unravel a fantastic world of kindness. Giving a sincere compliment to someone, enjoying the small sweetnesses around you instead of looking at your phone every five seconds. Allowing for the option of not being disappointed is so very very liberating. Plus, it is really a great feeling to see that you made someone's day brighter.

It is easier than you think to simply choose happiness. I can vouch, I've suffered from depression for most of my life. It is still possible to choose happiness, to choose kindness. I hope that today you find as many opportunities to choose happiness and kindness and generosity of spirit. It's worth it to feel that good, even if you haven't yet decided that you're worth it.

You are. And so are the people you will positively affect as well.

I truly hope you have a wonderful day.