If You're Happy And You Know It...

I'm a happy person. I choose to be happy. I'm not happy by accident. It's not magic or luck. I just choose it. It's not particularly hard and it's not something I work at. It's simply a choice.

I don't even think too hard about it. I just go there, The only struggle is in trying to understand why everyone else doesn't choose it for themselves. 

My life is not perfect. Like most people, I have concerns – about loved ones, about finances, about health, about responsibilities – the usual things. No one has a perfect life.  I just don't see the point in unhappiness. What purpose does it serve? If we all have challenges, how does facing them with negativity benefit the situation?

I'm human. Naturally, I have moments of wallowing in my misery. I just don't have the patience or the stomach for it for very long. So, after I've rolled around in the woe until I can't take the stench anymore, I get up, wash off the grime, and get back to living.

I'm also a realist. I don't believe that a smile makes the bad stuff disappear. But I do believe in the strength and power that comes from happiness. It's contagious. If my happiness in an otherwise low moment can push me through, then that's the route I'll take. When someone else comes along and smiles with me, then that just strengthens my resolve.

There's power in unity. If one smile sparks another, it doesn't take long to fill the dark space. Kindness and happiness are powerful tools and/or weapons.

Again, I'm not so naive as to think that my happiness is going to change the world but if it makes my challenges easier to face, or if I can plant the seed for someone else, aren't we all better for it?

There's nothing forced or false here. No matter what my current struggle may be, I don't have to look too far to see someone who's been dealt a worse hand. That awareness makes it easier to hold my chin up and smile through whatever ordeal I must face.

Obviously, not everyone subscribes to my happiness theory and many prefer to scowl, complain, argue, or to actively spoil any peace they encounter. I can't stop them. But I can firmly plant my feet on the ground, hold my head high, and greet them with a smile. It may not change their demeanor, but it will definitely strengthen mine.

In the end, isn't that what it's all about? Sharing comfort, sharing joy, sharing light creates a garden of beauty and pleasure for ALL to enjoy. When we were all kids, didn't we sing about it? “If you're happy and you know it, then you really ought to show it.” Seems like good advice. If you're happy and you know it, pass it on.

Learn The Things I Forgot To Remember...

I recently started a job in a field that’s new to me.  What I’m finding is that this new, never-been-done-before occupation has tapped into many previous positions from long ago.  

With each new day, there is a task that sends me flying through time - back to other roles I’ve played.  In the here and now, I’m having to learn all the things I forgot to remember from those long-ago situations.

Customer service should come naturally, but I’ve had to tap into those “rise to greet and welcome” instincts that have long been tucked away.  On day two, I was cleaning (while comparing the best supplies for the job), moving furniture and setting up space. This flashed me back to the good old days in the hotel business.

On day three, I was in the communications room, tracing cables to identify proper connections.  This took me to the pre-cellphone, pre-internet days of early 90s hotel computer installation when I had no choice but to figure it out via payphone in whatever small town was hosting me for the moment.  Next, came signage and advertising, which took me forward to the early 2000s and my advertising days. Now, I’m into the present, flexing my PR and community relations muscles.

I can’t know what tomorrow will bring but I know I’m where I’m supposed to be for the moment.  Every day allows me to be back in the company of other people - something my recent work-from-home experience was sorely missing.

Where this will all lead is a mystery but, in the here and now of it, I’m enjoying the walk down Career Memory Lane while I learn the things I forgot to remember.