Happiness

Earlier this week, I lunched with a former co-worker. His role in our district was an interim Administrator and he's moved on to his next assignment. He's currently working at the other school district in my town so it was a great opportunity to visit with him while he's still nearby.

He gives good counsel and is someone I admire and respect. He's had so many things in his life that could color his glasses a dull shade of gray - but he lives a happy, blessed, meaningful life....in spite of it all. He is one of the most selfless, ego-less people I've ever met and his desire to do the right thing just shines through in all he does.

We had a great time reminiscing about his stint in our district....catching up on all the happenings since he left.

And we talked about being happy.

Do you ever wonder why some people manage to be so miserably unhappy day after day after day? We've all met them - probably even worked with them. Maybe even lived with them. They (apparently) wake up every single day and look for something to be pissed off about. They find reasons to be miserable. They create crisis because as long as there's something for them to moan and groan about, they feel 'good' about their days.

I think I sort of used to be like that - my younger years were fraught with tons of drama. Every little thing a crisis. And then I grew up and 'matured' (whatever that means). And I also learned to step outside my perspective and my experiences and consider someone else's. Crisis creators can't do that very well. They can't step outside their box.....

Every single day, we wake up with the opportunity to start over. Every single day is a fresh start. I love how God has provided such a wonderful gift - sleep to restore and refresh us and the day starting anew every 24 hours. Whatever happened yesterday is done and over and mute. And today is just full of new opportunities and new possibilities. A chance for happy every single moment of every single day.

And happy starts with awaking and choosing to be happy. It is a choice.

Sure, some days you just can't get past it all. Been there....recently, in fact. But most days, I wake up choosing to give myself a fresh start. Choosing to forget whatever happened the day before (or the day before that....etc.) that had me so flummoxed. Maybe waning memory skills as we age is another of God's gifts 'cuz the forgetting does seem to be easier.

My friend reminded me to cut myself some slack...and to start anew everyday. And to forgive those around me who find happiness to be such a challenge. They just haven't learned how to 'reset' each day - and maybe they never will. Leading by example is the best thing I can do for them - and for myself.