Sheils Writes

The ending to my story will definitely include the word “happy”….

Why are people so sad?  Not everyone, but a lot of people in my direct orbit, seem, well, sad.  I don’t spend my days screaming from the rooftops about how happy I am, because I’m not.  Sure, it would be great, but it’s not real.  However, I do spend part of every day being in some realm of the form happy and I believe many others do, more than they realize.

I’ve spent a lot of years struggling to ‘be happy’ or ride the ‘life is good’ wave, however I’ve stumbled upon more sadness through the years than happiness, so I’m not writing from the clear blue sky here.  I’ve had Stage 3 colon cancer at 53 years old, I know what sadness is.  While I’m no expert, I do think we’ve got the upper hand on the happiness market.  There’s no store where you can go and buy it, there’s no “add to cart” and there, you’ve got it.  You just have to make it happen as best you can.  Somedays, possibly, fake it ‘til you make it.

I start my day with a big groan, at 5:30 AM.  I ache.  I go through an odd bunch of wake-up techniques to sort of get revved up again for another day of not ‘doom and gloom’ but ‘ok, this isn’t so bad’ type of life.  I don’t spend the next 8 hours of my work days bouncing off the walls full of happiness, but I do have an overall ‘good enough’ feel to my work days, and again, that’s OK for me.

I think we, collectively, are putting too much emphasis on happiness.  Like it’s this thing you have to achieve.  Chase it, hunt it down, corral it, add it to your chemical make-up and then be it.  That’s giving it way too much control.  It’s a state of mind, just as much as sadness is a state of mind.  Let them marinate throughout the day and do their thing within and around you.

“Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle” is one of my favorite of all the terms.  Today, I will find happiness in my 1980s themed life that I live in.  Don’t judge, leave me alone, I’m happy there!   Tomorrow, I’ll stay in that world and I’ll add in a trip to the beach, at night, when no one is there and it’s not crowded.  Again, don’t judge, leave me alone, I’m happy there!  Throughout every day, I’ll snap pics of blue skies, I’ll read for 5 minutes (my attention span lately for reading), I’ll take a walk or a bike ride, I’ll sit by the pool.  None of these are saying ‘wow, she’s got to be so happy, look at her’, and I don’t want them to say that to anyone.  I will be happy doing these things and that’s good enough for me.

Think about some of this, if you’ve read to the end, my one or two faithful readers.  I hope you can start enjoying some parts of your days on this earth.  If we are granted another day on this earth, we have to keep going.  Why not make your own happy ending to your story to the best of your ability.  Only you can do that, no one can do it for you.

Signed,

Me & my happiness team of, well, me!

You are your happiness team, no one else