Reason to smile

We can make ourselves happy. Or make ourselves miserable. And by happiness, I don't mean the feel-good, smiling-all-the-time state that surely can't be real. I mean contentment. I know a lot of people, and I would include myself at times, who spend a lot of energy focussing on the negative things in life. I bemoan the things that go wrong, instead of realizing how blessed I am in so many ways. We have all had bad things happen to us. Some people have unbearable things happen in their lives. And I'm not suggesting that we just suppress the pain, wear a smile and pretend everything is okay. My heart goes out to those who know the pain of grief, sickness or abuse. But most of us have reasonably decent life situations, if we'd only stop to realize it. Perhaps my job or marriage isn't perfect everyday. Whose is? But the fact is I have it really good compared to a lot of people. I am thankful to HAVE a job. I am thankful to HAVE a loving, faithful husband. I am thankful I have caring co-workers, and that I enjoy what I do for a living. I am thankful for my healthy son. I can focus on how he gripes about homework. Or I can remember that he's only young for a short while, and this is the time I have to influence him to become a person of contentment, or a person of negativity. I can try to model for him how to approach tasks we'd all rather not do, like homework. How we can get down to the task at hand, focus on getting it done, and reward ourselves with a walk outdoors or a game of Yahtzee when it's all done. How we can feel good when we've accomplished a task. And remembering that little eyes are watching and little ears are listening, I can try not to gripe when the pot boils over, and instead be thankful I have food to eat. I can try not be impatient when the driver ahead of me is going too slowly for my liking, and instead be thankful I have a car and don't have to walk. It's all in how you look at things. If we all looked at the bright side in most instances, perhaps we'd all have a reason to smile more often.