Taking Chances

I look back on my life and realize that of all the things I regret in my past, only a few are things I did, and most are things I could have done and did not. I would like to impart upon the reader the benefit of my experiences when I say, Look at every chance you have with the idea " Will I ever have the chance to do this again?" or "Will I look back and wished I had done this?" and finally " How insanely awesome will the story be later if I do this now?"

Sometimes you just have to enjoy a bad experience.

Most of life is about perception. Events happen around you and you learn from what you perceive about those events.

So I have a novel concept for you gentle readers... Learn to enjoy/make peace with negative events.

I know that is an almost alien concept, but let me give an example. If you dislike sour things like lemons, try eating a lemon and enjoying the fact that you can perceive a difference and therefore choose to dislike sour things, or in other words instead of using the lemons life gives you to make lemonade, learn to enjoy the experience of tasting something sour.

Of course this cannot be done with all negative experiences, so its not the experiences themselves you should focus on, but your perceptions of those events. Instead of letting the death of a loved one drag you into despair, perceive the things they left you with in this life and enjoy those things.

This is a truly difficult concept to explain, and one probably harder to practice. Learning to perceive negative events in a positive manner (seeing a silver lining) is one of the things I would recommend most. This concept will help change your attitude to one that accentuates the positive, and strives to find the good in all things.

A Tale of Two Messages

I had another message to write about today, but a friend of mine posted a quote that I absolutely had to share and try to expound on first.

“I must learn to love the fool in me--the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of my human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my Fool.”

Theodore Isaac Rubin (born 1923); psychiatrist, author

Doing things for the sake of doing them, because you enjoy them, is a lost art. Look at vacations, most of the time people are so exhausted from "vacationing" that they need another one when they return. I recommend stepping out of your adulthood at least once a week if not more( if you need to quantify a formula). Play a practical joke, go see a funny movie, or simply go by a small ice cream cone. Only kids seem to choose ice cream cones over other forms, and have such pure joy at slowly making them disappear. It is hard to look like a big responsible adult while trying to defeat an ice cream cone before it melts all over you.

On to my second subject.

Random Acts of Kindness

This is something that every single person on the planet should focus on accomplishing every single day. There is literally no down side to this. This is as beneficial to you as it is to the person you perform the kindness for. Things like Paying for someone's coffee behind you at the gas

station, or an extra tip for a decent but shy server. I know eating out is expensive, but that overly generous tip would probably get wasted on other stuff anyway. I guarantee that the server you left it for will suddenly start having a great day, which will make all of their customers happier, and result in getting better tips all around. Suddenly you have lots of people talking about this server they had at such and such restaurant that brightened their whole day, instead of telling another horror story about bad service.

This translates to so many things. Go out of your way to compliment co-workers, even giving a few dollars to the homeless guy on the street corner. Who cares what he is going to use it for, its the act of giving that makes the difference.

I think if you make a concerted effort to give this a try for the next two weeks, you will see a difference in your attitude and demeanor during that time. For me it comes down to a simple phrase that encompasses both of the above principles.

You cannot make someone smile, and not smile in return.

A single glorious light.

For anyone that says, "What good is it for me to fight alone?" or "What difference can my light make in this constant storm?". I ask you to consider this....

For centuries lighthouses kept countless sailors from death, gave them direction and comfort. These lighthouses were not needed daily, and of course never animated , went out and saved a sailor itself. However talk to any old sailor or read any manuscript from old voyages, and they talk of lighthouses and lighthouse keepers with reverence and endearment.

It sounds corny to say, remember to be a lighthouse, or even to ask you to picture yourself as a lighthouse in a storm, but I truly believe that even a single light in the darkness can make a difference.

Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships - Charles Simic

The eternal war of household flat surfaces.

I learned 2 things this glorious morning.

1. The awesome start to the day that spending 20 extra minutes snuggling with your significant other gives you, is worth being a few minutes late to work.

2. In the eternal war of household flat surfaces ( trust me, It is more vicious than you know). There are pretty clear sides. Walls are evil. The contain you, sneak up and attack you, and intentionally impede your progress at every chance. On the other hand, floors are champions for the side of good, because they will ALWAYS be there to catch you when you fall.

A Beginning

So after receiving some hate mail, calling me naive and stupid for spreading a "false impression of reality" because I go out of my way to be as uplifting and positive as possible, I decided to start a blog. This Blog will be aimed at the very idea of providing insights and content aimed at uplifting and providing positive support and viewpoints for those that want them.

I am now and always will be, up for discussion and the sharing of ideas, but if you are not here to share in being positive and uplifting, this is probably not the place for you. To everyone else, hail fellows and well met!