Once upon a time, there was a city called SmilesGalore. In this city, it was against the law to frown or cry or even just plain ol look the tiniest bit down in the dumps. Every day, upon opening ones eyes, a smile (or a similar look) had to be pasted on tight. The reason for this, the elders said, was so that everyone would just automatically BE happy. You know the ol "fake it til ya make it"?
Well, one morning, little miss Sunny herself just couldn't get her smile to stay. As she looked in the mirror, she tried willing her lip muscles to move in the shape of even a half grin. No luck. So she tried taping her smile up. Didn't work-AND her skin hairs got ripped off! Sunny ker-plunked onto her bed. "What am I going to do?" she wailed. "If I don't have my smile on, people will know I'm not happy... who knows what would happen then!" With no other options popping into her mind, Sunny trudged down the steps to eat her breakfast.
"GOOOOOOOOOD MORNING SUNNY!" her father exclaimed, with a grin so wide it looked as if his face was about to burst. "Mornin'," Sunny said meekly.
"Oh my beeswax! Oh my knobbly knees! Why haven't you got a smile on yet, Sunny?" shrieked her mother. Sunny looked at her mom, then looked back at the floor. "Well, it won't stay up," she squeaked. "B-B-But, why NOT?" replied her mom.
Sunny shook her head in confusion. "I don't know. I went to bed with it on, and then when I woke up... well, it just wouldn't stay on! And besides," she softly whispered, "I don't really feel happy today"
"Ehhhhhh, what was that? Whadja say? I can't hear when you mumble" her father bellowed.
Sunny sighed, and firmly said "I am not happy today, father".
"Ya mean to say, that you're going to walk around this city, WITHOUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE?" gurgled her father.
"I guess. I mean I tried and tried to get my smile to stay, but, well, it just wouldn't." Sunny responded.
"Whelp, I guess I'd better let the townsfolk know, and see if they can be just a little more kind when crossing paths with you," her mother sighed. "Hopefully they won't treat you any differently".
And so it came to be, that in the town of SmilesGalore, people began to realize that they didn't have to pretend to be happy when they weren't. In fact, it actually felt better to smile ONLY when they felt genuinely joyous!
Moral of the story: be grateful you live in a place that allows you to choose whether to smile or not. That it all.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
The Joy of Living Life!
I DID IT AGAIN. Sorry. I can't believe it's been a whole month since I have posted anything. I'm not sure why that is. I guess life happened. I have been scrambling here and there for what feels like forever (really just 2 weeks).
So, now I have a minute to breathe and reflect. I have been up and down mood wise (no surprise there), but it feels different now for some reason. I think it's a combination of things. For one, I am practicing what I talk about. And guess what? It works for me, too! I am not so different after all. I am learning how to balance exercise with normal eating (you know, letting my body tell me when I'm full or hungry). I recognize that, while in the past, over-exercising was an issue, I have the tools now to walk myself through those thoughts and change my behavior. It's scary. It makes me mad sometimes. Sometimes I want to do things the easy way and not have to be aware so much. And yet, here I am. Eating normally, with no conditions. Here I am, exercising when I feel like it and having fun, NOT because I feel like I have to compensate. I am also noticing my thoughts and focusing on the ones that made me feel GOOD. I've noticed that the more I think about the thoughts that make me feel good, the more natural and consistent these thoughts become. And when that happens, soon it starts becoming part of what I know and believe about myself. And let me tell you something. I absolutely LOVE feeling good about myself. And you know what? I have every right to have those feelings! Now, I am not saying that I am perfect or invincible or above anyone else. I just really like feeling good about myself. You should too. With every negative thought you have about yourself, there is the exact opposite thought, too. I am shifting my focus from the negative thoughts and focusing on the positive- what is here and now. I'm going to continue doing and thinking things that make me feel that deep, satisfying joy of living life. I'll let you know how it goes.
So, now I have a minute to breathe and reflect. I have been up and down mood wise (no surprise there), but it feels different now for some reason. I think it's a combination of things. For one, I am practicing what I talk about. And guess what? It works for me, too! I am not so different after all. I am learning how to balance exercise with normal eating (you know, letting my body tell me when I'm full or hungry). I recognize that, while in the past, over-exercising was an issue, I have the tools now to walk myself through those thoughts and change my behavior. It's scary. It makes me mad sometimes. Sometimes I want to do things the easy way and not have to be aware so much. And yet, here I am. Eating normally, with no conditions. Here I am, exercising when I feel like it and having fun, NOT because I feel like I have to compensate. I am also noticing my thoughts and focusing on the ones that made me feel GOOD. I've noticed that the more I think about the thoughts that make me feel good, the more natural and consistent these thoughts become. And when that happens, soon it starts becoming part of what I know and believe about myself. And let me tell you something. I absolutely LOVE feeling good about myself. And you know what? I have every right to have those feelings! Now, I am not saying that I am perfect or invincible or above anyone else. I just really like feeling good about myself. You should too. With every negative thought you have about yourself, there is the exact opposite thought, too. I am shifting my focus from the negative thoughts and focusing on the positive- what is here and now. I'm going to continue doing and thinking things that make me feel that deep, satisfying joy of living life. I'll let you know how it goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)