Crank them sunbeams up a notch!

Think about your average pessimist.

Their premise for being all sour and glower is that, "If I expect the worse to happen, then if it does I knew it was coming, and if it doesn't, then I'm happy because it was unexpected."

What a load of crock!

The average pessimist looks for the bad in everything!! They’re persistent little buggers that never know when to quit!

 And when they find anything less then wonderfully blissful they're like, "Haha, yay! This world is every bit as crappo as I thought!" and when something good happens they're not suddenly all daffodils and light, they're more, "Please it was a freak occurrence, pot luck, won't happen again!" or they get all disbelieving and end looking up it’s skirt to see where the catch lies!

Now see every pessimist I ever met told me they were a realist.

What reality exactly though they forget to mention!

 So this is my view on why being an optimist thrashes pessimism into the ground!

 (Oh and first off, don't think I mean those madly crazy, suspiciously American looking, optimists who are being held over a flaming pit and still think, "Hey at least I'll feed a bunch of starving cannibals!", there are limits to everything!)

But mr / ms. average optimist simply hopes for the best and enjoys the journey to find out!

And we ARE NOT flaming loons of cheer and psychotic good will, we do know that the worse can happen and that it’s good to be prepared all the same.  But see why, oh why, if you cant see the future, be glum your whole life expecting tragedies that seldom happen? Why not be happy and hope for the best and keep your spirits up? That way if the best happens then it just continues the awesome vibes and if the worst happens then at least you had all that fun and calm before hand! Why get the worst AND still have a lousy time waiting for it?

My point exactly!!

 Optimists are fun to be around! They bounce back from the bad better (and use fantastic alliteration!), they keep your spirits up, they’re willing to continue believing in the awesomeness of the world, they make you smile and feel good about yourself and they’re usually a lot of fun to beat at cards!

Look, we optimists have times when we're pessimistic as well, such is life, no one is 100 000% pessimistic or optimistic, we vary. But when optimistic, it's so much easier to shake off the blues and carry on appreciating the miracle of life regardless of the setbacks! Moping is not something we turn into a marathon sport! The blues; feeling angry; feeling depressed, yes we have those but we shake em faster, we get up faster, we dust off faster and ON WE GO!!!

So how about giving it a try for a month or so? Doing a mental 180 if you’re part of the frown club?

 Try to see the silver lining as much as possible! Don't beat yourself up for mistakes you make, accept others make mistakes too and aren't really out to get you, and that there is a heck of a lot of good that get's overlooked when you’re nose deep in looking for the bad and ugly! Traffic happens, it won’t go away. Stupid people out number you 20 to 1, they won’t go away. Why stress over what you can’t change! There are so many ways you can make your life a little bit extra creamy by just looking out for the good rather then the bad!

WARNING!!!!

It’s a highly addictive way of living and life is going to become a hell of a lot more fun! So maybe don't try it if you want to end up wasting your life as the ultimate sourpuss who yells at little kids and has more wrinkles on his face the a sharpie on its foldy butt! Optimism isn’t for the dead at heart!!!

Otherwise, well duh, what are you waiting for?!?!

Saturday 30 April 2011 - turn it upside down

We're all told, "The thing in life that stays the same is change". So why is it that folk seem to expect everyone, except themselves, to always be the same, pretty much from the day they're born to the day the go to that Spirit in the sky?

We change and we do it constantly. If we're lucky we keep changing and trying to change for the better! And one of the best ways to do that is to try and accept that Happiness is not a goal, but rather the journey! < - - which you've heard a zillion times before and probably ignored a zillion times more!

It's like when people talk about how they are going to be happy. If they just get this job, buy these shoes, snog that guy etc. Then they will be happy. But, hello there, I'm afraid it doesn't work that way because:-

1. When you say you plan to be happy when x, y or z happens then you deny yourself any of the fun and joy you could be getting out of this moment right now! Right now is all you ever have! The past and the future are two places where your VIP card still doesn't entitle you to live. NOW is your past and your future happening. NOW is your moment!

2. And what happens when you do get your thing, job or person and you are happy. Do you think it will just last on into all eternity? Frozen in time, no change, no poopiness, every again? Nope, 'fraid not. You still have to work at it, or else you'll just become disillusioned and go after yet again something else that you are sure will this time make you happy, like a morbid hamster just trundling on that wheel, sure you'll get there any day now...

Happiness is not a destination, life changes and you change, happiness is fluid, it's this moment right now that you have!

I mean think of it like this. If you try to get as much happiness as you can out of every moment then guess what? Suddenly you end up with a past of joy and many glorious moments, a present that's hey, not so bad, and a future full of possibilities for goodness!

Now of course bad things happen and test you and crap, they can be horrid!! But if you still try find what joy you can in the day, well, maybe it won't be so crushingly bad? Take a walk, sniff the flowers, have a hot bubble bath, get a cuddle, watch your favorite program, and suddenly life doesn't seem so hell bent on "getting" you!

If you don't seize the moment then you'll always just end up drifting along a sea of "one days" and "some days" and it's a very very unfulfilling, smelly journey!

So why not try, even just for today, to be a bit more positive, regardless of your situation, and see what the day brings and how it ends, I think perhaps, you might be mightily surprised!

Thursday 31 March 2011 - happy to say so

Isn't it funny how we all expect to be happy and for things to go smoothly and calmly and ideally to a nice, foot-tapping, hawaiian tune? But should something horrible or sad or unexplained happen to rock our kayak and suddenly life is unfair, cruel and unkind?

We so see happiness as our right that we forget that sadness is just as valid an emotion and just as much allowed to exist and influence us.
All emotions, good, bad or otherwise are still valid emotions.
(Even if some have to be controlled by pills and restraints...)

People are allowed to be sad, feel sorry for themselves or write ghastly poetry about their deep seated feelings towards Uncle Lennie.

So my thought here is that we should appreciate when we have happiness and treasure it, knowing that it can be fleeting and that life could toss pretty much anything at us at any time. Living in the now and appreciating our happiness NOW, that's pretty much all we can do!
Besides a little gratitude never hurt anyone. (At least not like say, a chainsaw...)

So what do you have to be grateful for today?

Friday 31 December 2010

NO WAY!!!

Finally the last day of 2010 is here! Now I'm not going to go on about what a year it was, or my expectations (high and unrealistic though they may be), for 2011, but I am going to go on and on and on about the fact that socks are fabulous!!
Okay no not really, that's all there just to lull you into a false sense of security...Of course I'm going to enthuse about the new year, silly rabbit!

I hope everyone has an awesome New Years Eve! Lot's of fun and laughter with friends and / or family (Or even just on your own if that's what you want, a little madness never hurt anyone - well okay getting locked up for it and receiving electro-shock therapy could change that...)

Bugger it! I'm so excited I don't even know why! Sure the year will probably end up like any other year and the excitement may well be for naught, but it's awfully fun to feel it now all the same, don't you think?

So let's all go out and conquer!!
See you on the other side!!
Bring snacks!


TAROT CARD OF THE DAY - The Hermit

* What I think it means - Some old guy in robes that could double as a mini skirt, holding a lamp and looking confused. Probably wondering where the rest of his robes went...

* What it really means - Searching for meaning in life. Spiritual protection

* It's influence - I like it! Good card to take into the new year! I already know the meaning of life though - to be HAPPY of course, duh! :P