Dance of Life

The Question

“it came with the head” was the answer that we were trained to give to The Question.  Our father thought it was hilarious when delivered by a precocious four year old (or three, or five, the age didn’t matter much) who had nary a clue what it was she was saying.  Bonus points if all three of us kids did it in unison. It may have been particularly humorous when it was delivered by a pint-sized straight man while dad was in full clown make-up…..

A lifetime later and the forgotten phrase sprung to mind when my own granddaughter was asked a similar question.  She would not play along, however.  When you are FIVE you pretty much got it all down – no silly games to amuse grandma.  But all is not lost!  Having been given the gift of that memory – and finally “getting it” (it was pretty damn funny) I have resurrected the phrase and proudly declare “It Came With The Head!”

Go ahead … ask The Question ….

Action, Reaction and Jumping The Gun

Well, now I’ve done it. What was I thinking? Oh, wait – I wasn’t thinking. I was reacting. I came up with this glorious plan to make 2014 the Year of Intention. I was going to magically change my thinking overnight and all the pieces were going to fall easily and seamlessly into place. Think happy – be happy.  Think prosperity – be prosperous. Think healthy – be healthy. The list goes on. For the past 6 days I have been trying to fit the square peg into the round hole. Then I heard a little voice whispering “what happens when you fail to plan” uh, you plan to fail? Right! You plan to fail. This happen to me frequently. I get an idea and head off both guns blazing – reacting to my brilliant idea. Reacting! I react. I’m reactionary. Reacting isn’t always bad – it’s a survival technique that has served mankind well (we are still here!). But we have a higher, better, more evolved way to live. Action. Action involves planning. Which I failed to do, remember? Now what?

Well, not give up! No, this is an experiment. A year long experiment in Intention. This first test didn’t have the desired results – but it had results! I learned one thing not to do. Good. Progress. Truthfully, I am stymied at the moment. I am not sure how to proceed. What is the next step?

Action. A plan of action. A plan!! And mayhap a smaller intention. Be Happy was pretty lofty right out of the gate. Maybe I should start with not reacting to things, as in “today I will not react, I will consider and act appropriately to the situation” and remember to “consider the source”. Good.  I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow ……

What I’ve Learned So Far …..

This is Day Four of my Experiment in Intention and, as could probably have been predicted, it seems all forces have conspired against me in hopes of my failure. Hahaha! I say! You will not win! Today, like yesterday and the day before that, I choose to be happy. I will smile through the pain, I will smile through the traffic jams and the long lines at the grocery store. I will not be beaten! Like the alcoholic, new to AA, I will take this One Day At A Time. Just For Today. I can do for 24 hours (or 12 hours, or 1 hour) what would seem impossible to do for a lifetime! Baby steps ….. elephant eating (metaphorically, I’m a vegetarian).

This is the year I am going to get IT. I am going to be one of those happy-go-lucky people. The peace and contentment that ooze from these folks is something I want …. I want bad!

But the title says ‘what I’ve learned so far’, which is this:

Smile. Really, walk around with a smile on your face, look like you’re up to something!

Live in the moment. Focus all your energy on what you are doing NOW. I fall into this serendipitously when I am doing something like weeding, or knitting, or working on my genealogy (that is a whole other blog!!) The trick is to be in the moment all the time.

Let go. Of everything. Worry, doubt, control over tomorrow. Pants being too tight (exercise or buy bigger pants – either answer is right as long as you embrace the decision and don’t worry about it!)

Accept. Everything. With a smile. It is in your (my) life for a reason. A lesson to be learned.

Find a hobby you enjoy and do it – now – today – no more excuses!

This won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

OK day four – bring it on! I’m ready to dive in and get my feet wet. The sky may be cloudy, the weather arctic cold, (-14F for a high tomorrow) but I will practice being happy with a smile on my face and my patience hat on. And as I ebb and flow I will accept that, as graciously as I can for now (learning, remember), and soldier on.

Be Happy; the third day

Had a bit of a setback yesterday as, I suppose, should be expected. I have found that as soon as I make up my mind to do something Murphy’s Law kicks in full force. I was unhappy about everything, the things I attempted to do were difficult, even my clothes were fighting me!! OK, this is going to be much harder than I thought. Sometimes I get a sort of Pollyanna attitude that once I decide something, everything should just fall into place. Be easy. Happen in an instant. And when it doesn’t ….. well you know.

Then I realized I am missing the key piece to this puzzle: persistence!  Act As If.  Fake It Til You Make It.  One Day (or minute) At A Time. Keep On Keeping On. And how (the heck) do I do that?  Live in the moment.  Live in the now. Look at children, they are immersed in the moment they are in – they are not worried about next week, or if the neighbor is going to do something weird (that may, or may not affect you, but you worry about it anyway), or if it will be sunny in the morning, or what to cook for dinner …….

So, the key to being happy is persistently living in the now? Whoa! This IS going to be hard. Actually, I knew that. I knew it wasn’t going to just fall into place. I knew that I would trip and fall. Lather, rinse, repeat.  I just didn’t think it would happen on DAY TWO! Today I can laugh about it, and move on. Today is another chance to Be Happy – and I accept the challenge.

Week One Intention: Don’t Worry – Be Happy

The pursuit of happiness. Ethereal. Elusive. Perhaps ephemeral. A struggle for so many.  This was so important to the founding fathers that it was written into the constitution. but it was the pursuit of happiness, not happiness itself that was given as an inalienable right. We all have the right to pursue happiness. We almost always forget how.

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” -Helen Keller

Helen got it right. Keep happy. Be happy. Make it a part of you, like a favorite piece of jewelry you put on each day. Wear it. Live it. Happiness is not something to pursue – like a brass ring or a butterfly. You’ll never catch it, or you will wear yourself out trying. BE HAPPY.  B E  H A P P Y.  It’s an inside job.  We all know that person that, despite the circumstances surrounding them is forever smiling. Cheerful. Optimistic, almost carefree. They know a secret. The secret? BE HAPPY.

Decide today, no matter what happens, to be happy. Practice this daily. Visualize yourself putting on your Happy Suit, made of Teflon and mirrors, nothing can stick to it and everything bounces off. Mine is rainbow colored and smells like a fresh summer breeze.