3 Ways to be Happy

You wake up in the morning and you hear the birds singing. “Why are they so happy?” Soon you imagine the neighbor’s cat finally catching the bird in the bird bath. You smile as the song “Circle of Life” plays in your mind. Chipper birds need to die on a regular basis and that satisfies your sleepy and grumpy soul.

Seriously, birds do not have mortgages, thankless jobs or squabbling kids. Heck, birds throw their young out of the nest at an early age. You run all this stuff through your head before you even open your eyes. Slowly, your eyes open and you realize the Rapture did not come and you are, indeed, ready to face another day. And, the new day is probably very similar to yesterday.

However, YOU have decided that today you will not have a bad day. You will not wish death upon the birds of the sky. You will not let dumb people strike a gold rush of sarcasm from your vast cache of stored bitterness. You are going to have a joyful day and you are going to like it.

Before I am accused of huffing inhalants or starting my new career as an alcoholic, I faced the same grumpiness this morning. I woke up at 4:30AM and it was a “running” day. So I stand up and immediately get into the floor because my feet, legs, hips and back refuse to operate functionally until I stretch. On the wood floors  in my bedroom, I fussed to myself that I am too old for all of this and I could really start tomorrow. To prove I have not lost my mind, I fussed QUIETLY because if I woke up my wife grumbling, then the bird in the tree stands a better chance of living until breakfast.

I finally go outside and it feels like I stepped into a slab of roast beef. Hot and humid at 4:45AM. Really? That just prompted more grumbling and then a couple blocks from the house, it hit me.

Make today a joyous day! Whoa, wait a minute, I am sweating and the Tin Man before oil moves better than me. Again, my brain tells me, “Have a joyous day!”. I have learned just to give in and trust God when my mind starts doing this. So, I tell God, “Okay, Dad, you win and will You show me how?”

Asking God for direction when I am unsure of the possibility DOES make sense. So, as I trod up and down the street, I began asking for guidance and came up with 3 simple ways to add joy. Maybe there would have been more but hypoxia from running may have limited the suggestions. I am to running what a grizzly bear is to tennis: We are both really hairy and the actions are unnatural.

Here are 3 ways to add joy in your day.

1  

L    LAUGH. With me, I either laugh at myself or I laugh at what comes out of my mind. I am easily entertained. I also enjoy hearing my wife and kids laugh and I go out of my way to make people smile and laugh at work. Remember, I work in a prison so although I have a captive audience, they are a bit of a hard crowd.

2   

      Do SOMETHING nice for someone you would not normally do. Remember when it was thought Boy Scouts would help little old people across the street? It was a good deed. I am not talking a huge thing, but I am talking about a random act of kindness. I was in line at the store the other day and the person in front of me miscalculated tax. Hey, it happens but they were 25 cents short. Well, they were not buying alcohol, cigarettes or weapons of mass destruction, so I just reached up and gave them a quarter. I mostly appreciated the shock on their face as they realized a complete stranger gave them a quarter.

3 

           Give someone a sincere compliment. Do this WITHOUT seeking secondary gain. Do not compliment the hot co-worker you have been dying to talk to.Jobs have sexual harassment laws and the idea of violating these laws will not add joy to your life. If you do this, it may free up some of your time, but your financial situation will suffer. Tell a co-worker how much you value their input. I can usually find a way to compliment my patients, even though they are prisoners. To me, they ARE not defined by their offense and they need to remember that God made them and, well, God does not make junk.

See, 3 easy ways to add joy to your life. If you don’t like these you can try:

1.     Watching 3 Stooges videos on YouTube

2.     Read an article or a book from an author you find funny

3.     Tell an old and corny joke

4.     Remember and share a funny story. I have TONS of there about my kids.

5.     Find a kid, play with them and soon you will smile.

Have a great day