Damn it, I AM going to be happy!

I'm going to tell you a short story.

I went to Costco today, to return some merchandise which had turned out to be defective.  It turned out to be a short trip, surprisingly.  But at the return counter, a young lady waited on me, and she seemed to be, well, a bit worn.  Not sad, not unhappy, just worn.  It must get to you, waiting on folks bringing in stuff they don't want or turned out to be damaged or something.

When she finished, I looked up after she gave me the returned cash and said simply, "Have a nice day!"  Instantly, her entire demeanor changed - she brightened up and smiled (which made her face even prettier) and kind of stumbled out a quick return "Thank you".  I walked away, not thinking much about it because I do this all the time.

But just a while ago, doing the dishes, I thought about it again, and something occurred to me.

Generally speaking, I am happy with my life.  Don't get me wrong, I don't walk around with a silly grin  on my face all day.  But, and this is important, I want to be happy, and refuse to let the little stuff get me down.

I have every reason to like my life.

I have a family that I love dearly and by and large returns that love.  I have a job that more than just pays the bills.  I live in a country that has allowed me to go from a poor GI Spec/4 with a wife and a daughter to a senior IT tech with the Feds barely two or three years away from what should be a good retirement.  I never miss a meal except by choice and have what to most of the world throughout most of history would consider a king's wardrobe.  Well, by size and numbers, anyway.  My stuff isn't THAT expensive!

So, having said these things, I know that most of the human race isn't as fortunate.  But even so, there is one thing I have in common with others I have met who are among that group - I refuse to let life make me unhappy.

Let me say that again.

I refuse to let life make me unhappy.

I've met folks whose circumstances of life are quite a bit less fortunate than mine, and were as happy as can be - because they, too refused to let things get them down.  I met a man on the Metro a while back, and that was his point to me.  He was fully aware that his life was frankly, the pits.  No home, no job.

But the man had a smile on his face and a good word for everybody he met.

I want to be like him.  I want to walk away from as many encounters with others as I can where they walk away with a smile on their faces.  Not because they like me, but because I can remind them what it is to be happy.

In retrospect, that young lady at Costco made my day.  She smiled at me, not just because I said something nice, but because I reminded her that not everybody is unhappy and has their hands out for money.

I want to do that every day.


I know that I post a lot about politics and religion, and much of it is about what I consider bad aspects of them.  Posts about things people say and do that I think are bad for our society and do not bode well for the future.  So much of it isn't exactly positive and upbeat.

So, I will try, at least once a week, to post something upbeat.  Something positive.  Life isn't all roses, but neither is it full of thorns, either!

I hope you had a nice day.