There's Still Hope

As I write this, the stock market has just dropped several hundred points. There is yet more unrest in foreign lands. Congress can’t even agree to disagree, let alone make any progress on important issues. The sky is cloudy, the wind is blowing, and another storm is on the horizon.

And yet, there is still reason to hope. Christmas is just a few days away, and mankind historically takes a moment to pause and rejoice together. Then a week later we have New Year’s Day, with a freshly minted year to start anew.

In the Spring I will plant a garden. I plan to grow vegetables, and also some flowers. In particular I’m going to plant snapdragons, because they remind me of my Grandmother. I’m also going to plant several trees, most of which will no doubt still be alive when I’m long gone. And yet I will plant them anyway.

That is the human spirit, always looking ahead. Sure, there will always be loss, death, and tragedy. But there will also be moments to sing, dance, and rejoice. Those are the moments I choose to emphasize, because to do otherwise would against my very nature.

Did you get up this morning and turn on the TV for the news? Or perhaps you looked at your smartphone to check the headlines. Some of you may have even gotten the news from email, or social media (perish the thought). However you “tuned into” the world, I’m going to guess that it made you feel worse, not better.

So what can you do about it? Here is my simple suggestion: take out a blank piece of paper (word processing paper if you must), and write down everything that made you smile or laugh recently. Try for at least 10 things.

To get you warmed up, here are 10 things that made me smile recently:

1. I received an unexpected gift in the mail of a white coffee mug that fits my hand perfectly. It’s also the exact size I like.
2. While walking the dog on our property, I had gotten ahead of her by about 100 feet. I turned around and called to her, and she came “hobby-horsing” towards me in a sort of trot. Actually I smiled and laughed at that one.
3. I was washing the dishes, and went to put on some music to make the task more pleasant. I found, quite by accident, a “work out” version of Christmas music. Made me smile, and dance just a little too.
4. I located my glass miniature Christmas tree, turned on the light at the bottom, and it still worked.
5. I watched a documentary on Netflix, about Very British Problems, and found out that I’m more British than I realized. I smiled several times at all of the similarities, but I’m only going to count that as one item.
6. I struck up a conversation with the sales associate (I think that’s the job title – I could be wrong) at our local Walmart about the unusual spelling of her first name (Makenzie if I recall correctly). We spent what would have been a boring five minutes at the check-out laughing and talking about names, and how parents don’t fully comprehend the lifelong implications of strange names and strange spellings for their children.
7. On Gmail, I recently discovered the “snooze” feature. I like a nice tidy inbox, and sometimes I don’t have time for a particular email the moment I open it. Now, I can “snooze” it, and it will disappear until a better time. I’m smiling now just thinking about it.
8. I put on a brand new pair of boots, and they fit perfectly. That may not sound like very much to many of you, but I have feet that are extra wide, and finding footwear that fits is something of a small miracle.
9. I made a beef roast in the crockpot, and my family ate every last bite. Truly not significant to anyone else, but since I’m not exactly a Blue Apron Chef this was quite an accomplishment for me.
10. My husband makes me smile and laugh all the time. So much of it is situational humor, and difficult to capture in a sentence. But trust me, not a day goes by without a smile or three between us.

Now it’s your turn. Leave me a comment with one reason to smile. With any luck, we’ll spread some cheer and lift up someone’s day. Thanks in advance.