Nothing lasts

There are many, many people that live unhappy lives.  They are unhappy with their work or their family or the choices they made yesterday or choices they made years ago.  Co-workers or kids acting up can be a drain on the life they are trying to live.

The good news is that nothing lasts.

Nothing is going to be the same as it was.  People and situations will change whether you do something or do nothing at all.  All those stressful things will pass.

Enjoying the good things in your life now is a good thing . . because nothing lasts.
Letting go of the stressful things now is a good thing . . . because nothing lasts.
Doing the right thing while you have the chance is a good thing . . because nothing lasts.

Making today a good day, right here, right now is the best thing.

Who are you?

Start small; what would you want to be on your headstone?


"Beloved Spouse"?
"A Friend to All"?
“Devoted Wife and Loving Mother”?
“Wonderful father and faithful to the end”?

A little harder now; what would you want in your obituary?

Would it be a standard "So-and-so was survived by so-and-so and dies after short illness,"?  Or would it be more about your life?  What you had done?

Now for the big money question; what would your eulogy say about you?
Would your eulogy talk about your accomplishments?  Would it talk about the people you touched? 

Are you who you want to be?  What's stopping you?

A good life is made up of good days.  And good days only happen if you are doing what you want to be doing.  They only happen if you are doing what you were meant to be doing.

I want "Today is a good day" to be the theme of my headstone, my obituary, and eulogy.  My sister's funeral is my standard for "horrible, terrible, very bad days" it was also a time to remember wonderful things about her.  I can only hope that my life, well lived, will lead to a celebration at my death.  I want people to talk about how I made days better for other people.

Who are you?  How will you be remembered?

Reward yourself.

Small successes can make for a good day.  It's great if those small success are recognized by our friends or co-workers, or supervisors but that doesn't always happen.  Rewarding yourself is always a winning plan.

I have a large yard.  It can take hours to mow.  I've implemented a system whereby, based on outside temperature and grass length, I get beer tokens that I can cash in for adult beverages.

[Granted, I really enjoy mowing the lawn most days.  It gives me a repetitive task that requires little thought itself where I can either think about things or think about nothing.  It's two to three hours of good day in any case.]

If you don't have your dream job, if you are just marking time until something better comes along, you probably need something to keep you going more than a paycheck in two weeks.  So perhaps a stash of chocolate should be part of your make-today-a-good-day-by-rewarding-myself kit.

You should know where the closest craft store is if that's what makes you happy so you can pop in and get some scrap-booking thing.  Or maybe you need to keep a Starbucks or iTunes or Amazon gift card charged and ready for when you deserve a reward.

If exercise or napping is what you love to do reward yourself with time for either when you deserve it . . because you deserve it.

Go ahead.  Reward yourself.  Make today a good day.

Water. Electricity.

Everyone reading this has fresh water and electricity.  Stop for a second and think about that.  You can shower or drink whenever you want.  You have lights at any hour you want.  Those things should be able to make today a good day.

In undeveloped countries and here in the US millions of hours are spent getting water.  Water that can likely make you sick . .  but it's better than nothing.

When you day is horrendous and you can't think of one good thing . . remember that you were able to brush your teeth this morning; remember you could turn on a light in your kitchen to make your coffee. 

Consider for a moment that the poor in developed countries would be considered rich in under-developed ones.

http://www.coe1.org/
http://www.charitywater.org/
http://movingwindmills.org/

LOL. Really? Really!

The other day I was in a chat room and someone posted a link to some video.  My two office mates both watched it and typed "lol".  The secret though?  I was four feet away from both and didn't hear a peep.

Me?  I watched the video and typed "lqtm".  "Laughing quietly to myself".

I rarely laugh out loud.  When I do, it's often a short, quiet laugh barely noticed by anyone, even myself.

I realize that when I do, I feel better.

I need to laugh more.  I need to laugh long and hard.  I need to show a physical manifestation of the joy I feel so that I can spread it around.

"A good time to laugh is any time you can."  ~Linda Ellerbee, Journalist, Nick News

"Laughter is an instant vacation."  ~ Milton Berle, Comedian

"With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die."  ~Abraham Lincoln, President and tall guy

Want to have a good day?  Laugh.  Laugh out loud.

Can you be "whelmed"?

A person can be underwhelmed by something . . and overwhelmed by others.  I wonder though, if someone can be in a perfect state of bliss  . . and be "whelmed"?

I don't know anyone that goes through a week without being overwhelmed.  I  know people that cannot go through a day without overwhelmed.  It seems sometimes that our way of life is designed to keep us right on the wrong edge of the overwhelmed line.  Being overwhelmed can make it hard to have a good day.

One way to try to make an overwhelming day better is to break overwhelming things into smaller  . . manageable pieces.

Chocolate also helps.
Going outside helps.
Laughter helps.
Rest helps.

Now . . having done all that you are likely further behind.  Time to catch up.

Make a list of what you can reasonably get done.  Whatever doesn't fit on that list put on another to be done later.  If new tasks arrive put them on one of the two lists.   If it has to go on today's list . . take something off and put it on the other.

If these tasks are given to you by someone else . . tell them what you are doing and why.  Get them to help you prioritize.

If these tasks were assigned to you by you . . give yourself a break.   Your life is pretty short and getting shorter all the time.

Now is a good time to go to your happy place and finally feel "whelmed" . . before you go under.

Dirt. Grass. Sky.

If you want to make today a good day you should spend time with dirt, grass, or sky.  Spend time with all three for extra bonus points.

Our lives are so busy these days.  It seems like there is always something dragging us to do some other thing.

Spending time with dirt, grass, or sky requires us to take a minute and slow down.

Start your day walking barefoot somewhere where your feet can feel something soft.  You will be spending most of your day in shoes walking on hard surfaces.  Give your feet a break.  See how high up your body you can feel the grass as you walk.  Try to sink down into the earth as you move.

Take a look at the sky.  Sunrise, sunset.  Clouds.  Color.   Feel the wind and smell the smells.  Listen for trees rustling in the wind.

Good day don't have to me wonderful, magnificent things.  They can be have dirt . . . and grass . . and sky.  Then again, those can be magnificent, wonderful things too.