I woke up to the melodious sounds of a pissed off hen, squawking incessantly at the crack of dawn. Letting me know that a sliver of sunlight has graced the skyline, and thus, time to get out of the coop. In a flash, the day starts. Today was just like any other Monday morning, but it felt different. I was struggling. I've spent the last several weeks with my face in a book, and it's been stressful. Stressful, and I've taken very little time to breathe. I've not felt the sunshine on my face in what seems like forever. And just when I think it is never going to come, the sun finds its way out, and shines bright enough to pull the rough and tattered edges of my soul back together again. Happiness and laughter finds it way back in through the cracks and the strains, and I am reminded of what happiness is to me.
This morning while I was taking my children to school, I had a few minutes with the Wild Thing. Her school starts considerably later than the other three. This is usually the time that she and I spend talking about whatever is on her mind. It's 30 minutes where it is just me and her, and I treasure it. It almost feels stolen, because for those precious few minutes, she is just mine. It's this small window into her world, that I am allowed into, and she is unapologetically herself. I just look at her beautiful little face and admire the world through her eyes. I know I am running on borrowed time. I know that some day, these precious minutes will disappear, but for now they're mine.
While we were sitting in the car this morning, she started singing. Beautifully, unafraid, and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I've heard her sing before, and I know she has a beautiful voice. It's just today, she was happy. She was sunshine and light. Bright and warm enough to warm the very dark and coldest parts of my soul. She looked like a little angel. She didn't have a care in the world. At one point she closed her eyes, and then she turns to me, and smiles. And that's when I'm impacted by the severity of the situation. For three minutes, this little beauty shared her light with me. She warmed parts of my soul that I didn't even know existed. It took her three minutes to fix months of damage and neglect.
I think that joy is contagious or at least it should be. She shared her happiness with me like beaming rays of the warmest sunshine. I took a few minutes, composed myself, and sent her to class. But from that moment on, there was a little more bounce in my step. That sweet, sometimes crazy kid reminded me that there is always beauty in life, if we are willing to slow down just for a few minutes and find it. And I think that when you find a little piece of that, you should share the hell out of it. Because someone’s everyone can use a little happier.
I showed that video to friends and coworkers, and watched one by one as smokes spread across their faces and a little bit of joy found its way in. I watched worry lines and scowls fade. I had shared 3 minutes of my happy with them, and it prompted them to recall a similar situation that they were witness to. And for 5 solid minutes, the conversation is about joy.... nothing else. Every single time I watch that video... I feel as if my heart could burst, because it gives me so much joy. That may seem like a small thing, but those small things are EVERYTHING to someone who is struggling.
So, today... find the joy. Find a few minutes of happy and hold on to it until you think your heart is going to burst. And then share the hell out of it. You never know who you can save with 3 minutes. The joy comes around so often, but we are so oblivious to it because of everything else we do. The world tells us everyday that we won’t be happy unless we have obtained something. We have to work and have big houses and jobs, and have a million other things that really mean nothing. Happiness and joy is all around you all the time. Stop a minute, breathe, and find that joy. You deserve reckless happiness and sunshine in your life always. So find it, share it, or be it.
Because, lately, I’ve been, I’ve been thinking. I want you to be happier.
💚
-A
This morning while I was taking my children to school, I had a few minutes with the Wild Thing. Her school starts considerably later than the other three. This is usually the time that she and I spend talking about whatever is on her mind. It's 30 minutes where it is just me and her, and I treasure it. It almost feels stolen, because for those precious few minutes, she is just mine. It's this small window into her world, that I am allowed into, and she is unapologetically herself. I just look at her beautiful little face and admire the world through her eyes. I know I am running on borrowed time. I know that some day, these precious minutes will disappear, but for now they're mine.
While we were sitting in the car this morning, she started singing. Beautifully, unafraid, and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I've heard her sing before, and I know she has a beautiful voice. It's just today, she was happy. She was sunshine and light. Bright and warm enough to warm the very dark and coldest parts of my soul. She looked like a little angel. She didn't have a care in the world. At one point she closed her eyes, and then she turns to me, and smiles. And that's when I'm impacted by the severity of the situation. For three minutes, this little beauty shared her light with me. She warmed parts of my soul that I didn't even know existed. It took her three minutes to fix months of damage and neglect.
I think that joy is contagious or at least it should be. She shared her happiness with me like beaming rays of the warmest sunshine. I took a few minutes, composed myself, and sent her to class. But from that moment on, there was a little more bounce in my step. That sweet, sometimes crazy kid reminded me that there is always beauty in life, if we are willing to slow down just for a few minutes and find it. And I think that when you find a little piece of that, you should share the hell out of it. Because someone’s everyone can use a little happier.
I showed that video to friends and coworkers, and watched one by one as smokes spread across their faces and a little bit of joy found its way in. I watched worry lines and scowls fade. I had shared 3 minutes of my happy with them, and it prompted them to recall a similar situation that they were witness to. And for 5 solid minutes, the conversation is about joy.... nothing else. Every single time I watch that video... I feel as if my heart could burst, because it gives me so much joy. That may seem like a small thing, but those small things are EVERYTHING to someone who is struggling.
So, today... find the joy. Find a few minutes of happy and hold on to it until you think your heart is going to burst. And then share the hell out of it. You never know who you can save with 3 minutes. The joy comes around so often, but we are so oblivious to it because of everything else we do. The world tells us everyday that we won’t be happy unless we have obtained something. We have to work and have big houses and jobs, and have a million other things that really mean nothing. Happiness and joy is all around you all the time. Stop a minute, breathe, and find that joy. You deserve reckless happiness and sunshine in your life always. So find it, share it, or be it.
Because, lately, I’ve been, I’ve been thinking. I want you to be happier.
💚
-A
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