Livin' the Good Life

I have a pretty good  great life.
You probably have a pretty good life, too; maybe even a great life.

However, I have found that I can take my great life and turn it into a crappy life by changing nothing more than my outlook. I don't have to give up any of the things that make my life grand. I don't have to work at a harder job, nor do I have to lose the job that I have. I don't have to give up my health (which isn't perfect but free from anything major) and I don't have to worry about a daily food provision--as a matter of fact, I still get to eat some pretty tasty (if not so healthy) foods pretty much as I choose.

I get to keep my modest home and my beater car. I get to keep all of my friends (both of you guys) and I still get to enjoy a great family.

All I have to do to turn my otherwise great life into something that is unbearable and crappy is to start thinking about all of the things that I don't have (whether or not I need or want them) and all of the things that others have (again, whether or not I want, need or have earned them) and all of a sudden, I am burdened with life's woes and am a miserable person to be around.

I can complain about the government and how "the Man" is oppressing me. I can complain about my job and how management doesn't care about my needs. I can complain about my weight and my health as I shovel in another fast food burger or junk food snack. I can complain about pretty much anything I feel like as long as I can think of a way that my own little world would be better if I had or didn't have whatever it is that would make life better.

I can envy those that have larger, fancier homes even though they may have worked very hard to acquire their wealth. I can complain about the young people that drive nicer vehicles even though I've chosen to drive the no car payment beater.

I can complain about my neighbors or the people that I work with that care more about themselves and their needs than they do about me and my needs--in my world, it's okay if it's all about me.

I hope you get the idea.

We can choose to be negative.
We can choose to ignore our blessings and find fault with every situation.
We can choose to be miserable.
We can choose to be victims of a cruel world.
We can choose to have a crappy life.

Or not.

We can also choose to acknowledge our blessings.
We can choose to value the people around us.
We can choose to appreciate our freedoms.
We can choose to be positive.
We can choose to be a blessing to others.

We can decide that in spite of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we will be grateful for the people and the things that we have.

I hope that today is a good great day for you.
I hope that somebody offers you a word of encouragement today.
I hope that you will choose to be a blessing to somebody today.

A smile
A kind word
A kind act
It could be enough to change somebody's day--to change somebody's life.

Blessings to you,
John <><