Just like the pen holder, which leads to the stash of paper on the table and the clothes on the chair. From there to the cupboard, the pile of clothes that need ironing and the pile that needs washing. You end up refilling the detergent and somehow you have reached the stash of groceries and monthly stocks that need to be unpacked and there you are in the the kitchen fixing plates and bowls.
All in all the house is a mess, your day is lost and you end up feeling even more messed than before.
What have you done — so much.
What have you achieved — so little.
How do you feel — pissed!
The journey in our heads is similar.
It is easy to go from the burnt garlic, the mud on the football shoes, to the anger you felt in the words the night before, the judging look that you saw in the corner of your eye to the the loneliness you feel, only to be engulfed by despair.
Choose instead to throw the garlic out.
Pick up the shoes and lay them out of your sight.
The meals that weren’t eaten, the questions that seemed hurtful, let them go.
Don’t let it grow.
Happiness is a choice.
We have to choose it.
We have to work for it.
Yesterday, I failed at it. MISERABLY. It took me ten minutes to go from the skipped meals, lack of vegetables in my son’s diet, to the note in the almanac, to the disrespect he shows to his food, his parents and his teachers by not following their instructions and on and on and on.
It did not end well for anyone.
And so I tell you, what I tell myself.
Choose instead to change your focus.
Walk away if you need to. Breathe Hard. Sip some water.
Talk to the friend who has been feeling out of place.
Think of the hug your child gave you for no particular reason.
Smile at the call your friend made to tell you about her rain escapades.
Think of the husband who delayed going to work to drop you off at the interview.
Appreciate the mother who made you your favourite meal before you woke up.
Accept the kindness of the neighbour who is always a call away.
Focus on the million beautiful things around you and life will possibly take a happier direction.
