3 smiles and 1 frown

Do you remember today? Did anything great happen? Anything bad? This evening when asked "How was your day?" what will you say?

All too often we get caught up in the busy-ness of our daily lives and forget about the little things. I have several friends and colleagues that wear the badge of "busy" proudly on their chest. At some point (was it in the 80s?), being busy became a competitive sport. Many people run around being more busy than the next and then actually add things to do when their busy meter falls below frantic (yes, I have been guilty of this myself).

What do we miss with all of this busy-ness? The smile from a stranger, the hug of a child, the kudos from our boss. Granted, we may miss some not so good stuff too. We stub our toe on a chair, we spill our tea onto some important papers, we hear of the misfortune of a friend or experience some for ourselves.

I contend there is something important in recognizing the good and bad in each day. Recognizing the good helps us remember to be grateful. And the good reminds us life is pretty good on this side of the grass even when we stub our toe. Sure, we'd all like to forget the bad parts of life but they do serve a purpose. The bad parts of life help us to recognize how good the good parts are. Let's face it, life would be pretty boring if everything was perfect. Remember the movie "Pleasantville?"

So here is a little experiment for you today. Near the end of the next several days, make a little list. Record four events/memories/ideas/encounters/thoughts from your day. Three of them will make you smile; one of them will make you frown. Then when someone asks you about your day, you can pick one of the smiles and share the smile. When you're feeling down and too busy to find time for fun, read your list of smiles. Then read your frowns and remember how very good life is.

Give up the badge of busy and remember to be grateful. It might just make all of the difference in the world.