COCKEYED OPTIMISTS

Andrew M. Greeley said, "We're given chances every day of our life.  We don't usually take them, but they're there for the taking."  Okay, I will buy that, but I have to ask what stops us.  What keeps us in the same old routine, the same drudgery we complain about all the time and never do anything about?  Weakness, stupidity, fear?  Whatever it is, it stops us from living our lives. Each morning is the beginning of a new day. Each minute is the beginning of a new hour. We have a huge choice as to what we are going to do with that day or hour.  And when you think about it, what we do about it defines who we are and where the boundary of our cares and concerns really lies!

Each day we are given a second chance.  A chance to do the right thing.  A chance to find the magic in a new beginning.  Alfred Lord Tennyson said, ".....men may rise on stepping stones of their dead selves to higher things."  I agree. We should always stand ready, ready to welcome a new experience with an ecstatic frame of mind. We need to believe.  We need to be cockeyed optimists!  We need to live this life we were given.  The risk of staying stuck is certain death.  The risk of moving forward has glorious rewards.

"The good old days were never that good, believe me.  The good new days are today, and better days are coming tomorrow.  Our greatest songs are still unsung." ~ Hubert H. Humphrey

I see this philosophy in our warriors.  I see it in the faces of the wives who have remained by their sides.  I see it in the faces of the service dogs who are trained to stand beside them...no matter what.  I see it in the smiles on the faces of 80+ year old people, who take joy in each moment they are alive.  I see it in the faces of children who are excited from moment to moment. I see it in the faces of those who have faced death head on and find joy in the next second. The good news is it is there to be seen.  And it is there to be envied.  People who remain stuck, do so out of choice.  How ultimately sad for them.  They are dying a slow miserable death. 

The bad news is there are those who remain in the quagmire of disbelief.  I have seen it in the face of family members who had/have no spark, no energy, no desire to reach out into this world and seize the day, the opportunity, the love. They barely speak, much less love this life they have been given.

A bit of magic awaits all of us each day, if we remain open to it.  So for me this new year is going to be more than just a new year.  It is going to be a new life to be greeted with enthusiasm and joy, as I leave behind those whose negativity causes dread in me and death to others.

We can all have a fresh start whenever we set out minds to it. We can make excuses over and over again as to why we stay down, but not for this lady.  I will live today well.  I will begin anew with each day, just as nature does.  I, like Thomas Jefferson, says "I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past."

"Those who face that which is actually before them, unburdened by the past, undistracted by the future, these are they who live, who make the best use of their lives; these are those who have found the secret of contentment."

~Alban Goodier

As for me I follow the words of Martin Luther King, " The time is right to always do what is right."

Happy New Year everyone!