The happier you are, the happier your environment is. And the contrary.
The type of person you project is the type of person you attract into your life.
So why choose the dark?
((Because it is in depression that we learn the most about ourselves?))
But what would happen if instead, we chose to live light?
Once I was intimidated by a 60-year-old lady’s exquisiteness. Her long grey hair and blue jeans paired with a matching jacket fit snug over her slim, sturdy frame. She was accessorized with dangly earrings and mod glasses. However, what struck me—and made me slightly nervous—was her shear grace and grassroots beauty. She was the truth, unwrapping everything I tried to conceal...just with eye contact.
Her eyes were of the purest and bluest type—filled with kindness and genuine interest in my life. Eyes that hold the secrets of the world behind them, only allowing the rest of us a glimpse. She said, “you seem very happy today.” And I told her I was, for we didn’t have any reason not to be.
She smiled back and I self-checked my gleaming demeanour. I was self-conscious as she stood in silence with a wide-grin on her face. I maintained eye contact as I worked, blushing and looking down on occasion. Her gaze was constant. We just looked at each other, understanding each other and the universe clicked.
I felt compelled to say something—as I always do by default. But I was lost for words.
She had three bags of groceries and was still slowly collecting them when I finished the next customer. I returned to her, looping the plastic over her thin wrists and manicured nails. She grinned at me and told me to “keep smiling.” We smiled at each other before she turned away-- both in complete comprehension of how simple it is for there to be peace in this hectic world of grey noise and pollution.
I would have to wait until 8:10 pm to be swept away.
Do you ever have those days when words dance off your tongue with perfect precision and cleverness?
That’s what happened when this man walked into my life. He was wearing a black t-shirt and had perfectly tussled brown hair. Like Ian Curtis. Except there was more order in this man’s dysfunction. He must have been about 23 and had a Japanese symbol tattooed on each forearm.
It's more difficult for me to communicate with those I find truly interesting. We indulged in flirty small-talk just to fill the stale air and all of sudden there was colour. I worked steadily, as not to push him through my line but let him settle there for a second and be absorbed. We shyly smiled at each other and he said, “you look like you’re having fun.”
This was strange.
“I guess work is only as fun as you make it,” I reply. And he agrees with me, half-laughing. I continue working and my heart starts beating faster because he's still looking at me. He got off work awhile ago. His smile is gentlemanlike but rebellious at the same time—the kind of guy who is full of conviction but has the true ability to love. We talk about how attitude can profoundly affect situations.
I feel bold. I ask what his tattoos mean and he explains a personal story of how keeping in our sins in check ensures we lead the good life. This was meant in a secular sense.
Do you believe that two people can be soul mates just for a moment? Or are people just meat that operate in tandem with one another and there is no such thing as serendipity? (That last question is rhetorical.)
I almost asked him for his phone number...but not for sleezy reasons. If a 2-minute conversation opened up commonalities and connections, I can only imagine what an evening could produce. Those of us—and there are so many in our generation—need to connect with one another to fully realize how we can manipulate energy to make the world more beautiful.
Friendships. Conversations. Coalitions.
Some kids feel like they are born with old souls. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, listen to Conor Oberst sing or read anything he’s written. Old souls are better equipped to fully-realize their potential and the power of welcoming the intangible in a purely spiritual sense.
I say spiritual and not religious because I’m not referring to any religion’s God and I don’t believe in organized practice. In the sense that many faiths tell people they should control true urges rather than embracing and actualizing their desires and ultimately feeling good about who they are. Not to say that organized religion isn’t good for some people, all the power to you if it makes you happy. BUT don’t let it make you blind.
We shouldn’t be so hesitant to express happiness. Being jovial rubs off on others, just like smiling. You have the power to pay forward positivity and start a domino effect that will be passed beyond your own knowledge. You have the power to improve the moods of many in a day by simply SEEING the people around you as individuals and not extras in your own E! True Hollywood Story.
People never hesitate to bitch about the weather, yet feel this need to conceal happiness as if we aren’t supposed to express joy and celebration in public settings. I know women are not empowered with an education in Afghanistan, that the flower industry is raping worker’s rights and that governments are using fear tactics to control populations; but, I can still find peace within myself in order to one day, maybe, help bring more peace into the world.
It all starts by living in the present moment and stopping this awful habit of running around like anonymous ants trapped in some dungy cage.
We need to share our dreams and believe in each others’. For the more people that are dreaming our dreams with us, the better chance of those dreams becoming fully realized. And, on the best occasions, by sharing our dreams, we may inspire others to create and realize their own.
After all, if it wasn’t for hopes and dreams, we would all just start sinking.
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