Do Over!

Happiness is being married to your best friend!

Okay, I call "do over" since I have not written on this blog in FOR-E-VER!
It's not that I am unhappy but perhaps because I have been busy BEING happy. But that's no excuse, so let's move on...
I can feel my life being blessed lately and I think it's because of many things, the foremost being that I have been working hard on blessings. Do you ever do that? We are promised that if we live right, we will receive blessings and if told that if we don't, we have no promise.
Well, I am happy to report - and give testimony to - the fact that I can see this working in my life.
I read a book once by a man who talked about "the universe" and how there is this thing about everything interacting with everything else. He even believed that when you give, the universe gives back. Hmm, how about that?
Yes, it is truth that no matter how you believe it, there is something about life, the universe and everything that adds up to more than 42. (That was for all you Hitchhiker's Guide fans). And I have seen it. I personally attribute it to my Heavenly Father and the laws of the universe under his direction. Choose your own way of believing, no matter what it is, but just believe it. There really is something about giving in this world that sends better things your way. And I know it.
Isn't it great to be alive and to know that when you do good out there that somehow it is making more good for everyone else and even sending some back your way?
I had a co-worker once who said she didn't think people were as good as many others thought they were. She believed that if one were to lose their wallet, it was gone forever. Most people would keep it or toss it. That's just the way it was. People were generally selfish and she was afraid of the world in general.
Now, this woman lived in a small town in the USA. It was a family-oriented place, full of people who were generally good Christians. She had never lived anywhere but there and yet she felt this way. Was it the news she watched? Was it just her attitude? I was always unsure about that. But one thing I did know: she was never truly happy. She always seemed to be nervous that something bad was going to happen, fretting that someone was out there waiting to attack her or a loved one. She lived in a little town with good people but she was afraid.
Now don't get me wrong. She was a good person, did service and even worked with children at an elementary school helping them improve their reading. But she just couldn't relax and enjoy life.
I, on the other hand, have lived in some big cities where you never spoke to your neighbors or got involved in their lives. I have seen selfish people on the freeway, on the streets, in the parks. But I have also seen someone I know lose something at the store and have it returned to them soon after. I have seen strangers help an old lady pick up something that was dropped or mothers look out for children they didn't know. I believe that people are generally good. I think they all want to be good but sometimes they are in circumstances that cause them to choose differently sometimes.
And I am almost always happy.
Attitude can affect us and the world around us. I think that maybe the universe also gives happiness to those who share it. Those who have positive outlooks tend to draw more positive energy back to them. It sure seems to happen that way, anyway. Take a look around you (or in the mirror?) and watch: those who are happy and have good attitudes tend to draw others to them. We are all creatures of light and we crave that happiness that we see in those people. When we make up our minds to see the world in a positive way, we are telling the universe that we are part of that energy and it feeds us as we use it.
Or - you can look at it this way as well - when God gives us a promise, he keeps it. We give good, we receive good. What an awesome concept!
So, wherever you come from - believer or not - choose to be happy! And if you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for? What's it going to hurt to try and be cheerful and nice to others?
Hey, there are some crummy people out there but even they can change. Besides, you have to know that there is that reality that not everyone is on the same plane. Some people haven't discovered how to be happy yet. And if you are aware that some are liars or bad people, just stay clear of any situations that might harm you. You don't have to be gullible.
And one last thing. Keep this motto in mind: If you loan a friend twenty dollars and you never see that person again, it was worth the twenty dollars!
Keep on smilin'!