I started the year with a distinct promise to myself. This year would be about becoming a better version of myself. I knew that this would take a bunch of little steps to fulfill the bigger promise. Things like my gratitude jar, which I love. I write down one good thing at the end of the night. It makes me smile when writing it. Also, I decided to be happy or at least act happy. I've spent entirely too much time last year being unhappy because of the actions of other people. Every day I wake up with that thought "Be Happy." It is absolutely true what Gretchen Rubin writes in "The Happiness Project," Look for happiness under your own roof” & “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
Things that would normally bother me, don't anymore. I have truly given myself over to this new way of thinking and being. I can no longer carry unhappiness around with me like an accessory. Bad things happen. More often than not, to good people. But, for as long as I am on this Earth, I have the chance to change my circumstances. I messed up before. I put the keys to my happiness in the hands of another. That was the wrong move. Because it gave that person the power to break me and they did. I became a woman I didn't know last year. I was angry and hurt and upset and sullen. I do not have time for that woman anymore. She no longer exists.
Thinking happy thoughts has truly changed my outlook. I'm not saying that I won't stumble because I will. I had a day this week where I could not muster a happy thought. So, I allowed myself to feel what I was feeling. I gave myself the day and then I was over it. I am fully aware of everything in my life. I know the good and bad. I do not sugarcoat anything. I think that there has to be more in store for me, for my life. I'm more determined than every to find out what it is. My happy thought for today is a simple one: "the weather is warming up, I'm out of the house and life is good. I am thankful for today." For me, these are the thoughts that get me through my day. What more can I ask for? Happiness, is indeed, a choice. I choose to be happy everyday. So should you.
This statement is so true to me. I am what you would call a music elitist or a music snob. I totally (albeit silently) judge people on their musical tastes. I do. I can admit that. I am not hear for this trash that the music industry is attempting to shove down our throats. I crave real talent, great beats and awesome lyrics. And, if an artist cannot give me those three things, I cannot get with it. I love Hip-Hop but there is something missing from most of the current artist. R&B is on life support. I am not here for this Euro-dance pop trash either. I need R&B singers to sing that genre of music and nothing else. The snob in me desires this. You are definitely what you listen to . So, forgive me if I am not into 2 Chainz, Future, and the like. They do nothing for me. They don't even move me to dance. Snobbish, yes. But, it's who I am.
I can not truly listen to and enjoy local radio stations. They play popular music but most of it has no substance to it. I cannot stomach it. So, I do not deal. I feel music so deeply. I do not know why I identify with it so much. It's just a part of my DNA makeup, I believe. If someone tells me that Lil Wayne is a better rapper than Jay-Z, I cannot fathom this. Statements like that makes me side eye a person. If your musical taste is suspect, we can't truly see eye to eye. Because, you see, music means as much to me as reading and writing. Radio stations play the same "hot" songs over and over. If you love a song, the radio will make you hate it. I avoid the radio at all costs. Call me a snob but my musical palette wants, craves, desires more. IT isn't fed by what's hot in the streets. I don't need a dj or a blog to tell me what's good music. My ears work impeccably. What are your ears hearing? Tell me about.
