Don’t Worry – Be Happy?

I have been thinking about that post about the Glass Ceiling. I love it when things come across my desk that keep me thinking for days, don’t you? Anyway, I was mulling over the ideas of being able to create our reality when an old song suddenly popped into my head. That’s right, you guessed it – “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” by Bobby McFerrin. That song was way back in the 80’s, wasn’t it?

As I recall, in the 80’s I worried about everything. I was a young-ish mother of a baby and I thought the world was a scary place! I had a friend who would groan every time that song came on the radio, “Ugh… if only it were that easy!” The song really used to irritate her. I found a difference in the way we perceived the song and a difference in the way we perceived life itself, in fact. Sure, we were both young and scared that our little boys might not be able to have a full life if the cold war was to annihilate the world as we knew it. The difference was where she saw a dark inevitability I saw a sliver of bright hope. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it was a glass half empty – glass half full thing… it was more like my glass was half empty and hers was a quarter empty!

In those days I thought it best not to admit that I had hope and even when things looked so bleak I still had that little annoying optimism. Annoying anyway, to those who preferred to think the adult thing to do was to be pessimistic! The pessimists didn’t see it that way, they thought they were just ‘seeing it the way it was’ – being ‘realistic’.

As the years passed I was heartened by the end of the cold war and the promise of my son’s bright future. With each week, month, and year I slowly changed my outlook on everything. Even if I was seeing life in an ‘unrealistic’ way it just, plain felt better that way! I don’t mean I was listening to Pollyanna voices in my head – I merely learned to look over every situation presented to me and chose the more positive view. Not every situation had the proverbial silver lining, but I sure as heck was going to look for one. Something funny happened: the more I looked, the easier it was to find. I like to think I was playing a part in creating what I consider ‘my’ reality.

Call me crazy, call me airy-fairy, call me unrealistic… call me whatever you want. But know one thing; not worrying excessively does inevitably lead to happiness no matter which reality you choose. Try it!

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