OK....so the proverbial question was just asked of me again. I had made a call to try and obtain some help with my current Batavia Players Summer Youth Theater Production of Jesus Christ, Superstar and the person on the other line informed me that "time really does fly by...was it time for this again". Then came the proverbial anticipated question. Why do I do this year after year, summer after summer and place your life on hold over the nicest months to do a musical show in Batavia? I assured her that yes, it was "that time of year again" and continued with my conversation to see if they could be of some help. I added some simple platitude like, "Someone has got to do it!" I was certain we would digress and since listening is a skill I sometimes have to hone, I decided to give her a listen.
After a few moments listening, I realized she was just one more person out of millions that expected happiness to find them....I have often thought that most people really want to be happy but rarely are they happy in the quality or quantity that they believe they deserve. Most people also believe it is up to happiness to find them.... Not lifting a single little finger to achieve this goal on thier own. Her discussion of the uninhabital weather, the cost of gas, the price of milk and the need to crack down on some expenses sent me into a quandry. She actual asked, "How can you be happy with the price of milk being what it is these days?"
So we did digress and my mind wandered and soon the person on the other end was getting my uh-huhs and oh gee's etc...... and I was thinking of some basics in my life. When I was a little kid and the price of milk went up or there was a need to conserve, we just did it. I remember my mom mixing non-fat dry milk with water and then adding a quart of regular milk to it so that is was 80% powdered milk product and 20% the real thing. She told us it was healthier and we drank it and obtained the proverbial milk mustache...in reality she was trying to save money. Mom was never really a stellar cook, but we did have some treats from time to time. We were not allowed to eat chips or snacks. We ate popcorn.....freshly popped. In her words....."It is much better for you and you get a natural product". In reality, a bag of popcorn would provide my family a week's worth of snacks for 29 cents. I particularly liked lemon/grape kool-aid with only half the sugar ( YOU guessed it if you knew that Mom said it was "better for us than soda with less sugar") The reality was it saved money). I even learned to like the milk mixture.
The point of this whole discussion is this. When we were challenged financially, and there were times when were and times when we were not, we adapted and smiled and laughed and did everything pretty much that we liked to do. We just had to be resourceful. We made things, we had 4-H Meetings, we walked to the neighbors and we took care of our farm and animals. We may have complained about the heat of the summer while putting up hay or the price of gas going over 40 cents a gallon, but we adapted. We were always just fine.
Today I wonder. Do we actually buy happiness? Are those that have money any happier than those that need or want? Do we expect happiness to take its merry stroll through the universe and find us???? When I think back to lemon/grape koolaid and fresh popped popcorn and working on the farm I realize the answer. IT really is up to us to find happiness and to take as much of it as we can hold. It is the one component of this world where there is always enough, you can't take too much and it is found everywhere. It is a simple process, being happy. I happen to find happiness when I am creating the Batavia Player's Summer Youth Theater Production and working with such great young people. I happen to find happiness when I sit with my grandchildren and read, play or rock them while watching television.
I find little things and big things to make me happy. So when you think you are going to complain too much and you are falling in a trap of the doldrums....go out on an adventure. Scrape up your last change and see a funny movie or rent a DVD, sit next to a children ladden with laughter playground or look at a baby. Grab a good book and read or take the time to stare at some birds at a feeder. The abundance of happiness is out there......even in the darkest times it can be found....and there is only one cardinal rule when you do find it..... Share It....Look for someone else who is looking for happiness and give them a hug full.
The only thing better than finding happiness for yourself is sharing happiness with another.
