Don't worry, Be Happy!! or The face of a mule!!

A young boy was asked to draw what he thought a face looked like. When finished the teacher guessed it was a mule, nope replied the boy, it is my daddy's face. No, this was not my son, but it well could have been I suppose. Do we all walk around daily wearing a "mule's face?" Long, solemn, sad and unfriendly? I do understand that everyone does have sadness in their lives sometimes, but daily? Is life that bad for some folks?

I regularly call an office and when one particular person answers the phone I can always hear the smile on her face. She makes me happy that I've called that phone. I feel compelled to talk with her for just a moment so that I can enjoy her happiness and joy that she is so freely passing my way. What a great way to pass thru this life, with a huge smile on your face, so big that folks can actually HEAR your smile when you talk on the phone!!

I was recently reading an article about the biggest problems most folks face and I was totally surprised at the list. They included: Anger, Ego, Pride, Self-Centeredness, Competitive, and Addiction. Wow!! I can certainly see those in my life on a regular basis and upon quiet reflection I discovered that I was the cause of most of those problems. I quote I use on my email sometimes is this: "I am the biggest problem I encounter on most days!"

My attitude sometimes seems to forget the many Blessings that I have and feel in my life and seems to bore in on those minor "Gnat Bites" that I encounter daily. Driving in city traffic bothers me yet I forget that millions of other folks can't even afford gas, let alone owning a car, they walk everywhere. I'm willing to bet that person walking to get somewhere smiles and most likely isn't bothered with Pride, Ego or Self-Centeredness in their life. I hear people who run do it because it makes them feel so good, my question then is why aren't they smiling? When you look at the face of most runners you get to see a great "Mule Face." I suffered a blister on my heel last Saturday from walking around shopping all day, I walked around the rest of the weekend (even until last night) complaining about my pain, yet I forgot about the guy I passed riding his specially custom made bike in a 20 mile trek without any feet or legs, and yes HE was smiling! I KNOW he had to have blisters on both hands from pumping his bike that whole time.

So, what can I do about this problem today? Well, today is the first day of the rest of my life, so I just have to concentrate on changing my mind (we are the only creatures God created that can easily do that) and removing my "Mule face" to be replaced with a huge smile. If you catch me with anything but a smile on my face for the rest of this week, please call me on it and I will give you a dollar as thanks for reminding me.

Make this a great week, Smile at everyone! I suggest it will make folks wonder what you know that they don't.
Steve