Yea! I know stuff like this don’t happen to you, being all put together and in control as you are, but I woke up this morning with a headache as big as the map of Africa, and the first words out of my mouth were “oh crap”. I had been dreaming, of what I can’t fully remember, but as I lay there half awake I began to grumble about everything I could think of. You have to understand, I could think of a lot of things; stress of work, having to wake up early, bills to pay, crazy family to deal with, empty bank accounts to worry about, … The more I dredged up stuff, the bigger my headache got. By now, I had added the map of South America with an oceanic tsunami of depression with it. All of a sudden the day looked bleak, I could not get up or off the bed, I was almost feeling sick, it was going to be a bad, very bad day.
Then as if by some divine intervention, because it must have been one, for I was already so down the pit of despair that the sun had gone on a break from the sky. I heard a voice in my head or my heart, not sure which actually, but it said “why are you so sad?” wow! This was my opportunity to reel our everything that was wrong with my life. I assembled my arsenal of reasons which if put together was proof that my life really sucked. Just as I was about to let loose my tirade, the voice continued “sorry, one more thing before you start, for every crappy thing you mention, try to also mention if possible, something to be grateful or happy about, tied to it.” Now I had a feeling I was about to be tricked and I was not in the mood, but yet I was so sure that my life was downright crappy that I agreed to the deal. So I started:
No money in the bank; but I’m thankful for a job, and food to eat.
Bills to pay; thankful for the air conditioner that made my sleep sweet,
Thankful for the car I had to drive to work.
I quarrel with my family; thankful for their unflinching support.
I dislike my troublesome neighbor; thankful for my loving friends.
Unhappy I woke up early; thankful I woke up at all…
And on and on I went, until I got tired. I then realized that it was very easy to find more than one thing to be grateful for every one thing I was unhappy about.
So why in Pete’s sake was I so beat down? Why was I having such a lousy morning, especially after I realized that whether I’m happy or sad, I have the same number of issues?
So I asked my little voice, “why was I so unhappy first thing this morning?”
And the answer I got kinda shocked me, it said “it is because you woke up to an ‘oh crap’ its morning! Instead of ‘yippee’ its morning!”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute” I argued, “it can’t be that simple”
“But it is”, it insisted.
“Really? So what do I do?” I asked,
“program yourself once you regain consciousness, even before you open your eyes” it said, “irrespective of how you think you feel, let a shout of Yippee! Bubble from your inside out, if for nothing else you are awake today! Very soon, you’ll begin to celebrate waking up in the morning, and gosh! Your day will start getting better until you begin to look forward to waking up in the morning. Yippee!”
So would you try it for a few days and let me know how you feel, I already feel like ‘ Yippee!’
“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. if you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”
Tecumseh
