I mean it, I hope that today you look at this world that we live in and you find some small way to feel fortunate. I hope the smile of a loved one, the way their cheek dimples when they get the joke, calms you. I hope that the patch of sunlight that touches your skin from the nearby window warms your heart today. I hope that your today feels like an indie pop playlist blasting through open windows as the wind rushes through your hair and your best friend screams the lyrics beside you. I hope you find some small victory in today.
The news has been bleak lately, it feels like every time I look at a screen I'm met with more negativity- another shooting, another public argument, another person bemoaning their problems on social media. I won't pretend I don't commit the same crime of putting my first world problems on display, but I'm feeling like I should be better about it. The world needs more positivity, and while I'm only one person I can help in a small way. I can paint the walls of my heart yellow, and I can focus on the good in my life.
It's time to start counting blessings, instead of problems. It's time to start noticing the strengths of others, including my own strengths, instead of their flaws or weaknesses. It's time to give the world the love it deserves. How can I expect to have a happy life if I'm not making a choice to be happy every day, if I'm not consciously seeking out the good in today? I'm lucky to be alive. I'm lucky to have parents, friends and a family who love me. I'm lucky to be given the right to have an education. I'm lucky to have been raised in a home and in a society where that education IS my right and not something I had to fight for or wish for. I'm lucky that I can travel, and decide to change my clothes, and to have access to fresh water and so many other things that I continually take for granted. Even on my worst days, I still have these small victories to be thankful for, and that too makes me lucky.
Every single day has hidden blessings, small victories that we don't account for. Even if you woke up today and everything went awfully and the world is crumbling at your feet, at least you woke up today and will again tomorrow. Not every day has perfect weather, but you've survived every storm you've encountered thus far. The odds are in your favor, even when it feels like the universe is conspiring against you. I promise you that you will get back up and look back someday and think "Man, I am so lucky to have these people in my life, to have had that experience, and to be here today." Find the moments in life that make you feel lucky to be alive, and help those around you feel lucky too. I hope today you feel lucky.
