#filter #nofilter

Yes, those are hashtags, my friends. Hashtags. Because I have a terrible sense of humor.

I've been thinking about what makes us unhappy. I struggle (everyone but my husband does, I'm pretty sure...) with unhappiness. What makes me feel high? What makes me feel low? How do I avoid the things that incite rage/sadness?

You can't. Impossible = avoiding calamity, whether in the form of a screaming three year old, a dog eating the trash again, an asshole driver, or any other thing that causes discontent. Those things... they come anyway. Sometimes as a trickle. Sometimes as an onslaught. Try to fight them, and you'll get mowed down. Give in too much, and you'll get swept away. Strike a gentle balance where you let it pass over and around you, and that might get you somewhere. Or nowhere, if that's your intent.

So you can't avoid it, but you shouldn't go out and seek unhappiness in your moments. This is what I think we are most guilty of as fellow people on this planet. Instead of taking in where we are in the moment, we fight against it...

What if we all took a moment to look up from what we are doing, and instead of grinding away at our lives, engaging in our lives. Give up the need to drive ahead to tomorrow and choose to, in the words of Garth from Wayne's World, "Live in the now, Wayne, live in the NOW." Instead of using the instagram filter on our lives, enjoy the filter-less version, good-bad-ugly, in the moment, breathing into the world and into your life. Opt to believe the best about those who love us, not the worst. Accept things as they are, knowing they won't always be that way, and that every moment of life and growth is a special moment to be cherished, culminating in the best you. Active in your life, but not forceful.

I challenge you. #nofilter.