Happiness Is The Best Revenge

One of my favorite HGTV personalities, Candace Olsen, once said, "You know what they say, 'You can never be too rich, too skinny, or have too many pillows.'"  Well said, Candace.  Well said.

And although she said it well, I actually don't believe a word of it.  I know some filthy rich people, and they've got boatloads of problems, just like the rest of us.  Sometimes they're not the same problems I've got, but they're problems none the less, and they're not problems I want.  So the 'too rich' part doesn't really pan out for me, because rich or poor, everybody's got problems, and clearly, money won't solve them.

The 'too skinny' part doesn't wash with me either.  Too skinny is just naysty.  Sometimes, I think maybe some people should throw in a sandwich.  Mmmm, openface tuna melt.

Finally, if you've got a bunch of pillows on your bed, it's just the same as having a boatload of stuffed animals.  And, as every parent knows, stuffed animals are like resorts for dust and its living counterpart, dust mites.  Thirty five pillows may look good on your bed, but you're going to have some funky stuff living in your sinuses.  So yes, you actually can have too many pillows.  I'm not a spartan.  I'm practical.

The point of Candace's statement is clear, but the parameters are off.  Her quirky little colloquialism refers to never having too much of the best things in life.  But in my opinion, money, skinniness, and pillows are not the best things in life.  So I propose a new statement.

"You can never be too happy, too healthy, or love too much."

The thing that money can't buy is satisfaction with the way your life is going.  Yeah, there might be some meh moments here or there, but for the most part, when you're living your life in a good, stable place, and you've got the people around you that you want, you're happy.  You can't have too much of that.  That's just good.

Too healthy.  More on this later, but suffice to say, health is the be all and the end all in my world.  Healthy mind, healthy heart, healthy soul.  Strive for it.  Your brain, body, and heart will thank you for it.

Too much love is a blessing.  You cannot love too much.  You cannot be loved too much.  Love is not finite.  The more you give, the more you have to give.  It's like Bill Gate's money - you can't give it away fast enough.

So when times get tough, stop for a moment.  Take a breath.  A big deep breath.  Ask yourself, "What are the best things about my life?"  Do you enjoy gardening or walking, or thrift shopping or working on cars?  Do you have a best friend?  What is your greatest achievement?  Think about the things that you look forward to, or that bring joy while you are doing them.  They're there.  Just look!

Then ask yourself, "In what way am I healthy?"  Do you eat healthy food?  Do you take walks?  Do you have a strong religious connection?  All of that is health, and you have it in you.  Your list can be short or long, but there are many ways in which you are very good to yourself.  Take pride in being good to yourself!

Finally, ask yourself, "In what way do I show love?"  Do you let your spouse sleep when your child wakes up at midnight?  Do you make your wife a cup of tea every morning?  Perhaps you sing your children a lullaby every night, or call your grandmother once a week.  These acts of love are selfless and simple, and they make the people around you feel special.  The trick is, when you make others feel important in your life, you become important in theirs.  Everybody wins!

If you feel like the world is conspiring against you, your best revenge is happiness.  Nobody can beat down a happy person.  Nobody.