Celebrate Good Times!
Linda Soller | Jan 21, 2013
So when you read the title did you immediately think of the song by Kool and the Gang? Did you dance just a little? You can admit it; some things just make you celebrate inside. I believe in celebrating good times as I imagine most of you do, but the difference may be in my definitions of good times and celebrating. I think good times include lots of small things that might slip by without notice if you aren’t careful. For example, I love it in January when I start my new calendar for the year and all the pages are nice and empty and the edges are not crinkled and I have the whole year in front of me. How do I celebrate that? Well I don’t have a party, but I do kinda smile when I pull my calendar out of my bag, knowing it’s all set to go and so am I. Or maybe in the winter, your commute to work is messy, you finally arrive at your place of employment, and do you pause and smile and think, yes, I made it? It can be uplifting to see the positives in your everyday life. Our Lunch Bunch book group has started a new year and we are reading At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. We selected it not because it will teach us any great philosophical lessons, but because it’s a joyous celebration of a small town and the unique personalities that live there. What a fun way to celebrate a new year of reading.
Now this is where I give the warning, or disclaimer. There are and will continue to be things that you won’t feel like celebrating. Life is hard. Life is challenging. Life is complicated. So how do we celebrate good times when we are surrounded by the tough times? I feel like it’s a mind set. Remember when I said we need to make our faith the priority, well celebrating is much the same. We need to train ourselves to recognize the joy in our lives, even if we’re the only ones who see it. This blog entry’s posting date is a very special day. It’s Martin Luther King Day and the inauguration day of our newly elected President. Martin Luther King, the man who taught millions to celebrate their dreams and the country where they could make those dreams happen. The inauguration of our President is an event that celebrates the democratic process as much as it celebrates the individual. You could focus on the tragedy of how Martin Luther King died or you can focus on how he lived and his legacy. You can be unhappy with the people we elect when they were not your favorites or you can celebrate the system that lets us choose our government. It’s really that “half full/half empty” glass of water thing, or maybe the silver lining thing.
The tragedy in Newtown, CT has lead our nation to a serious discussion of controlling violence in our society. We do not know where that discussion will lead but we can celebrate that it is taking place. Some of you are reading this and thinking how naïve she is. You are entitled to your opinion, now that’s something to celebrate! This is the day that the Lord has made, we can be glad in it!
Have a great week :o) Linda