There Will be Flowers

The meme at left has been popping up all over my Facebook feed. I don't know its origin, but I do know that every time I see it, it makes me smile and I make sure to "like" it. 

Today, I logged onto my "junk mail" e-mail account and came across this article from Happify on "3 Super Simple Ways to Enjoy Your Life More." I like them all, and I have used each of them in some form or another. But I especially appreciate the first one, which is bookending the day by considering something I'm looking forward to in the morning and something I enjoyed at night (a practice my daughter and I already engage in).

Twice in my theatrical past, I had the opportunity to be in the musical Company. The first time was in college, and the second time was as an adult performer in a community theatre production. Today, as I was planning this post, a line that was never particularly memorable to me before jumped into the forefront of my mind: "You see what you look for, you know."

The last couple of years have been pretty lousy and many of us feel as though we're tiptoeing into 2022, just waiting for a monster to jump out and scare us. 

But what if we didn't?

What if we decided that, even in a year with monsters, there can be flowers? What if we were intentional about willing happiness into our days and celebrating it at night? What if what we looked for was the good, the sweet, the salty, the savory, the spice of life?

Every new year brings with it opportunity. We can plant flowers, or we can bemoan the weeds. We can grumble about the things we don't want to do, or we can look for the bright spots that make us smile. We will see what we look for, so the question is, what will we look for? 

There is always something to complain about. But there's also always something to be grateful for. Which will define your new year?