Unafraid to be Happy

Love this family portrait. The Keith family 1967 in Cleveland, Ohio. We look happy. Unafraid. Proof positive that I, in fact, was the baby of the family. 

Today I was delivered a brand new file cabinet from my new employer and as I was transferring some files from my old one I ran into this picture along with some clippings from my dad’s old wood box of wisdom. One clipping in particular caught my attention. Dated 1947 this clipping was read and clipped by my father twenty years before this family portrait was taken. As it was in a file and not in the wood box I must have pulled it years ago to post, but never got to it. Better late than never.

From the catchy title to the Lincoln paraphrase this clip is very intriguing. But the premise, the premise is pure gold. You can choose to be happy. Or as Abe put it, you can make up your mind to be happy. You may also choose to be unafraid. Unafraid of life. Unafraid to be happy. These choices are made easy to swallow as they are for only one day, as we can do anything for a day. That one day being today. Now. 

Enjoy the beautiful! I find joy in seeing beauty everywhere. To enjoy the beautiful you must first recognize it. In people. In nature. In life. So much of it goes overlooked. I really enjoy capturing unexpected beauty with photography. I find joy in sharing it. 

The more I read this clip the more it intrigues me. The trying not to solve the problem of life all at once sentence for instance. What is the problem of life? Is there only one? If there is can it be solved over time then? I guess if I had to answer my first question I’d say finding the meaning of life. And that thought brings me directly to a DDDism, "Life is not meant to be understood it’s meant to be lived." My dad said this to me a couple of times. Usually when I was overthinking things.   Or overwhelmed by life’s many problems. 

Lastly, the title. How to Enjoy the Happiest Day of Your Life. Not how to have it, but how to enjoy it! Now there’s the trick, enjoyment. How to enjoy. A day. A life. A moment. Beauty. I once wrote a small piece, Joy. It will come if you let it. I wrote it at a low point in my life. I didn’t find joy that day. I let it find me. When I made up my mind to let it in I was literally overwhelmed by joy. Humbled by it. As I am now. 

I guess where I’m headed with this thought is anyone can enjoy their happiest day, but finding joy on a bad day is the trick to living a happy life.