I’m pretty sure that if you are on this planet you have seen, or at least heard of the movie, “Mary Poppins”. One of my most favorite scenes in that movie is when Mary takes the children into the nursery and shows them how to have fun while cleaning it up. Of course in the movie all they have to do is snap their fingers and all the toys, clothes and beds covers go back to their proper places and then it’s off to the park for an afternoon of chalk painting adventures. Really if you haven’t seen “Mary Poppins” you should. It is truly a fantastic movie. Yes this is all fantasy but behind all the seemingly magic things that Mary Poppins can do there is a very important message. Life is supposed to be fun. And when you really look for it you will find it.
When I say life is a game, aim to win, I don’t mean like a race or a competition, I mean you will win every time if you let yourself have fun and stop taking life so seriously. You know being too serious could cause stress which in turn could cause illness or disease, or even a shortening of one’s life. And as far as I can tell stress is a useless emotion, except for the fact that it is a warning sign that fun is nowhere in sight. It doesn’t really accomplish anything. It actually makes things worse. But there are ways to relieve stress and one way is to try to find the fun in everything you do. When you practice this you will see how useless stress is and you will never want to entertain that emotion again. Yes it takes practice, but so does everything, even being stressed all the time is a practice. You just need to be more conscious of where your emotions or thoughts are taking you. You need to take the reigns and guide yourself into the emotions that feel good to you. Be totally awake and aware of where you are headed. It’s like you wouldn’t get in your car and put on a blind fold and then start the engine, put it in drive and then gun it so that you take off like a rocket. That would be ludicrous. But when you are not paying attention to your feelings and emotions that is exactly what you are doing. You would be banging into trees and other cars on the road and maybe even veering off into a ditch, and then blaming it on someone or something else. But once you take the blind fold off you can go as fast as you want to because you can maneuver around the trees and cars and avoid the ditches. Yes it is that easy to take control of your own life. Just take the blinders off and pay attention to how you feel about everything.
Now that I have figured this out my life has become so enjoyable that nothing seems to bother me anymore. I look at every so called problem with new eyes, so to speak. I start thinking about solutions immediately instead of dwelling on the situation. I love more, care more and laugh more. And when someone tells me, “Have fun tonight”, as I’m going out the door, I say, “I always do”. It’s true, I always have a good time because the only expectation I have is to have fun.
So now that I have been paying attention to my emotions on a full time basis I can see that all I have to do is be mindful of how I feel. And yes to me it is a game and I do aim to win. I aim to win by always having a smile on my face, and seeing the joy in people’s eyes when we meet and getting my face licked by my friends dogs, especially the ones that don’t usually care for other people. This is proof to me that by being happy and playful the dogs can feel it too, it’s feedback to let me know that I am on a good path. It really makes me feel special. I know that it might seem silly to you but I have never really been into dogs and cats as far as having one for a pet. But after keeping myself in this high flying vibration, animals have really started to gravitate to me and me to them. Even the owners are baffled by their animal’s behavior toward me, but I know why it is so. That’s part of the game too. I don’t need to explain to anyone why their animals love me, it’s our little secret, and I love it. But if someone were to ask me why I am so happy all the time I would tell them this, “I am happy because I choose to be”, I make the choice every day to look for the fun in life. I look for the beauty in the trees and the flowers and in the faces of little children that still seem to know that life is supposed to be fun.” You know it wouldn’t be a bad idea if you were to think more like a child. Remember how fun it used to be to swing on a swing set or the monkey bars at the park or to play hide and seek with your friends, and not feel stressed out about anything, because you always knew you were safe? Maybe some people didn’t feel that way but that too is the beauty of making the decision to be happy now. You see you and only you have the right to feel whatever you choose to feel. You are the boss of you and you are worthy beings. So if you are ready to start living the life you deserve then why not start having fun now? You can make anything a game. Even driving in traffic can be fun if you find a way of enjoying yourself. No one else even has to know you are playing a game. I like to count all the “Swift” trucks I can find on the road. And try saying swift without smiling. Or I like to try and see how many words I can make out of the letters on the license plates on the other cars around me. Like Mary Poppins says, when you find the element of fun the chore is a snap, or something like that, you get the gist. Or when you are cleaning your house and you always do the same routine, switch it up and see if you get finished faster by starting in a different place then you usually do. Be creative and get those juices flowing. When you have your mind on looking for the fun you won’t have time to be worried or stressed out about anything, at least for the time you are playing.
Life IS supposed to be fun and we have all taken it too seriously. Just think of all we’ve missed out on while trying to be so serious and adult like. But don’t think too long on that, just realize that it’s never too late to change the game. Why not just stay a kid in a grown up body?
I’m not saying to ignore responsibility, I’m saying be responsible and have fun doing it. Sing while you’re doing the dishes and dance while you’re mopping the floor. Have you ever seen the movie, “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”? The daughter is dancing as she’s mopping the kitchen floor and the neighbor boy is watching her through the window. He doesn’t see her as dumb or stupid, he is enjoying the view. That is how people will see you once you start having fun. And even if there is someone who scoffs at you for being excessively happy, it’s only because they themselves are extremely unhappy and can’t understand what you are doing. I would just ignore them because they will either get on board with you or go away from you, so there is no need to worry. You are you, a unique individual, and you are the only person you need to take care of. And once you get that life will be so delicious that no one else will be able to buck your current of joy.
Now you know what’s what. And you can start finding ways of playing games that you not only win, but that give you a way to share your joy with others. And you will be teaching through your examples that life is good and you can have it all. No matter where you are starting from emotionally you can always find a way to feel a little better and then a little more and before you know it you’re almost always happy. And on the rare occasions that you find yourself dipping down you will know what to do about it. Sometimes it’s just best to crash and burn and let the feeling pass through you. Then as you go to bed remind yourself that tomorrow is another day and you can press the reset button upon awaking the next morning. Lay there for a few minutes and think about what fun you will have that day. Pre-set your mood for the day so that if there is anything negative out there you won’t even notice it. Or if you do happen to notice it, it won’t bother you like it once did. You may even become the solution person because you are so in tune with life that you instinctively know how to handle just about anything with grace and ease. Maybe the next time you see your kids, or your friend’s kids if you don’t have any, playing in the yard you should join them, and bring back some of the memories of playful freedom. I love taking my 3 year old great niece to the store because while we’re shopping she wants to skip down the aisles. So we hold hands and skip and sing. People always smile at us so I know they feel the joy we are feeling, at least in that moment.
Okay so now you know that having fun and playing games are very important for your well-being, don’t you? So what’s stopping you? Go out there and look for every fun thing there is to do. And believe me when you purposely look for it you will find it. And you are going to be amazed at how wonderful you feel all day every day when fun is your main goal. And do you want to know a secret about having fun? It will bring you new ideas and inspirations to be do or have anything you want in life. When you take care of you and stop worrying about ANYONE else, as far as opinions go, you will be floating on air, living La Vida Loca, which is Spanish for the crazy life. People are going to want to know your secret and you can say, life is a game and I aim to win. Then smile and skip away.
Remember there is always great love here for you.
Your friend,
Deb Mertan
Comments