you should be so lucky

let's face it. life is not a bed of roses. we take in the bad together with the good and learn to ride the waves. after my post on happiness, to even up the scales, here is a post on sadness.

it sucks when......

.....the needle on the weighing scale edges upwards once again.

.....the food that you can't wait to put in your mouth has actually turned bad.

....someone you value has forgotten your birthday.

....the sales lady informs you that your size is out of stock....in every shop that you go to.

....you have 3 big meals the day before but are constipated the morning after. hee hee.

....your friend stood you up, on a regular basis.

....you have just fouled up big time in your work, and there is no one to pass the blame onto

....something unfortunate happens to your closest and dearest.

you know what? there isn't really that much in life that sucks. sure, you fall sick, you lose something important to you, you hit a few bumps...but you just pick yourself up, brush off the debris and walk on. you are given a bad situation, you just make the most out of it. you lose a guy, well look out because the next one coming your way will be worth your while. you don't have enough money to buy your favourite thing, well save up for it and you'll treasure it more. at the end of the day, if you don't die, just count yourself lucky.

i have never thought of myself as an optimist. far from it, i can always see the dim side of things and friends are often irritated by my persistent pessimistic outlook on matters. however, just when i was trying to come up with the list, hundreds of scenarios run through my head. but to each, my reply was "so what? it isn't really all that bad. life's like that". for the bad things, we just grin and bear it. for the good ones, we are truly grateful.

people have been telling me that i am a very lucky person, to the point that it has become very irritating. whilst their marriage has been falling apart, their families squibbling, their businesses flailing and their wallets calling for help, i have been a picture of perfect bliss to them. so, they pick on me. so much so that i have a hidden murderous urge to strangle the next person who accuse me of happiness.

you will be surprised. wouldn't happiness be a good thing? when people say that you are so lucky, aren't they paying you a compliment? ahhhhhh...then you have to look at their faces when they say it. usually with an empty tone and a little sneer on their face. they make it sound like you have the plague. i get lots of "you will never understand. you are so lucky" and "she is different. she has everything", with such a condescending tone and equally condescending look that you just want to wrap your fingers around their neck, and squeeze until they are blue in the face.

my friend, i am a practical person. that has nothing to do with happiness. you don't wash your dirty laundries in the public and you don't grab the first idiot who walks past and start pouring out your life's sorrow. you don't tell people who you know don't really give a damn that you once contemplated suicide (not that i am saying i did) or that you are barely hanging on to the end of your rope. you don't compete on who has the most tragic life because there is no medal to be won, only unnecessary sympathy. you are given a challenge in life, and you tackle it the very best that you can. you endeavour to return back to happiness and not wallow in self-pity or sadness. i do not want to be sad. i will do whatever i can and in my powers to make myself feel better. i am not an idiot who goes on and on and on and on about their setbacks and stay there for the next decade. i believe that my happiness is in my own hands.

am i luckier then? perhaps.

because i have a more rational brain than yours.