Whoever is Happy Will Make Others Happy, Too.

I want to “do good” in the world.  I mean, really, with very few exceptions, who doesn’t want that?  It’s a pretty normal human desire to be a positive influence, to create a legacy, to leave a mark on life in some way.  Now, I’m no Nobel Peace Prize Winner Mother Teresa type, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be reaching anywhere near her heights of humanitarianism anytime soon.  Yet, even short of actually creating a worldwide phenomenon, I just believe that each of us has the need and the ability to radiate positive vibes; or in the words of those great philosophers, the Beach Boys, “Good, Good, Good - Good Vibrations!”  (If you don’t immediately sing this tune in your head, you may be an alien.  I mean, it’s #6 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, for goodness’ sake!)   

I’ve heard different people describe it in many different words.  Optimism.  Beliefs.  Dreams.  Hope.  Positive thinking.  Can-do attitude.  They all point in the same direction.  My word is “Faith,” and has been since I was a young girl.  In fact, I recently came across a diary from high school.  The occasion was one of those agonizing cleaning-out projects that I had put off for years until moving plans forced me to confront the paper-filled boxes or find a new place for them.  Excruciating.  Of course, it takes way longer than it should, because I couldn’t help sitting cross-legged on the closet floor to reminisce over each photo, place them all into piles to scan into my computer for yet another future project, and read this outdated diary of a 16-year-old with the lock still intact.  “Just got home, tired, turned on the radio and my song immediately came on ‘Feelin’ Stronger Everyday’.  It makes me happy and thankful for my life and friends and renews my faith in Jesus!” 

Now, I honestly do not remember being that faith-filled as a kid, but it did make me realize that I still get a positive charge out of that 1970’s Chicago hit.  It also helped me better understand why I now awaken each and every morning uttering a personal mantra for my day’s inspiration: “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” from the Bible’s book of Psalms.  Don’t get me wrong, I already admitted I’m not a saint.  Some mornings are better than others and there are times I growl through gritted teeth “we WILL rejoice…”  The point is, my personal drive to do good is fostered by my faith as a Christian.  But, whatever we call it, wherever we seek it, we can only do good if we find our own happy spot.  After all, how can I be a positive influence on the world around me without first finding a source of good vibes in myself?

Actually, another teenaged girl’s diary said it much better than little Nelda Lynn’s, with a beautifully simple message.  Annelies "Anne" Marie Frank’s short  life ended in a war zone concentration camp, yet she found the hope and optimism to scribble down:  “…there is always some beauty left  - in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; whoever is happy will make others happy, too.”

Dear Mom,

It is Mother’s Day and I just want to say I love you.  Not because it is a day I am supposed to do that, but because I sincerely want you to know that I do.  When I reflect on what I remember from my upbringing, I am grateful for your devotion to me as a daughter.  But, when I think a little deeper, turning the viewer around and looking at our lives from your angle, I can make out a picture of the love you gave to me. 

From my perspective as a grown woman who has had open opportunity, I cannot imagine what it must have been like to finish high school, get married, and bear a baby girl, all by the age of 19.  How terrified you must have been when your infant experienced her first seizure in what was to become a frustrating 5-year quest to find out what was wrong and what to do.  I remember only glimpses from that era, so I wonder how many nights you laid by my bed watching for problems, fearing the worst.  How many times did you rush to the emergency room with an unresponsive baby, wondering if you had waited too long?  You weren’t even 25 yet.  I cannot fathom how you managed it.

I am sure I was a handful as a young child.  Today, as a busy adult, I am so grateful for the innate but excess energy I have always experienced.  But in the days of my childhood, there were no medications to calm overactive little minds, and you had to deal with mine every hour of every day.  I clearly remember being the only girl in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd grades to have the distinction of being paddled in the principal’s office, simply because I could not keep from disrupting class with my constant uncontrollable talking and activity.  You taught me that I had to respect school authority, and that your authority was united with theirs.  But, you also searched for ways to think outside the box to help control my hyperactivity and point my energies in a positive direction.  You weren’t even 30 years old, you had no training in childhood development, yet you understood that I had brains and potential that needed to be harnessed and managed and directed.  Thank you for that.

I still have the letters you wrote to me in college, all addressed “Go Get ‘Em, Tiger”.  Anyone else who reads them may not get it, but you had watched me enliven crowds wearing a furry striped mascot suit in high school and never let me forget I was just that - a Tiger at heart.  I realize now, when you reflect on how “difficult” my college years were, that I only called home when I was at my lowest.  Whether it was a hardhearted professor, unrequited love, or just plain homesickness, it was then that your reassuring words were needed most.  But, Mom, my college days were actually pretty great, with loads of friends and fond memories remaining from them.  So, I regret that I only shared the tough times with you, but I am also very appreciative that you were always there at the other end of the telephone line. 

And now I am grown, you are aging, and we are dancing the step where who leads and who follows is unclear.  Yet, I am clear on this:  I am what I am because of your love, and I will always strive to follow my God’s commandment to honor you.  Happy Mother’s Day.