Have you ever eaten a bag of M&M’s and titled your head back to rattle the last few pieces of candy into your mouth? (please don’t judge my PMS rituals)
And then, just when you thought the chocolate fun time was over, you feel one more little sucker tucked into the corner of the bag….?
That’s kind of what life feels like for me lately… bonus candy!
I am comforted and pleased to report this, but I’m also just a tad bit cautious because I am starting to get used to the “Oooh More” stimulus. My cynical self insists that this is short lived, but I am resisting the cynicism, because I found a way to sustain this…
People often ask me why I am so happy and upbeat all the time. (Truth: it’s not ALL the time, but I am an inherently optimistic person.) The answer is perspective… and as long as I do not lose sight of it, I continue to be pleasantly surprised by life.
Not all days are exciting, and not all bonuses comes easily or at all — some days, you might have to dig your index finger all the way into the wrapper to really coax that little sucker out, but when you do finally get hold of it — what a gratifying feeling!
With practice, bonuses surface in even in the toughest situations. Over time, we naturally shift perspective on a grander scale to see them readily:
A late train becomes a little more time to listen to your new playlist, a canceled date is a perfect opportunity to curl up and watch a rom com, and a heated argument is the excuse you need to take space and breathe through the next few minutes… perspective delivers the bonuses, often.
For a long time, I prayed for life to get easier. Lately, I am accepting the reality that it likely never will. Complexity increases with each year, and with every new responsibility that finds it’s way onto my lap. And unless I drop it all to live in a mud hut in Borneo, I am in this for the long haul. But I as long as I am in it, I will continue to check the corner of the bag, for the bonus candy…