The brief drive home was no better either. The guy in front had his obligatory inflammatory political and religious bumper stickers; diametrically opposed to mine. Therefore, he must be an idiot incapable of driving, right? Just by being there he was pushing my blood pressure through the roof. I was at boiling point, shouting all sorts of things at him through the windshield.
And then it seemed this funk hung around for several days. I'm one of those lucky people - I love my job - but it just wasn't doing a thing for me. The one hundred crazy ideas floating round in my head, the ones I'd never get the time to do, the fun projects, the idea of one day going back to get my doctorate, the writing, the coding "just for fun", the stuff I used to do, the stuff I no longer did because I just "didn't have the time" - every last one of them jabbered away in the back of my head. "You'll never do these things. You'll start them but never finish them. Most of them are crap. Very few of them serve any purpose. You'll never find the perhaps one good idea in there."
Last night I decided enough was enough, and I had to cut loose. I let the ideas come as a stream of consciousness, left, right and center - the things that I'd make sure I did today, things that were guaranteed to make me smile - the irresistible things. Sometimes you've just got to let yourself be a kid. Let your hair down, while you still have some. Just thinking about them made me grin. Writing them down right now is making me beam. Actually doing them today - that's going to be the best bit. Perhaps there's some here you'll enjoy too, and I'm open to suggestions!
- Breathe deeply. Enjoy it for just how good it feels.
- Listen to something you like. Play it loud.
- Be a kid. Play Nintendo. Misbehave. Mess your room up a bit.
- Whistle.
- Find your favorite movie, picture, or a photograph. Enjoy it for just how beautiful it is.
- Find something funny. Laugh at it. Not giggle, laugh. Split-your-sides, roll-on-floor, get-the-hiccups, pee-your-pants laughter.
- Eat something you like, that you haven't eaten for years. It's almost mystical. Orgasmic, even.
- Laugh at your most ridiculous bodily functions. Appreciate the fact that you can still perform them.
- Reminisce about family, old friends, past loves. Just the good bits. The bad stuff's long gone.
- Remember your species' survival and emotional well-being depended highly on being able to look at others' body parts. Don't resist that primal urge. Most importantly, don't lie about it when your partner catches you doing so. Bottoms are on the back for a reason.
- Flirt a little. No, scratch that. Flirt a lot. Mercilessly. If you'd appreciate being made to feel good about yourself, someone else would too.
- If it's raining - and it's chucking it down here - go out and stand in it. If it's not, get the sprinkler out.
- Think of the best compliments you've ever been paid. Live up to them. Then go and deliver them to someone else. Maybe even a stranger.
- If you've got to be restrained with any of these things - because you're at work, or in public - make sure you make up for it with twice as much mischief later.
I'm feeling better already, and I've only done a few of these so far today. The day's only just beginning.
Smile. You deserve it.
No comments:
Post a Comment