No NegaPIGity Allowed!

This morning, my toast fell on my way from my apartment to the parking garage. The fallen toast was still cloaked by the paper towel I had chosen to protect my breakfast. Ever the optimist, I hoped that it was not butter-side-down, and that the two/five/whatever-second rule would apply. I crossed my fingers and awaited the verdict: heads or tails. My roommate picked up my fallen soldier to reveal his fate. He had met his untimely end: butter in the gutter!

My head was spinning. And then came the questions...

"Was that green speck in your butter before?"
"Was that hair there?"

We both knew the answers...."No," and "No."

I had serious plans for that toast. But sometimes things don't pan out the way we want them to.

Could I have spent my entire commute crying, wondering how different life would be if I had chosen a less casual outfit for my toast, wishing I had armored him in aluminum foil instead of the paper towel? Sure! But worse things could have happened. For instance, I could have dropped my friend's giant birthday cupcake instead.

The wise Dalai Lama said, "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions."

Therefore, happiness is always a choice. It's not always an easy choice to make, but it's a choice nonetheless. It's the difference between an unaffected "Zen Drive", and a Relentless Uncensored Road (all caps) RAGE session. It's crying in defeat versus try,try,try-ing and then ultimately celebrating a triumph. It's turning the loss of your would-be breakfast into positive creative inspiration, and an excuse to get jalapeno kettle chips from the office vending machine at 8am.

Negativity debilitates dreams, while a force of positivity propels them forward. Knowing that happiness is a choice makes all the difference in our lives, both present and future.

So, if there is ever an angry, negative pig inside of you threatening to break your piggy bank with its chainsaw (per the photo above), promptly put it in the trash. Meditate on its demise, and perhaps envision destroying it with the help of some familiar birds on a smart phone near you.

No negaPIGity - no doubt.