Naivety & Cynicism: Finding a Balance.

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I can remember sitting in some sort of church service when I was really young and hearing a missionary talk about starvation across the world.  Hearing statistic after statistic about kids who die from starvation made me incredibly sad, and I remember lying in bed that night wondering what could be done about it, when I had an incredibly idea.  What if everyone in the world boxed up our leftovers, then we could all send our food to the starving people so they wouldn't be hungry anymore.  The thought made me so happy, and I truly believed that at 7 years old, I had figured out a solution for world hunger.

As a child, that's just how I thought.  If enough people gave a homeless man money, he would save it and wouldn't have to beg for money anymore.  If I was nice to a friend that was sad, they wouldn't be sad anymore.  If I helped my friend clean her room, then her parents would be happy and they wouldn't get divorced anymore.  In the mind of 7 year old me, you could do something to fix anything.  Every problem had a solution.  That's just what I thought.

And then, I didn't.

Be the change you wish to see.  I don't think anyone accomplishes this better than children, without even knowing they're doing it.  As a kid, you just do what you want.  If you're tired of playing with one toy, you stop playing with it and get another. If you're tired of hanging out with someone, you call your mom to come get you.  If you don't like where something is, you move it.  Due to innocence and naivety, you don't worry that something may go wrong, that it may not work, that other people may think less of you.  You just recognize that you want something to be different, and you do something about it. You come up with solutions to problems--both your own and others--and act on those ideas.  Why?  Just because.

And then, you don't.

Somewhere along the way innocence is replaced with knowledge, optimism for realistic expectations.  You realize that you can't fix everything, so you decide to stop trying.

A box of leftovers isn't going to stop world hunger, but you know what might?  A group of adults who choose to think like the kid-version of themselves every now and then.  People who look at a problem and don't think about how big it is, but instead think about what they can do about it.  People who know it may be naive to try to change things, but who choose to try anyway.

Can you imagine how full of life you would feel if that's the way you chose to look at the world?

If you don't like your life, change it.

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"If you don't like your life, change it."

I know that can be a controversial statement.  I know there are some things in life that just can't be changed.  But I also know there are some that can.

Life is too short to be miserable.  And if you wake up every morning complaining and dreading the day, that's a pretty good preview of how your day is going to go.  While "don't complain" would be the easiest (and also maybe the hardest) step to take, take it a little bit further.  What is it that you're complaining about?  Whatever it is, change it. 

You're bored?  Do something.  Don't like your job?  If you can afford to take the plunge into finding a job you love, do it.  If not, change some other things.  If you don't like your job because you don't get to shine in an area you're good at, find another place in your life to shine in that area.  If you don't like your job because you don't get to be creative, be creative somewhere else.  Start an etsy shop.  It cost me a whopping six dollars to start my etsy shop, and it has provided a really great creative outlet in otherwise very uncreative day-to-day work.  If you don't get to interact with people as much as you'd like with your job, make an effort to do so outside of work.  Write letters.  Set up coffee dates.

Most of the things we complain about in life could be changed if we tried even just a little.  I have friends who complain about never getting to spend time with their family, yet the first thing they do when they get a break is catch up on instagram or meet up with their friends.

Everyone has free time, it's just sometimes hidden in the form of time spent on social media or those extra hours spent in bed.  It's there in your life, and how you spend it is completely up to you.  But if you're unhappy with your life, use that free time to do something about it.

If at the end of the day, you honestly feel like there is absolutely nothing you can change in your life, then you just have to find a way to be thankful for the things that are already there.  Being thankful is a huge step in the direction of being happy.

Be happy this week.