10/9/13

A Reminder to Be Grateful for Everything (Even the Bad Stuff)

Captain Dapper has been in a mood. You know the kind of mood I'm talking about - grumpy, lazy, a little hopeless. Yep, I've been a total dark force for the past few days weeks. I feel like I'm living the lyric from Robyn's Dancing on My Own - "Some big black sky over my town."

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I wish life was all rainbows, sunshine and lollipops. This journey through life can be so bumpy it's enough to give you motion sickness. Full of ups and downs and twists and turns, stops and starts and completely stalling out. Wouldn't it be nice if life was more like a long, smooth ride in a Bentley instead of a stop and go adventure in your aunt's old Mercury?

So I'm walking to my favorite coffee shop, that big black cloud raining all over my parade, when I saw this graffiti on a sidewalk planter. "Thank you..." is the simple message. For some reason, the simple yellow graffiti made me smile. That old Sly and the Family Stone song, Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again, popped into my head. (As you might have guessed, I have a song for every occasion.)

I snapped this pic, walked into the coffee shop and sat down. Out of nowhere, it occurred to me: if it wasn't for the bad times, we would never appreciate the good times. If life was smooth and easy, we would become bored with the monotony of happiness. If it wasn't for the struggles, how would we know how sweet success can be?

Oh, sure, that bad mood is still lingering. I'm still struggling with some of the decisions I've made and I'm still trying to find my footing in this new life of mine. The difference is that instead of feeling totally hopeless about it all, I'm seeing it as the rough road that must be traveled in order to get to the big payoff.

So I'm here saying thank you to bad times. They may be a real downer, but it's all part of the process in finding happiness. And, really, isn't that what life is all about?

Image: Jason Loper

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