How Do You Measure It?

(Attack of my #1 Fan/Paparazzi!)

Look at me! That’s how I started my weekend this past Friday, July 12th, 2013. It’s not a surprise at all as whenever we get together, from top to finish, this is how it looks: my facial and ab muscles get super sore and my face gets covered up with deeper laugh lines. I lost my voice by the end of the Weekend this time, which was a first!

We make the best of everything, my girl Maryam and I. We have made the best of our childhood, teenage years, adulthood, good times, bad times, worst times and the other times too. We’ve proven it to ourselves, most of all, that it can be done with the right ingredients: Love (lots of it), optimism, communication, positive mindset, laughter, fun and perception of the bright side of any situation.

I realized this past weekend that exactly a year has passed since we celebrated her beating the @%&*$# out of cancer by attending Anthony Robbins’ “Unleash the Power Within” (UPW) seminar and walked on fire. Yeah baby! Those days, prior to the celebrations, were one of our toughest times and we still had a few good laughs overcoming them. It was actually our fun and positive attitude that helped us get through it all creating even more amazing memories to reminisce about today and for days to come. We do talk about the past a lot! We review all the ridiculous, silly, and hilarious moments and when we’re done with those we go over the recently made ones. It’s a non-ending process, really.

This past weekend we set our minds to enjoy a very happy birthday, celebrating her life and health. We invited Eric McCormack too and he showed up for 5 minutes! 😛

Have you ever thought about how to measure your happiness? Your perspective and a time scale are a good place to begin.

We are all aware of how time flies right by us, whether it’s days, weeks, months, years, or decades. We scale it by past and present occurrences. For most people longer months and years serve as better measuring tools. I’ve heard many people, ages ranging from late twenties all the way to eighties, talking about their happy, young and energetic days as it has disappeared forever and all they’re left with is just a distant memory and now stuck with living an average life. How many of you have heard these statements more than once? “Enjoy your age! It flies by so quickly…”, “It’s way past my age now to…”, “We used to have so much fun when we were… ” and “So sad those days are over now”!

What many don’t realize is that happiness is not age sensitive. You don’t lose it or have to smile and laugh less because you are growing older. Actually you still have the same set of lips, mouth and belly to belt out a few good ones and keep’em coming. What’s changed though is your mindset and it will not improve on its own, honey. Your faint fun memories will fall even farther and farther from you per your perspective of the scale.

For Maryam and I it was our state of pleasure from the happy memories and the positive anticipation for more, when she was going through the “c & c” (cancer and chemotherapy) days, that changed everything. There were definitely plenty of tears, sad, painful, and down times too but when we talk about them today mostly the funny ones are reviewed. We have chosen that our happiness must be measured based on the joy and laughter from the past all the way to this very moment and the ones yet to be made.

Are you still wearing the same happy attitude today than you did a few years ago or has “life” taken over you too?! I’ve heard this sad statement way too many times: “I was so young and happy, then of course, life took over”! Life or your perspective of it, I ask?

Look back, think of your accomplishments and the good times then top them right off by setting new goals to climb even higher for the following years. Maryam and I always say that even when we’re in our nineties we’ll take our walkers and get out there to fill even more days with more pleasure and laughter. Watch out for the “funky seniors” then! LOL!

Bring out the scales and let’s switch them to happy. 😀

Ok everyone, stand up this Happy Thursday morning and let’s sing along! 😀