CHEERFULNESS

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~ as written by Linda Kavelin Popov
Virtues Project Reflection Cards

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MY TWO SENSE:

Recently I spent time with some wonderful women from the First Nations community and I heard that "women hold the emotional centre" in the family. I have considered this concept in relation to my own family and wonder, how long can I be the emotional barometer? How do I reflect the conditions of this dynamic? If I am the only one who sees a problem, where does that leave me? Well, it's not cheerfulness that I am reflecting that much I know, and I feel like I've been in a holding pattern. So, when this card picked me this morning, I even felt cheerful.

"What a great way to start my day", I thought. I relate and respond well to cheerfulness. Through-out my adult life I was chronically optimistic and cheerful which became a character trait that people admired in me. Now, at the turn of the half-century, I feel I am more at the opposite end of the spectrum. And now facing this page and the virtue of cheerfulness, I am truly haunted by the shadows and all of the barriers to cheerfulness that life has thrown my way. So, in considering the wisdom of the card, I ask myself, "What is on the bright side of my life?", "what does cheerfulness look like from my vantage point?" Reading what Cheerfulness means generates a mindfulness: to call upon the strength I need to look beyond the shadows; and it calls me to trust the process. 

This is a perfect pick for me today because as you may sense I am wrestling with my past, present and future. So what happened to switch my optimistic cheerfulness off? And more importantly, how do I turn it back on? The question, "How can I just get on with being cheerful?" makes me suddenly aware of how difficult it is to 'put on a brave face' in the company of cheerful people. I am truly grateful for this understanding as it serves as a mirror that reflects to me how un-cheerful I can be. That's a tough nugget to swallow in a modern world where the majority of folks face "unhappiness" issues with a prescription that perhaps helps them deal with the symptoms. For me, that solution is not an option. I just want to shine the light on what's lurking in the shadows and then either clear-up the path or create a new one. I look forward to expressing more cheerfulness in my life and in this blog. So for today, I begin a promise to bring cheerfulness into my life by doing something just for me; I will mindfully move around those shadows and honour my commitments; I will give service to do a simple task to make life easier for someone else and I will pray for joy!