and I looked down at my phone as I remembered a hilarious video I have in there. I knew that there was some explicit language at the end of that short clip, so I made sure my phone was on mute before I played it. I wanted to play it to make sure it was in fact the video I was thinking of before I forwarded it to a friend.
I hit the "play" button and was immediately horrified to realize that the sound WAS playing out loud and frantically began hitting the volume controls in an effort to quiet the playback before the expletive rang out for everyone around me to hear. (It wasn't actually that bad and might not have mattered at all, but I didn't want to offend anyone.) I only had a matter of seconds.
The exhilaration and panic of those seven seconds was somewhat like a roller coaster ride. I couldn't turn down the volume fast enough and was racing for the sake of my utter embarrassment. It was one of those ridiculous moments where I was fighting a losing battle, and what I was about to lose was my dignity. (Did I mention that it was a video clip of ME and that I was the one who used explicit language at the end?)
As the volume slowly declined and the footage rolled on like a steamroller right over my pride, the inevitable language played loud enough for the people close to me to hear (although I couldn't be certain that they had in fact heard). I laughed out loud at the ludicrous situation AND the hilarity of the video. I laughed hysterically.
At first I wasn't sure WHY the girl next to me started laughing too. Did it matter? I was in the throes of a laughing fit! As my eyes glanced up to meet hers, I laughed even harder and so did she. Then she said, "Funny video?" (Alright then, she HADN'T actually heard anything specific from my phone, I thought.) I said, "I couldn't turn down the volume fast enough," but I'm sure she didn't understand what I meant. Then, still laughing and just as she left to enter the restroom (she had been in line in front of me) she added, "adults don't laugh enough."
I was left outside the door in my giggle fit to realize and think, "Wait a second, did she just call me an ADULT???" This cracked me up even harder, and just then the guy coming OUT of the restroom saw how hard I was laughing and HE started laughing too. As he walked off smiling, I continued down the humor road. I realized the oddity of the fact that three total strangers were standing around in a NYC Starbucks laughing, and that I was the only one of us who knew WHY - and then I thought THAT was funny. I remembered with a smile how contagious happiness can be. I couldn't have wiped that smile off my face if I tried - AND WHY WOULD I WANT TO TRY THAT?
Earlier that day, I had been talking to a friend about how we are all responsible for our own happiness or unhappiness by the choices we make and he had sent me this quote:
"Happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors."
- The Dalai Lama
As the week progressed I tried to hold on to that happiness. It was a great week filled with family and friends and truly joyous moments. There were times when I just took a deep breath in, and felt filled with gratitude. Simple things like a campfire, the smell of coffee in the kitchen, cars in the driveway, flowers in the yard, and the smile of a child, all signified grand abundance. Life was good.
You couldn't have taken that feeling of gratitude away from me if you tried - AND WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO TRY THAT?
Here's bidding you a wonderfully happy week...
Namaste,
T
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