Bring your own Sunshine….

 May 25th

My mom called me her “little sunshine”, because no matter what was going on I always arrived with a smile on my face. Being optimistic has always gotten me through the storm; always knowing if there is an end, there will be a beginning; if there is a down, there will always be an up. Life is cyclical and change is inevitable.

I once dated a guy who hardly ever smiled. His stern face was his armor against the world. To him, it showed strength not weakness. However when he smiled, it was beautiful and it showed a warm loving side of him. Not smiling is not a sign of strength, but more of a sign of fear-a fear of love and a fear of pain. Let no one in and I won’t get hurt. You’ll see tons of young women and men who don’t want to smile because of the same reason. Especially if you come from a hostile community, a person walking down the street smiling means easy prey. So, many young people are scared to be happy; their sunshine masked by pseudo-clouds. Then those young people turn into adults, who believe that the clouds are forever present because they’ve been living with them for so long. Pessimism has prevailed and whatever sunshine in their lives is now considered phony and short-lived.

Being happy is one of life’s pursuits that should not be shunned because of the fear of feeling. We will all go through good and go through bad, but light will always be victorious over darkness. Your sunshine is yours and it is to be basked in.

-Wherever you are, look to the sky. Is it cloudy? How long do those clouds last before the sun comes back to make the day brighter?

-Is it nighttime? How beautiful are the stars and moon compared to the darkness of the night?

-When you feel unhappy, think about whatever/whomever your sunshine maybe. Is it your family, your home, your child, your spouse, yourself? Take a few moments and reflect on when your sunshine made you smile.