Smiling is My Favorite

Last night I watched the movie Elf for the third time this Christmas season.  And as I sit now on my couch, I am fighting the urge to watch it again.  I love that movie.  So much.  And as I've thought about why over the past few days, I realize that what I love about it is Buddy the Elf's chid-like optimism.  For Buddy, life is one big reason to smile.  And, to him, everything is fresh and full of promise.  He never lets the grumps get him down.

Sometimes it seems the longer we live, the more un-Buddy-like we get.  The world and all of its suffering grates on our once quick-to-smile selves, leaving us worn down and a lot less shiny.

The past month has been filled with suffering.

And it's hard in this day and age, with the media making its money on the tragedy of the world, to see through the fog.  Hard to see the joy.

I have to be honest.   In my past, I have sometimes struggled to see the bright side.  You know, the Silver Lining.  Although I considered myself a fairly content person, in every day situations, I often felt pressure to put a negative disclaimer on my experiences.  You know, the-coffee-was-delicious-but-I-can't-believe-I-spent-four-dollars-on-it syndrome.   I had become--dare I say it?--jaded.

Especially during the holidays.

The holidays were rough. Rather than them being a time for me to celebrate my beloved family, they were a time for me to wallow in self-pity for my single-hood.  Poor Heather.  Everyone else all cozied up with their honey and me stuck in this perpetual childhood, spending the holidays at my sister's house because she was the one with a husband and a child.  She had grown up.  Happiness (which I used to equate with couple-hood) was for everyone else but not for me.  In my mind, somehow I had done something wrong and had been forever cursed.

I'm more than happy to report that this Christmas has been different.  Despite all of the world's suffering, I am seeing it through more Buddy-like lenses.

In this time of wondering how people could commit such atrocities, I've become more attuned to the kindnesses people commit.

And in my chance to grieve for the pain in the world, I've gained a recognition of the power of optimism.  Not to push the pain aside and pretend it doesn't exist.  But to feel it.  To empathize to the best of our abilities. That somehow through all of it, our hearts will be made better.  Because now we are realizing how important it is for us to be connected.  Truly connected.

To hug a little tighter.

And say I love you a little more often.

And maybe follow Buddy the Elf's optimistic words:  I just like to smile; smiling's my favorite.

And just wait and see what happens.