My Happiness Project: I is for Interpretation
The AtoZ Challenge means posting every day in April except Sundays, which leaves exactly 26 days – one day for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet.
See my Great and Powerful Theme Reveal – My Happiness Project – for a full list of the posts, updated throughout the month.
And be sure to check out My April AtoZ 2015 Posse, a Twitter list composed of individuals I have every intention of visiting during this year’s challenge.
Be careful how you interpret the world: It is like that.
~Erich Heller
I is for Interpretation
Interpretation is all about Perspective. As I discussed in my previous post, deciding to work toward Happiness does not mean that things are magically better, that problems cease to exist, that people are suddenly not annoying, that situations have changed for the good. It’s unrealistic to think any of that is a possibility.
We aren’t in control of other people and outside situations. Shit’s gonna go south whether we smile or frown.
Depression, however, is a lying bitch who tries to make you believe that it’s ONLY happening to you, BECAUSE of you. Add in a dollop of low self-esteem and you start to believe it. Mix with anxiety and you’re sure that everyone else knows it, too, and that they are in on the game.
Depression is a lousy interpreter. Don’t listen to anything she says. The fact is, shit is happening to ALL of us. And sometimes someone is to blame, but more often than not, NO ONE is to blame, because shit happens, and that’s life.
Choose a different interpretation.
There are no facts, only interpretations.
~Friedrich Nietzsche
When you drop your glass {which is, of course, half-empty} for the umpteenth time, breaking it into an infinite number of tiny knife-like pieces that scatter all over the ground; and when, in the process of leaning down to clean up the mess, you bonk your noggin on the coffee table; and when, in a spasm of pain, you pee your pants a little; and when you fall over onto your ass and then pee your pants a LOT; and when, as you attempt to stand back up, you place your hand right in the middle of the shatter glass…
When all that shit goes south…
You can choose to see it as “A Series of Unfortunate Events” like Depression would have you believe — that the universe is out to get you, that you are the butt of some cosmic joke, that there is some giant conspiracy to keep you down. I have been there.
Or.
You can choose to see the entire scene as a great accident in comedy, because seriously — read that shit again and tell me it ain’t funny. One of my Personal Commandments is Catastrophe NOW makes a great story LATER.
Which is simply a different way of saying, “This, too, shall pass.” And, “Tomorrow is another day.” And, “Get over it.”
None of those other phrases work for me. We each have our own Interpretation — a certain key that fits our verbal locks — and that’s what this post is about. Find the words that will work for you. They exist.
Finding your own Interpretation of words allows you to create your own Interpretation of events.
So the next time that d-bag cuts you off at the checkout, you can be a grumpus and let it ruin your day, or you can assume he’s in a hurry to get home to his pregnant wife. That a-hole who zooms you from the slow lane? He’s either a jerk-faced speed-demon or a guy who has to get his dog to the vet pronto.
You get to decide which way to believe. Why on earth do we ever choose the negative Interpretation?
We don’t see things as they are, we see them as WE are.
~Anaïs Nin
Every day this month I will share a book* about Happiness, or fighting Depression, or one that cracked me up good.
Try Yes Man, by Danny Wallace.
This is a book you’ll either love or hate. I haven’t met anyone with a “meh” attitude toward it. I thought it was great {clearly, or I wouldn’t recommend it}. This guy starts saying YES to every opportunity, question, request, favor, situation… And obviously gets himself into some ridiculous situations.
I chose this book for today because the narrator was suffering mild Depression and loneliness when he began his stupid project, and he chose to shake things up — he decided to seriously change his Interpretation of life and what matters most. And it was funny, too, so double-win.
I know it was made into a movie, but I haven’t seen it, so I can’t tell you how they compare. I just know this book is among my faves, and I hope you enjoy it, too!
*Please see my post “B is for Books” for a full listing of all the books mentioned throughout this series.
Is the glass half empty, half full, or twice as large as it needs to be?
~Author Unknown
Every day this month I will share a song from my Happiness Song List.
Today’s song is “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash.
*Please see my post “M is for Music” for a full listing of all the songs mentioned throughout this series.
- Are you a “glass half full” or “glass half empty” kind of person?
- But seriously though — don’t you hate it when cuts in line and then pretends they didn’t notice the five-krillion people standing there waiting?
- Have you ever BEEN that person who cuts in line? What was your reason? MAKE IT GOOD, PEOPLE.
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