Whimsical Optimism

When good things happen, we try to brace ourselves against getting too accustomed to happiness, because we know too well what it feels like to have it ripped so abruptly from you. So much so that anxiety often accompanies happiness just as it does misery. Because you have something worth losing, and that fear alone will rip it out, so we hold ourselves back from fully immersing, from celebrating, from indulging in the joy. The higher you are, the harder the fall, we tell ourselves, so we don't allow it to come fully in, the happiness.

Then life passes by, and you ask yourself: when was I truly happy? Instead of living, you've spent your life doomsday prepping, merely surviving, waiting for the catastrophe to happen.

What if…

we did the complete opposite? Enjoyed things before they happened. Envisioned our optimal life before living it. Practiced the speech before winning the prize, bought the dress before the occasion, bought the crib before the baby, lived every day fully believing that joy is right around the corner. And when it comes (not if, when), we fully indulge, we celebrate, we feel all the feels, we bask in the light of our wishes coming true. We radiate in the joy, we talk about it, fully immerse in it, make room for it.

What then?

It never happens? It's not over yet. Continue enjoying the wait. It gets ripped away? At least you enjoyed it while it happened.

With that, you'll spend your life savoring the good moments, cultivating them out of ordinary days, creating them yourself. When I ask myself why I don't apply this second way of life more often, the only real barrier is the fear of embarrassment, the fear of shame or pity from people. And that brings me to my next point: we spend so much of our time and energy worrying about what other people will think, when in reality no one will live your life but you. It is you who has to get up in the morning, it is you who has to live the days and go through the nights, it is your heart that you're putting through this. Why not choose the happier route?

I just wanted to drop this recurring thought of mine here, because I really want to live in whimsical optimism on the daily. I have everything I want, and amazing things continue to happen for me. My life is so magical and my dreams-come-true are scattered all around me. I'm living the life I dreamt every day of living. I have my dream job, one that fulfills me in ways no other career does, and I LOVE what I get to do now: research and learn. I've chosen an amazing partner who loves me so devotedly it cures every ailment in my soul. I'm fond of every detail in my home, and it's as if God took extra special care when crafting my life for me, because it is whimsical and magical and there's love encompassing me in every corner.

I'm so lucky and blessed.

And guess what? THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO COME!