A cheerful and belated Happy New Year to each and all. Just got back
from two
weeks of grandbaby spoiling in San Mateo. Susan and I didn't light up with the
hats,
horn, confetti, and all-night bacchanalian rites on New Year's Eve. We tipped
our cup of
kindness with a quiet kiss and hug of intoxicating gratefulness and good cheer,
and then
hit the sack. Didn't make it to the dropping of the ball this year. At least,
not the
one that dropped on the West Coast.
It's been a little over a month since my hernia operation. I didn't
realize how
quick it would take me to get back to a brisk five mile walk. Power walking
that distance
can only be a couple of months behind. As I slid up and down the Himalayan
hills of San
Mateo, seeing the new year's first sun slowly coming up from behind the ridge
of hills,
watching the darken sky transform into shades of gray and then being veined by
roses and
purples and oranges, watching the twinkling world go out of view and watching
our world
come into view, I thought, like Louis Armstrong, "what a wonderful world." I
have been
cancer free for almost a year. And although this hernia operation at the
beginning of
December, which was the result of last January's prostatectomy, has slowed me
down for a
while, I felt a glorious privilege to be here, to have the "Big C" of the
cancer word
replaced by the bigger "Big C" of the cure word and cancer-free word, to be
alive, to
know, to touch, to feel, to act, to listen, to see, and to love. And, to do
all these
things sincerely, deeply, freely, appreciatively, simply, and especially
cheerfully.
That's what was on my mind that fresh morning of a fresh month of a fresh year:
cheerfulness.
. We just came out of the season to be jolly. Some would say that the
celebrating and feasting and present giving of Ramadan, Thanksgiving, Chanukah,
Christmas,
Kwaansa, and New Year's is now replaced by the migraine of winter. Others
would say that
the mirth of late November and December now becomes the murk of January, the
ice of
February, the wind of March, and the whims of April.. Still others would say
that after
all the harking angels and decking halls and spinning dredels and busy
sidewalks, it's now
a waiting game for the fresh breath of bursting gardens. And still others
would say this
holiday season is a pausing aberration from the "let's get back to" real world,
daily
grind of our personal and professional lives. But, I ask, does it have to be?
Isn't it
our choice to decide whether each new day of each new year can be magic. Why
can't each
day of the year be our best yet? What is there to stop us from
tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-ing all year long? I mean there's a certain vitality
to the idea
of starting anew; there's a certain refreshment with the sense of promise that
there can
be regeneration ahead of us even though the past is never cauterized; there's a
certain
calmness to a cheerful life living in quiet but shared rejoicing and gratitude;
there's a
certain exhilaration to finding that one something to be cheerful about each
day. In
fact, I can't talk enough about cheerfulness. Why? Remember, as Epictetus
might say if
he were here today, we are disturbed or pleased not by people or things, but by
our
perception of people and things. And so, it takes just one cheery word or
thought or
feeling to keep the dark, cold day bright and warm. That means the level of our
inner
cheerfulness, our inclination to accentuate the positive, will reveal itself
and impact on
everything you do.
One of the tunes Irving Berlin wrote for picture, White Christmas, has
a lyric,
"If you're worried and you can't sleep; just count your blessings instead of
sheep. And
you'll fall asleep counting youre your blessings." It is not a cliché. Trust
me. I
know. When I think of my two sons, their two wonderful wives, my three
grandchildren, my
Susan, my dear friends, my close colleagues who are like extended family, my
sister and
her husband (he once was my best friend and college roommate) and their
families, Susan's
brother and his family, our brother-in-law and his family, other family
members, all the
well-wishing students, the differences I've made in the lives of others, loving
what I do
and where I am, when I think of all that and more, my blessings are larger than
any flock
of black sheep. This past year being cheerful carried me over the rough spots.
It
brought life-warming sunshine into the cold, dark days and lit up the gloom.
It filled my
heart with a kind of serenity I've seen how it is the best antitoxin for your
heart and
spirit and mind and body I know that can repel the viral hordes of attacking
worries and
fears and discouragements and doubts and challenges and difficulties and
tribulations that
will come my way this coming year.
I feel a poetic line or two coming on:
There is so much around to gladden
that overwhelms what there is to sadden.
You can stop the rain that makes you sad
by just being grateful for the days you've had.
Think of the things that come your way
that make you smile each day.
Think of joyous things that can enter your room
that can hurry out all that doom and gloom.
Think of who you are
and of all the things that have taken you this far.
Think of all you can do
to reach out and touch those who are in need of you
So lift a cup of good cheer
And be grateful and happy you're just here.
Longfellow, eat your heart out!!
I don't think I am naturally cheerful. I dont think cheeriness is any
more
instinctive or spontaneous than is grumpiness. But, it's not a matter of
course, and it
isn't a comfy bed of roses. It's not simple or easy. It's a daily choice to
hold tight
to my cup in the face of those things and people who would consciously or
inadvertently
wrest it from me and empty it. It's a struggle with myself, usually subtle, at
times
out-and-out combat. It's a test. It's an obstacle course. It's a struggle
with who I
presently am, who I want to be, and with who I can be. I have to seek it out.
I have to
remind myself or be reminded as I just was by my younger son when I falter. I
have to
pick myself up. I have to choose. It's an acquired trait, a habit of the
heart, an
attitude of the mind. I am cheerful because I choose to be, because I am
determined to be
cheerful, because each day I want to take life in my arms as tightly and
lovingly as I do
my angelic Susan, because I believe--no, I know--my cheerfulness is dependent
on the
inside me and not on the outside others or my circumstances, because I don't
want to be
and won't be pushed around by others and circumstances, because I constantly
think
cheerful thoughts, because I consciously have cheerful feelings, because I
constantly have
cheerful conversations with myself, because my motto is "whatever is, is,"
because it
makes me feel good, because I know it does no good and it doesn't feel good to
be a
cynical and gloomy Scrooge. I consciously use those powerful zygomatic major
and
orbicularis oculi facial muscles to make a smilely on my face, to lift my
spirit, to give
my heart hopeful and faithful beats, to sparkle my eyes, to keep my soul
youthful, and to
brighten my mind. I constantly recharge myself with sensual and spiritual
pleasure, like
the sight of my grandchildren, waking up next to my angelic Susan, talking to
the flowers
in my garden, taking my pre-dawn meditative walks, talking with personal and
professional
friends and colleagues, walking into a classroom. And dont' think others
don't notice
it.
What does this have to do with teaching? Everything. I find that
being cheerful
makes me a more understanding, forgiving, supportive, encouraging, seeing,
listening,
faithful, hopeful, and loving me. It gives me a power of endurance and
tolerance. It
lets me do things with more confidence. It gives me an inner moral and mental
and
spiritual strength over life's difficulties. It gives me a strong, happy heart
that in
the long run is almost impossible to weaken and dishearten. Think about it.
Somewhere,
somehow, at some time, some teacher's cheer has touched and changed your life.
Think
about that someone and you know the power of cheer to reach beyond itself.
Think about it
and you know the humbling impact of cheer to find something greater than
yourself. Think
about it and you will remember that it is a force that cannot be ignored.
Think about it
and you'll see that when cheer appears, it takes on a life of its own. It can
penetrate
into the farthest of corners; it can lighten up the darkest of places; it can
lift up the
heaviest of hearts; it can melt the hardest of attitudes.
I would be remiss, then, not to offer my cheeriness as a gift and not
to use it as
a teaching and learning method. Cheeriness unshared is like a candle unlit.
So, this
year I resolve to choose to light that candle daily, to give a smile and good
cheer as my
every day gift to myself and those around me. I'm not sure I could do
otherwise and hold
it back any more than I could hold back the wind or the tide. Yeah, I know all
about New
Year's resolutions. We vow with all sincerity to do better and adopt habits
that will
make us healthier and wiser. The bad news about resolutions is that the lottery
ticket
pays off more than most resolutions. The early weeks of January are littered
with broken
promises and shelved plans. Maybe that's because such resolutions are usually
all about
ourselves. The good news is that the resolutions carried out, especially the
ones that
involve serving others as well as ourselves, pay off more than the lottery
tickets. Take
the resolution to be cock-eyed cheerful. Cheerfulness is contagious. I am
positive that
when I choose to be positive and cheery, I feel positive and cheery. And when
I feel
positive and cheery, people around me have a better chance of being cheery.
Cheery people,
colleagues or students, will have a better chance of feeling happier, more
hopeful, more
confident, more positive, and more encouraged. Being cheerful is one of the
most sincere,
meaningful, kindly, and valuable gifts I can give to myself and others. My
cheer is far
more valuable than anything that could be wrapped up in a brightly colored box
and place
under a Christmas tree or near a Chanukah menorah. Mark Twain once said that
the best way
to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. I will add that when
you make
the world a cheerier place for others, when you bring sunshine into the lives
of others,
you have the good fortune of living in that world too and basking in that same
sunlight.
So, will you join me this year to be cheerful each day, however
difficult it may
be, to find something each day to be cheerful about, to find someone to
celebrate about?
If you do, so will others around you and they will give it to you in return.
To have a
cheery mind and heart and spirit is a great teaching tool.
Have a Happy New Year, a cheerful heart, a smiley face, and each day....
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of History www.newforums.com/L_Schmier.htm
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
(229-333-5947) /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__/\ \/\
/ \/ \_ \/ / \/
/\/ \
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//\/\/ /\
\__/__/_/\_\ \_/__\
/\"If you want to climb
mountains,\ /\
_ / \ don't practice on mole
hills" -
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