"misery monsters"

perhaps much of what i'm about to say can be blamed on "mercury being in retrograde"; but between you and me, i find that to be lame-o excuse!

lately i've found myself knocking elbows with some downright negative, unhappy people. there are some folks that seem to be miserable all the time - nothing works, everything is a battle, day in and day out.  it makes me sad because i cant imagine waking up everyday feeling so terrible about LIFE -- this beautiful, divine gift that we have been given to experience to the fullest. i can't help but think, 'how and when did some people become so ENTITLED?' is it that we enable unacceptable behavior, or walk on egg-shells around those that are a bit moody to avoid dealing with an emotional explosion? we've created "misery monsters"!

i understand people have their reasons, and until i walk in someone else's shoes, i have no right to judge; however, i do have the right to my beliefs. i believe that no matter what trials or tribulations we encounter in life, we have a CHOICE each and every day to have a positive, or negative, outlook. no one leaves this life unscathed; we all have (and will) encounter situations that just freaking suck! but instead of dwelling on it and living in a puddle of our own anguish, why not change our perspective? we have to keep a tight rein on our outlook. we may not have control over 99.9% of life's affairs, but we do have control over our attitude. lets try our best grow with every experience we stumble upon. lets work towards a greater good. what do you say, are you with me? we owe it to ourselves and our Higher Power (if you believe in one), as we're only here for a short while.

i reeeally dont mean to come off as "preach-y", but it seems the past couple of weeks i've struggled staying cheerful throughout the day being surrounded by so much pessimism -- most of my frustration has been at work. when having a career in the [entertainment] advertising industry, there will  never be a day without something going awry. its like sitting at the edge of your seat allll day, waiting to smash through the "break incase of emergency" box to pull out an extinguisher to settle a fire. i get this, i signed up for this, and i LOVE it. it goes without saying that my job is stressful, but it can be taken to another level when it feels like everyone around you is so "doom and gloom"! i wake up excited for the day and by the end of it, i'm worn out having tried (really tried) to make sense of others' angst.  i then find myself going into "complaining" mode -- joining the rest of 'em. no bueno. i'm a solution finder! i can't help by want to find a solution!

so here is where it comes together. on my drive home from work today, i decided to take my own advice. whatever tomorrow brings, i am going to remember that i may not be able to control whatever situation comes my way, but i can control my attitude towards it.  i will smile and laugh in light of a problem. i will seize the day!

thanks for lending an ear - for listening to my rants. i hope that what i had to say tonight resonates with someone out there.