Today I saw this wonderful article on a musical swing in Montreal. I continue to think that one day I will own a backyard with a place to hang a swing. I adore (ADORE!) the simple perfection of riding on a swing. Especially on days like today, where shade is definitely cooler, and sun is warm and the wonderful feel of a light breeze is enhanced as you go whizzing by. That said, I know that my favorite swing in all of Houston resides but mere blocks from my office, and yet today I have barely drug myself away from work long enough to enjoy the cup of coffee that awaits it’s first sip on my desk (made approximately three hours ago.)
Think how we were as kids. We used to swing, and play in the dirt, and do cartwheels. Remember how we used to hug each other, heck, people we didn’t even know. We just played simply. Inspired by the experiment that Patch Adams did in the movie — smiling and saying hello to random strangers — over the past year I’ve attempted more often to smile and address people by their name. Or give them more than the usual muffled greeting when passing in the hallway. Even on the street, where appropriate, smiling at a passerby. It’s amazing the amount of people who look like they needed that interaction. Sometimes we’re so swooped up in our iphones and inner thoughts that we forget to live like kids every now and again — to be marveled by the swirling world out there.
I’ve already had one fantastic person tell me today that "I have attempted to become a happier person knowing that it will not only better me but those around me. " and that’s really so very true. It’s all about our environment, and perhaps we think we are but one tiny cog in this amazing machine of life that fills up this lovely Earth, but I’ll spare you the math and sixth degrees of separation extrapolation and zero in on this…it doesn’t matter if you effect a huge amount of people – I figure making one more person smile than you did yesterday is 100% improvement.
So today and this weekend (and forever into the brink my dear friends! HUZZAH!…sorry, carried away there)…why not try some kid like happiness to get your world an even better place? Climb a tree with childish enthusiasm. Hug a semi-stranger. Eat a lollipop. Hang your picture on the fridge. Smile at your own self, and smile at someone else, and I truly feel the world will be a better place for it. Perhaps if we all spend this bit of happiness at once, the world will shine a little brighter, and while our problems and worries may not all clear away – perhaps they’ll seem a little easier to tackle.
Living Aloud Allowed 
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