Ridiulously Silly

I mentioned yesterday how I have chosen to start each day with the intention of making it ridiculous -- or at least to the level of crazy that I can get away with and still have a family who will talk to me as well as accompany me out in public.

Overall, my philosophy consists of this:

• Live life ridiculously. We only get once chance to make the most of every day.
• Leave a trail of beauty/fun/merriment and whimsy everywhere you go, because so many people are way too serious, and it is way easier to be joy-filled than growly anyway.
• Why not be the best interaction someone's had all day rather than add to the burdens they already carry?

Can I tell you some of the benefits from adopting this kind of attitude? First off, it gets my mind off myself. I am looking for opportunities to brighten someone else's day, bring joy if even for only a moment, and see how I can love people like Jesus does.

Secondly, it makes me less conscious of how others see me. It loosens my inhibitions in a good way. People respond to kindness in one common and fairly predictable fashion -- with more kindness. Sure, not everyone is about being smiled and waved at by someone they don't know. I had one person yesterday who just averted their eyes at my friendliness.

Just one.

Everyone else I initiated with responded with a big smile and a wave back. Today I brought a smile to the face of a poor guy who was riding in the back of a pickup truck. His wave was vigorous, I must say!

People may think I am someone they know, but guess what? If they drive away bumfuzzled at my open, genuine expression of joy at living and kindness toward them -- another person sharing this big world -- I figure that can't be a bad thing. They were noticed. They experienced joy for a second in what may have been an otherwise humdrum or plain, old burden-filled day.

I am the first person to say how life gets in the way of building connections with others. I am naturally an introvert. I can go days without interacting with anyone but my own children and not really miss being in touch with anyone else. Yet, after moving around as much as we have in the past few years, I know what it feels like to be invisible. I know what it feels like to be ignored, overlooked and left out by those I thought were heart friends, family, and people in the Christian community in general.

I am only one person, but I know I can make a difference. I can reach out through my silliness and through putting my own fears and worries aside and take notice of the people who cross my path each day -- sometimes for only a second. It's not all that hard, and the burst of joy I find in the ridiculousness of it all makes up for any uncertainty that breezes through my little head occasionally.

How about you? Can you embrace the ridiculous and take a chance at making someone's day? What are ways you can leave a trail of beauty in the place you've been planted?

On His Adventure~
Pam

Living Life Ridiculously 101

I've come to a delightful realization with each passing year. As I near my next birthday in November, my resolve to live each day with a joy bordering on a manageable level of the ridiculous is woven into every one of them.

What am I talking about here? Let's work with the short list today:

• Smiling at everyone, regardless of whether they smile back. Today I did this on the commute to my husband's place of work. The guy I grinned and waved at vigorously on the interstate reciprocated immediately with a vigorous wave and a silly grin, too. (The wave needs to be vigorous, or you might be mistaken for some other offensive hand gesture.)
• Skipping. While pushing my buggy at the grocery, or at Target, or anywhere that provides me with wheels to get where I'm going faster, I choose to skip. Yes, people chuckle as I skip by. Yes, my teenagers are occasionally averting their eyes and attempting to disassociate themselves from me.  No one has told me to stop skipping and genuine smiles have been more common than ridicule.
• Greeting people warmly. I know this seems like a less than ridiculous proposition, but you'd be surprised at how many people are caught off guard by this simple gesture.
• Singing loud for all to hear. Hmm . . . this list is beginning to sound like a list from one of my favorite Christmas movies, isn't it? I find singing to be a way to dispel the foulest of moods, and I guarantee if you sing with any sort of gusto and sincerity about you that people either join in or at the very least, chuckle in amusement.

• Dance like no one's looking. Yes, I have been known to don my Tiffany Blue Chuck's and dance right out of the convenience store while singing to Pharrell's "Happy" at the top of my lungs.

Sooo . . . if this ridiculous behavior hasn't completely put you off and made you want to run for the hills away from my blog, please click on the "Happy"link and do a little dance in my honor.  I know I'm going to . . . and I've discovered this song is quite the workout for a gal in my current physical condition. Stay tuned for more ways to live ridiculously and love it!

Leaving a trail of beauty~

Pam