I had one of my best days yesterday. Most everything was going wrong but that is beside the point.
I spent the majority of my day sitting in the waiting room of Darby’s Automotive while they serviced the brakes on my parking lot sweeper (I spend a lot of time with broken down equipment, but Darby has nice couches, good Wi-fi, and cool employees to interact with.) I had some time to kill so I began working on a new intro for the Lift Heavy Run Long® Podcast.
My idea was that I would scrub through hours of footage and try to find a few animated clips of each of the hosts to put together as the intro to the show. Basically, my job was to skim for smiles and excitement. That task seemed pretty tedious but I could not have been more mistaken.
I was exhilarated. I was overwhelmed with joy. There was so much footage of people laughing, smiling, cutting-up, cutting-down, teasing, joking and having a good time.
I couldn’t stop watching. Each clip was more meaningful than the last.
I love to watch my wife laugh. I love the way her hair moves when she throws her head back. I love the way that she goes from a serious look to absolutely breaking up with no moment’s notice. I love to watch as her teeth are exposed, her eyes squint, and her hand slaps her knee. I can watch and listen to her laugh, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including nights, weekends and holidays.
I loved watching my co-host, Von, unable to compose himself. I loved watching as he would get a chuckle and gradually crack himself up, more-and-more, with each sentence he tried to put together. It seemed as if whatever he was laughing at became funnier as it sunk-in deeper. I loved watching as everyone would focus on the lens of the cameraman, Brian Swanson, only to erupt in laughter at whatever comment he made. I had a smile and a tear plastered to my face for at least four hours.
I had to ask myself why I don’t spend more time searching for laughter, animation, and excitement and why I spend so much time looking for controversy and discord.
Is it really that easy?
If I just make it a point to look for laughter can I really expect to have the same sort of day that I had yesterday, all while everything around me seems to be going wrong?
I’m interested to find out.
Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,
Beefcake