Celebrate Always

I recently came across the quote, "Choose to be optimistic…it feels better" -The Dalai Lama. I try to be logical and realistic in a positive way - but there seem to be daily reminders lately that the world is a troubled place and life is not all sunshine and rainbows. Despite the negativity, I'm a big believer in celebrations. Fortunately, life has given me many reasons to celebrate. And sometimes, even if life doesn't seem to be going quite as I planned (because I always plan) I try to find reasons to celebrate anyway.

This weekend has been full of reminders that life is good:

• Friday: Friend got an awesome new job 
• Saturday: Friend's soon to be baby, and soon to be house listed
• Sunday: Mom! Mothers Day

Summer seems to be full of celebrations and people I love. Next weekend I get to celebrate friendship at a cabin in Wisconsin, the next weekend I get to celebrate the wedding of a dear childhood friend, the weekend after I celebrate new members, impact, and community with Global Shapers.

Next week my not-so-baby sister finishes another year of college, she will graduate next year. Crazy.

But until that major milestone, we will celebrate the baby steps to get there. And for those of us past graduations, and without weddings and babys, we will celebrate family, health, friendship, work projects, adventures, sunshine and all of the other things that get us out of bed and enjoying the day! No need to wait for a special day - each day is worth celebrating with people we love.

I was at a conference last week, and the presenter of a workshop challenged us to share something we hated or that made us angry while moving our arms and shaking our hips. No matter how hard we tried, everyone in the room was laughing. It was a good reminder to lighten up and go with the flow.

Enjoy today and every day. And if you don't or can't, share your struggle with someone and look for a silver lining. Life is better shared, and our days are too short to be wasted. Celebrate the small wins, and eventually things will turn around. There is power in community and positive thinking.