Live-Laugh-Love

"My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return"....(Maya Angelou). Okay so we've heard the words, live-laugh-love.....but recently, the beauty and simplicity of those words really hit me. I write all of the time about the gratitude and gift we all have in just being alive. Many people are caught up in their own struggles and drama...so much so that they forget to appreciate the fact that they are breathing, living and waking up each morning with the opportunity for a new day. Living though isn't just about breathing, it's about really enjoying the opportunity to live life and to share a vast array of experiences. “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive"...(Howard Thurman). I've also decided that there is humor all around us, especially in the daily things. I don't think it's funny to make fun of others at all....but it's humorous to laugh with others and to make light of the crazy things in life. While at Disneyland riding the Pirates ride, my five year old pointed to the skeletons and told his sister, "Ya know- those skeleton pirates use to be alive, then they died....then they were made into a ride." That made me laugh so hard. My kids give me a lot of great material to laugh about! Reading profiles on dating sites are pretty funny as well. I always appreciate the profiles that contain something humorous on purpose. One guy wrote as his profession, "Boss of me." Another guy wrote as his education history, "I'm a smart guy" instead of listing the degrees he's earned. I always joke about how my dating profile reads like a dissertation. A guy gets bonus points just for getting through the whole thing. It sure makes the dating scene more tolerable when you can laugh and make fun of aspects of it. I went to the gym today and have started taking different classes just to vary my workouts. Now yesterday, I went to my first spinning class....and all went well. Today I tried Zumba and the experience was comedy. First, the Latino instructor makes it look easy but this is sorta like a Jane Fonda workout but with lots of booty shaking at the same time, which is no easy feat. It looks great when the instructor is doing it. I didn't look so graceful or exotic while doing Zumba and I'm just amazed that I didn't trip someone or fall on my face because moving your butt constantly to the beat of the salsa music is very hard work and tough to do while moving other body parts. I'm going to keep going to the class because it's a great workout and it's so funny watching myself and one hundred other women attempt salsa like aerobics. Laughing should be a part of our daily lives....because to live is to laugh. This brings me to love. "Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place"...(Zora Neale Hurston). Love is the heart of life and colors every breath we take. The journey of love is to risk not being loved in return but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. "Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile"...(Franklin P. Jones). As I get older and wiser, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life, which is why I finally value the words, live-laugh-love. To me, attitude about living, laughing and loving is more important than education, facts, the car you drive, money, or the past. It also doesn't really matter what others think or how things look....the bottom line is how each of us chooses to approach the business of living and it's all right there in your attitude. Attitude about life can shift instantaneously if you choose it to. So, set out on a path of becoming the energy of live-laugh-love and I guarantee that your attitude about yourself and the world around you will improve significantly. “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending"...(Maria Robinson).