I'm a happy girl today

The Warillever is happy.

Why?

Is it the spectacular weather? No, but I do appreciate the sun now and again.
Has something good happened? Not particularly.

Then why am I so happy?

Because I decided to be. As the bard tells us, "there is nothing either good or bad, But thinking makes it so." Someone once taught me that smiling can make a person happy; the very act of flexing your face muscles triggers some sort of biochemical reaction that gets the real emotion going. Consider it like priming a water pump or push-starting a car. This sounds way too simplistic, and I have no scientific proof to offer you. All I can tell you is that it works.

Unlike Denmark, my life is no prison. In fact, I have a pretty nice gig going -- I have good health, a gorgeous husband, a close family, great friends, and a warm cat (who is currently curled up on my lap). But even with all this going for me, the small injustices of daily life still manage to get me down at times. There are times when I want to yell and scream and curl up into a ball all at once. It is then that I invoke the 24 Hour Rule.

The 24 Hour Rule states that no one event or circumstance is allowed to consume my emotions for more than 24 hours. In the first 24 hours I may cry, complain, or whine. I do not stop myself from being annoyed, angry, hurt, or upset. Once the 24th hour elapses, however, that event or circumstance becomes a simple fact of life. It exists, but it no longer carries the same emotional weight.

UPDATE (4/10/05): Links added. As a new blogger, I reserve the right to learn as I go...