Wednesday; March 11

Happy Birthday to Bobby McFerrin.  I don’t know how many people today remember McFerrin, but his words were on most of our lips back in 1988.   The innovative singer had the mega hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.  I didn’t realize this factoid until recently; but the song was the first a cappella song to ever reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  (It topped the charts for two weeks.)  The song also won the 1989 Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.  That’s quite a lot of accolades for a simple but catchy tune.  I have to admit, I was caught up in happiness the song generated; however, that lost some of its luster when, in 2014, Robin Williams, who was prominently featured in the music video, took his own life.  It kind of makes you wonder what happened between the song and the suicide. 

In an interesting dichotomy of life, a lot of us struggle with this dilemma.  We want to believe in the mantra of not worrying and being happy, but we allow life to get us down.  On the outside we hold it together, but inside, we are struggling.  Few of us will make the decision to take our lives; but a lot of us will allow the life to be sucked out of us.  I know it is an over-simplification, but when we feel down, let’s allow that song (or at least the saying) to guide our thought-process.  No, a catchy phrase isn’t enough to live a joyful life, but it might help catch us from spiraling out of control.  Joy is possible if we are willing to remember that we are the keys to our own emotional well-being.  In the vast majority of us, if we allow ourselves, we can overcome worry with happiness.

Think About It!

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