The Happy Train

Re-enacting a scene from A Lot Like Love

The other day I received a text from a friend that read "Somewhere along the way I feel off the train to happiness and I feel like you were helping me stay on that train SO I want to thank you along with tell you that I want to get back on that train."

I've been thinking about that a little bit, knowing I wanted to write a blog but unsure on what it would entail. I think I've finally figured it out though, after realizing that I'm content with my life, not wanting to change too much right now.

The Happy Train is something that a lot of us jump on, whether you think of it as positive thinking, The Secret or whatever else. There seems to be a crowd of people, myself included, who seem to easily be able to pull up happy thoughts about their lives at a moment's notice. Others have to work a little bit harder, but that doesn't mean it's not attainable.



Being happy really changes things for you. Once you decide to be happy, the seeds of happiness have been planted. To decide that even though things might suck - your house could be on fire, your boyfriend could live millions of miles away, you could be bullied at school, what have you - you're going to find it in you to be happy because you deserve it.

That's right, you deserve to be happy.

The way I keep myself on the Happy Train is through daily reevaluations of myself. When things suck I take a step back and think to myself, yeah, things suck and I'm having a ton of panic attacks a day, but you know what...I know that somewhere along the line, something's going to make my smile. 

And you know what, something usually makes me smile within just a few minutes of that thought. Unhappiness is not a natural state, it's just an easy state to fall into when you let thoughts and others' actions control you.

So here are my tips for jumping on (and staying on) that Happy Train: consciously think about the things that made you smile throughout the day, do the things you like doing, when you notice you're afraid of something...face your fears, and lastly...always talk to someone you love, because they're sure to bring a smile to your face.

Happy day!
Raewyn