Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCCLXXXVII

Unless I live to be at least 124 years old, the majority of my life is behind me. I can honestly say that I have few regrets, but there is one that I want to tell you about so I might can help you avoid the same one. I will mention, however, that I see people around me every day who seem to be making the same mistakes I made, but to an even greater extent. All of my life so far I've tried to keep a smile on my face and a positive outlook on life, and while some of it was strictly an acting job on my part, most of it has been for real. I realize that no one can be "up" all the time, but the mistakes I've made primarily have to do with other people and uncontrollable circumstances. Let me give a couple examples of what I mean.  I had a dinner appointment with a business colleague and some prospective new clients in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which is more than six hours from home. I left home in plenty of time to arrive at my destination with more than an hour and a half to spare. On the way up, as I was driving on I-40 between Little Rock and Conway, I noticed that the traffic ahead of me was at a standstill. That interstate had literally become a parking lot. People were getting out of their cars and standing around right there on the highway. The longer we waited, the madder and more agitated I became, because there was  absolutely nothing I could do about it.  It was bugging me because I'm the type person who does not like to show up late, but all my fretting did no good whatsoever. When the traffic finally started creeping ahead again and I passed the wreck that had caused the delay, I had a reality check when it dawned on me just how selfish I had been. The people involved, who had been taken either to the hospital or the morgue, had had their day interrupted much worse than mine had been. Besides that, I made it to my appointment on time anyway. Second example:  I used to work for a man who had a reputation for being so hard on his employees it would make their lives miserable. My own health began to suffer due to the many sleepless nights I spent just worrying about what kind of mood he would be in the next day, and when I would get up in the mornings, my nerves would be so shot I couldn't even drink my coffee. I would usually end up pouring it down the drain. It's a fact that if you work with other people, there will be some who will constantly be trying to steal your joy, and there are so many of them out there, you'll find at least one on every job if there are several people working.  I realize that overlooking that and not letting it bother you is easier said than done, but if you let them get to you, they're the winners and you're the loser. It's also a fact of life that bad things are gonna happen and there's nothing you can do to prevent them.  Worrying and stressing over uncontrollable situations will not make them better...it will only make you less happy.   Maybe it just comes with maturity, but I'm happy to report that I've come a long way in maintaining my joy when the inevitable situations occur that I can't control. No...I haven't made it all the way, but I'm amazed at how much progress I've made. If there's something I can do about an unpleasant situation, you can bet I'll be trying to fix it, but if it's out of my hands, I'm gonna put a smile on my face and enjoy this limited time I have left of my one and only shot at life. Preston