Open Doors

Life is all about open doors.

We have a cat door in our living room. It's rather comical and our little piece of trailer trash as when one stands outside our house, one can see this little railing that leads up to the cat door so that that cats have a way to enter and leave. Otherwise? The window that holds the cat door is too high up for the cats to reach. Anyway, our kitten, Ajax, has just realized that he can use this cat door. It's the funniest thing--he is totally enthralled with it. So in the morning when I get up, he goes out the cat door, and then a few seconds later? Back in the cat door. And so on and so on. In and out. In and out. Frankly, I'm happy about his discovery as ultimately it means I can get rid of the litter box. Ah--that is a beautiful thing.

So this morning as I was watching him do his gig, I was thinking about how our lives are filled with twists and turns and those curves are all based on open doors and the ones we choose to enter.

My friend Jacque sent me a list: Nine Things Happy People Don't Do. It's a great list filled with short statements of wisdom: Happy people don't criticize, compare, complain, live in the past, waste time, try to change others, forget to prioritize personal growth, worry about people's judgement, and finally, happy people don't overthink.

Wow.

Great list. Tall order.

I sent the list to my sisters and one of them said, "Ah man--but I like to criticize. It makes me feel so much better!" And of course, she said it in jest, but...well, you know...sometimes criticizing does feel so doggone good.

And complaining? That's another feel-good trick that I invest in far too often. Frankly, I am more likely to DO most of things rather than NOT do most those things. Ok...let's be real.

All of those things.

But I am inspired. I am inspired to print out this list, hang it on my wall at work and hang it on my bathroom mirror and on my kitchen window. And for that matter? Maybe I'll plaster it on the screen of my iPad until they become engrained in my very being. Because the truth is, that list appeals to me. People who are genuine and kind and make life better for others and are wholesome and err on the side of love rather than the side of right...yeah. Those are my kind of people. Those are the people that reflect this list. And I want to stand with them.

Those are my open doors.