Optimism

Today I'm determined to make this post a happy, optimistic one. Last night I was thinking about all that I've written so far and I'm not sure that it gives you a good idea of who I am.

So clue #1 to the great mystery of me: I'm a pretty happy person. I love to smile and laugh. "What makes me happy," you ask. Well, I'm like most people I guess, I'm happy being around people I love, particularly my family and my best friends, a.k.a. The Nine. I'm so blessed to have some many people who I know love me. I also have hobbies that make me happy. Reading is at the top of the list. Even the anticipation of reading is great! Sometimes when I just know that a book I'm about to read will be one I'm going to love forever part of me hates to begin it. Because even though I know picking it off the shelf years later is going to feel like coming back to a good friend, the excitement of reading it for the very first time will be gone. The change of seasons is another thing that makes me simply rejoice. There is something so magical about experiencing fall or spring again after summer or winter.

But I have to say the one thing that makes me happiest of all has got to be feeling like I have a purpose. I know what it's like not to feel that way and that just make feeling purpose-filled even better. Saying that my life has purpose is definitely not to say that I know exactly what the rest of my life will hold nor does it mean that when I felt like I didn't have a purpose one wasn't there. But for now, in this moment, I do have an idea of what my role is in our global community and it feels great. Part of this fulfillment comes from being happy with my job and with where I live (see above picture of me at work), but its really more than that. My purpose includes understanding how I fit into my family or my group of friends. It's knowing that I read not just because it makes me happy, but because each new thought or idea that I come across is making me me. It's also being content with the knowledge that even a crazy girl who gets giddy when the weather changes is someone who matters in our world.

I'm happy to be just me.

Margaret