Being Joyful

Canadian singer-songwriter Matthew Good sang it best:

Oh be Joyful!
Cos that shit spreads

He also sings to "Live your life outside the life you know." I think he means that you should broaden your horizons, to move outside of your comfort zone.

For the most part, I'm a bit of a sceptic but I strive to be optimistic. I hope for the best but I'm cautious and have my doubt. I guess that's why, when I was younger and used to play the role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, my characters were almost always of a chaotic-neutral alignment.

In real life, I see myself as chaotic-neutral. With a bit of neutral-good mixed in.

For several months, I've begun following a bunch of positive-minded individuals on Twitter. Sure, I've followed countless positive people on the social-media site for years, but these new peeps don't rant or rage.

And if they do, it's rare.

There are so many people who I follow on Twitter who inspire me with their positivity but too many to mention all at once. And I wouldn't want to mention a mere few without feeling that I'm excluding the others. But I would like to give a shout-out to one person who infuses good vibes into all of his tweets: Pepe Valencia. Thanks for your optimism and joy.

Matt Good is right: being joyful is contagious.

To that end, I've tried to be more positive in my tweets. I have a long way to go and still rant every once and awhile, but I'm trying to stop that. I'm trying to make sure that my positive tweets outnumber my critical ones.

I've also started a ritual on Twitter: I start every day with a greeting and a positive thought. I ask my followers how they're doing with a "G'morning, peeps. How are you now?"

Now  you might think that my "How are you now?" is a nod to the characters in the show, Letterkenny, but it's actually homage to my father-in-law, who is no longer with us. Whenever I answered the phone and he was on the other end, this question was the first thing I heard.

My last tweet of the night, when I can think of it, is, "G'night, peeps." I also inject a positive wish, such as "Sleep well" or something along those lines. I'm finding that by leaving a positive note on my Twitter account, I feel any stress or anxiety, which I may be carrying, ease. I go to bed feeling pretty good.

Oh, be joyful. Because that shit spreads.

Just like that.