Need a Cheer Up?

My family is Buddhist, and Buddhists have lots of memorial services. You’d think this would be kind of depressing, but they’re always really enlightening, happy events, usually with sweet old monks who get a message across with a story. I don’t really remember the whole story, but I never forgot the ending to one in which the reverend said, “So smile…always smile…you never know what the other person is going through.”

It’s surprising how much better I feel when I smile at people rather than waiting for them to smile at me. But sometimes I’m really grumpy or annoyed or tired, and smiling isn’t the first thing I want to do. In these instances, I have an arsenal of things that work better than tickles. Of course, you’ll want to create your own happy kit, but here’s mine to get you started:

Adorable baby animals. Yes, I am 100% girl. If I were a super villain, my kryptonite would be baby bunnies. And kittens. And puppies. And tiny piglets. Cute overload basically kills me.

1. Photos of Dude  2. Amazing Creature  3. Cute Overload  4. Just Call me Lynn

Tiny clothes for tiny people:

1. Tea Adik Elephant Romper  2. Burly Beard  3. Threadless Cookie Loves Milk

And my most valuable secret weapon of all. I give you Paul Rudd’s Sexy Dance:

(Couldn’t embed this, but you can see the video by clicking on the link…it’s worth it. It really is. Pretty much the best thing ever.)