A happy life is easy to ruin. A recent study revealed being rude to someone early in the morning, will affect their mood all day.
No crap. We don’t need a scientific study to know getting cut-off in rush hour traffic will ruin our day.
Happy Life – Rush Hour
This happened to me this morning. Cruising down University Pkwy, I was tailgating very close to the car in front of me, when a beat up ‘84 Corolla cut me off.
“Dude! There’s not even room for you here!”
What a moron.
I was already fighting a melancholy mood, but this guy set me off.
The trouble is, minor infractions like this happen all the time. We drive to work every day and are constantly irritated.
Then we drive home at night, and get irate all over again, just in time to see the Mrs.
What a pleasant experience indeed.
Happy Life – Coffee
There’s a coffee shop in France with a creative pricing structure. If you’re pleasant to the barista, a cup of coffee will cost $5. If you’re rude, it’ll cost $10.
There’s an instant karma tax for rudeness. How clever.
But why do we need a special tax to remind us to be polite?
Being nice to other people should be our default mode, but it’s not.
Happy Life – Shopping
During Christmas rush, we went to the mall, on a Saturday. What a bad idea.
A “gang” of relatives swarmed the parking lot, blocking traffic. They were screaming and yelling at another “gang” of shoppers.
Who knows what they were arguing about, but I’m sure it had to do with a parking spot.
I wanted to watch. I wanted to catch the fight on my smart phone and send it to TMZ. I was hoping my video would go viral.
But it dissipated as no punches were thrown – sadly. (Someone deserved to be knocked out)
Happy Life – Parking
The scene in the mall parking lot brought back Post Traumatic Stress for me.
Years ago we were caught in a similar altercation.
We pulled into a parking spot and got out of our car.
A young female driver squealed around the corner, blocked us in, and started yelling at us.
We thought it was a scam, like we were being Punked and Ashton Kutcher was about to jump out from behind the bushes and yell, “Gotcha.” It was clearly a joke.
But she was outraged. Apparently, she had “claimed” the empty parking space in her mind – from a few rows away…
I’m not sure if that’s how the parking rules work in America, but whatever.
Happy Life – Ruined
Our entire night was ruined. We were going out for a nice dinner, but now the girl had ruined our entire night. All we could talk about was how crazy she was.
I ended up leaving in the middle of the meal to move my car. I feared we’d find a broken window, punctured tire, or key scratches in the paint.
Thankfully, there was nothing like that, and I moved the car with ease.
But as I rounded the corner, looking for a new spot, the girl had illegally parked in the fire-lane. She was sitting there, waiting for her next “victim.”
What a pyscho.
Happy Life – Indifferent
When your internal dialog is off kilter – and suddenly a jerk cuts you off – you react in kind. It’s like this psychotic biological defense mechanism, in case people are stealing our food or something.
But part of it too, is that we’ve become so indifferent to others around us.
There are so many people in the world, that we can yell at someone and never see them again. There are no consequences. Nothing matters at all.
Who cares.
Happy Life – Denmark
Denmark is ranked as having a high quality of life. There are lots of theories to why this is, and some will joke that it’s because they have “low expectations.” And maybe that’s the case.
But the Danish also do life differently. They have a word in Danish called “hygge.” It roughly translates to “cozy and happy.” They embrace the winter – look forward to it actually – and find ways to make themselves cozy.
Having a positive attitude about the winter is definitely a plus, especially for such a cold climate.
But the Danish also have tighter communities. They help each other out. They care about their neighbors.
Being bundled snuggly in their homes, enjoying hygge, has its benefits.
They’re stuck with the same people – seeing them every day. They can’t afford to be rude to each other. They need each other. They help each other.
It’s not a nation of 300 million people crashing their cars into each other, never to see that person again.
It’s a small knit community of people, joining together, and respecting one another.
If you ask me, it’s a better way to do life.
A kinder way.
