You Can Be Happy If. . .

                “You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to.” It was funny Harold singing that nonsensical song to me again. He seemed to love it. I thought the song was silly and Harold a little weird, but the song stuck with me all these years since Harold and sixth grade. In fact, I remember the song better than Harold. I suppose it also helps that my slightly eccentric husband is also fond of Roger Miller music.

            The song has taken up a few gray cells, and I activated them this week because “you can be happy if you’ve a mind to” sounds a lot like a comment by Elizabeth B. Brown. In her book, Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People, she wrote:  “Each of us is about as happy as we decide to be.”

            To be honest, there’ve been times in my life when I was unhappy and decided to live there for a while.  I enjoyed the pity party, the gray days, and any sympathy I could collect. I’m sure it wasn’t a pretty sight. Sometimes I go there, but I do so less than before. The pathway to get there is blessedly becoming overgrown because happiness is truly a choice.

            A few years ago my husband and I had a financial bomb hit us. I knew lots of people had experienced this, but it was us this time, and it was traumatic. In the process we made many decisions. One of them for me as the chief—well, the only—cook and consistent grocery shopper was to change grocery stores. I started to shop at a smaller store, which stocked basic supplies.

            Wow! Did God chuckle? I’m sure he did. I did myself at my own snobbery.

            I fully expected to see people there who had little, and even worse, I stereotyped them as unfriendly, distant, and impolite. What a surprise I got!  I heard: “Excuse me,” “I’m sorry,” “Pardon me.”  Shoppers weren’t too busy or involved in their lives to talk to one another. People who had few items were invited to cut in front of those with cartsful. Often the person with few items declined out of consideration for the one who offered.

The cashiers were genuinely friendly and kind. As people bagged their items after checking out, there was camaraderie. It was not at all like I expected.  I am still chagrined at my prejudice, but I also always leave the store with a smile, delighted to be one of the people regularly walking through the doors.

Do I have what I did several years ago? In some ways, no. But God has enriched my life in so many ways and shown me that I can be happy “if I’ve a mind to.” It really comes from having a mind and heart shift. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, perhaps you might like to join me in deciding to be happy—and thankful— in mind and heart. And if we look around, happiness shouldn’t be hard, because God’s goodness and mercy are demonstrated everywhere.