Have A Good Day

Like you, I have heard it a million times.
The latest was this afternoon when I went to the hardware store to buy light bulbs.
She handed me my bag and without hardly looking at me said it.
“Have a good day.”
Words often said without thinking and heard the same way.
But this afternoon was different.
It was one of those moments when something I have heard countless times before struck me in a new way.

Have a good day.
Like the day is a flip of a coin.
Heads. A good day.
Tails. Not a good day.
I walked out of the store thinking, “That is not what I believe.”
What I believe is that each day is a gift echoing what a colleague used to tell me. “Today is a day that was not promised to you, but it is a day full of promise.” And, today, the moment I have right now, is not a flip of a coin good or bad, but a decision about the type of day I will make.
Yes, stuff happens.
Some good.
Some bad.
Some just is.
But, I have a choice about what type of day I will do my best to make.
In the end, despite stuff happening, I make days good or bad.

I make today good by being grateful.
By looking at and seeing the person who says to me “Have a good day.” and saying “Thank you.”

I make today good by making it better.
By helping.
By caring.
By paying attention.
By having my heart broken by the needs of others and the headlines in the news.

I make today good by seeing the beauty which surrounds me.
The older couple holding hands as they walk down the sidewalk.
The leaves just beginning to turn colors.
The black-eyed susans which still bloom in our yard.

You get the idea.
To a large extent you and I get to choose.
Good or bad or just…

Make the day good.