Yesterday we travelled by ferry into the city. Despite having lived here now for over three years it was our first time taking the trip. It was lovely to see what has now become the familiar coastline from Half Moon Bay round to Mission Bay from a different perspective and have an adventure together.
On the way back we sat up at the top of the ferry in the fresh air to get a better view. As Lucy cuddled up to me and I watched Amy cuddling her daddy as we sailed away from the city, I was struck by a feeling that life doesn’t get much better than this. We are all healthy and happy and we get to live in a beautiful place where there are still so many new things to be discovered (like the giant snakes and ladders game we came across on the walkway just five ten minutes from out house that we only just found at the weekend…) and new experiences to have.
The most important thing that I personally have discovered in the past three years is that I can choose to view things from a different perspective, just like the decision to take the ferry and see the coastline from the sea. I can choose to see the good in every situation. I can choose to be happy or I can restrict myself and keep myself in my box. When I realised that happiness was a choice it completely transformed my life. Of course I am not yet a happiness expert(!) and sometimes I still resemble the Sad character from the movie ‘Inside out’ but I’m working on it. Every day now I try to make a conscious decision to choose happiness, to choose that different perspective.
When we got off the ferry and returned to the car yesterday we had a parking infringement notice. Somehow we managed to park in the wrong place. Just a couple of years ago this would have been enough to send me into a spiral of negativity and frustration but instead I thought to myself ‘at least we will know where we can park next time’ and I continued to feel great. It isn’t always smooth sailing but when this more positive approach the mine is tested I am proud of just how far I have travelled and encouraged that if I can retrain my thought patterns after years of depression and negativity to see the world differently, anyone can.
Breadthoflife 