Three young women from Parkland have the right ideas

Rachel Maddow had three of the young women from the Parkland school on her show yesterday. Along with other teens who survived the mass shooting at their school a month ago, the three are now deeply involved in working towards more sensible gun laws in our country.

Once the teens began speaking out, of course, the far right wing attackers began calling them names and degrading their efforts and points of view. Rachel asked the young women how they were handling this. All three of them chuckled and said, “We laugh at it. We know what’s true.” They said they don’t let it bother them! They laugh about it!

Rachel also asked them if they disagree or ever fight amongst themselves. Again they sort of chuckled and said, “Of course we disagree sometimes. We talk it out and then snuggle up on the couch together and watch The Office!”

Such wisdom from young people who aren’t even old enough to vote yet. The takeaways for the rest of us? Even though we might be facing some serious situations, find the humor and laugh - know what is true and let the rest go. If you disagree with someone, talk it out and then do something fun together!

If these young people are so wise now, imagine what they will be like as they grow and mature. We can learn a lot from them and I do have hope that they can make some needed changes in our country and world.

Okay, so this might be silly.....

Don't you find that sometimes it is the silly things that bring you joy? As you know from previous posts, I enjoy having a cup of coffee (okay, two cups of coffee) in the morning and I usually have a cup of herbal tea later in the day. Many times, I have been annoyed because my coffee or tea gets cold before I can finish it.

My other half, Rhonda, drinks more slowly than I do and uses a tumbler to keep her coffee warm longer. I don't like tumblers. Recently, I thought to myself, "I bet someone makes insulated mugs that would keep my hot beverages hot longer." A quick visit to my friend Amazon showed that, indeed, there are many nice insulated mugs.

I chose a beautiful one that is made of stainless steel on the inside with bamboo on the outside and a plastic lid that snaps into place. I ordered one for myself, found a similar bamboo tumbler for Rhonda and hit order! A few days later, they arrived. Here's the silly part.

This mug makes me so happy. Every time I look at it or use it, it makes me smile. When I go to bed at night I am thinking about how wonderful it will be to get up and enjoy my nice hot coffee from my bamboo mug. I know: silly. Get a life, Krysta.

Here's the point, though. It can be small, silly things like this that bring us great joy. We don't necessarily have to have a new car or house or win the lottery to feel joy. We can feel it during meditation, while looking at a tree or flower, when petting the dog, or when holding a nice warm bamboo mug. Whatever your bamboo mug is, let yourself feel the joy without being embarrassed by the smallness of it all. Life consists of many more small things than large things, after all!