YOU FOUND IT OFFENSIVE? I FOUND IT FUNNY. THAT'S WHY I'M HAPPIER THAN YOU.

UNCLE JOHN

My husband is an avid reader of the “Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader” series, and the other day he came out of the bathroom giggling about a quote he’d just read by Ricky Gervais. It read, “You found it offensive? I found it funny. That’s why I’m happier than you.” For some reason this struck a chord with me.
 
 Lately, it seems as if we have to refine and carefully mull over every thought before we speak, as to not offend anyone who may be in ear shot. Now don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some mind sets that need to change so that we aren’t politically or culturally offending people, but I am not talking about these obvious important issues. I am talking about the little things, like a joke or something you just saw on TV.

Why so serious?

I am a natural blonde, and when I hear someone tell a blonde joke (depending on how good it is), I laugh. It’s funny! It’s not true, and that’s part of what makes it so funny. It doesn’t have to become some serious conversation about my rights as a human being, or as a woman. Life is too short to take everything so seriously.
 
 Here’s one for ya, “Why do blondes tip-toe past medicine cabinets? So they don’t wake up the sleeping pills”, hahaha, I love that one! Are you kidding me? How can you not be laughing right now? Have I offended you? It seems to me that being offended is closely related with a judgmental spirit, and therefore, we all need to work on our spirit to create a more loving and accepting heart.

 

of·fend·ed (əˈfendəd/) adjective ~ resentful or annoyed, typically as a result of a perceived insult.

Being offended is a choice. It’s not a fact, it’s a feeling. It’s not an action done to you by someone else. It is only perceived by the person who feels it. As we become aware (or conscious) of the something, that is when it changes into a feeling of being offended.

What ever happened to a joke just being a joke? Or a playful comment just being fun. Since when did everything that comes out of our mouths become a judged statement that is to be scrutinized, or attacked? When did our intentions become obsolete in the identification of an offence?

hap·pi·ness (ˈhapēnəs/) noun ~ the state of being happy.

Happiness can be a spontaneous feeling caused by something like eating our favourite flavor of ice cream, getting off early from work, or winning the lottery, but most often, happiness is a decision (or a bunch of small decisions) based on a want or need to be content. Happy people tend to exercise daily habits that create a peaceful and pleasant atmosphere.

So what does a happy lifestyle look like? Personally, I think it includes having a sense of humour, loving and being loved, giving and receiving, sharing and caring for others, acting from a want to understand or learn instead of judge or condemn. It is caring for yourself, and respecting your boundaries. It’s creating goals and striving to reach them. Most importantly, it includes being thankful for everything we have… and it cannot exist without forgiveness not just for others but for ourselves.  

Is your cup half full or half empty?

Being happy is a choice, and feeling happiness is the result of choosing (and living out) a happy lifestyle. This doesn’t mean that happy people don’t have disappointment or heartache in their daily lives (or their past), it just means that they choose to handle disappointment differently...
 
 Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a very happy person, and believe me, it’s not because all the stars have lined up perfectly in my life! I should, by all rights, be a miserable sourpuss! I grew up an insecure child, feeling unloved and unwanted by my mother, and equally unloved and unwanted by my sister. Because of this, I looked for that love in all the wrong places, and by the age of sixteen my parents banished me to a pregnancy home in Vancouver to prevent embarrassment of any of their family or friends from finding out that their daughter was pregnant. Everyone was told that “I ran away,” and when asked, my parents pretended they didn’t know where I was. Years of abusive and failed relationships followed, with plenty of financial and emotional struggles. 
 
 The reason I am telling you this is because we don’t have to let our past (or present) situations dictate our future. We can choose to be happy, today, in this very moment. So lighten up, life’s can be wonderfully spontaneous and fun if we let it be. So often, we are caught up in the doom and gloom of this world, that we sometimes forget that we have so much to be thankful for. And when we realize how much we have to be thankful for, it’s hard not to be happy. And when we are happy, it’s easier to find humour in the little things.

What makes me happy?

The answer to this question is easy, I got Jesus in my heart! I am not just happy because I believe in Him, or that he saved me, I am happy because I have an amazing relationship with Him. Through that intimate relationship, I have all the love, riches, freedom, peace, joy, happiness, fulfillment, passion, and acceptance that I could ever want.
 
 As a Christian woman, there are many things (daily) that offend me, but feeling offended only creates a miserable me and that’s no fun at all! How I deal with my disappointment, hurt, or disgust about an issue is what really makes the difference. None of us are perfect, and we all fall short of handling our emotions correctly every time, but if we can remember to love, forgive, and be thankful, maybe our knee jerk reaction to judge people’s intentions will lessen a little bit. 
 
 So relax a little, it’s just a joke…