Be Joyous

The other day, when I was driving home from work, and about ten minutes away from very congested Los Angeles commuter traffic, I noticed that the car next to me had a vanity plate that read "Be Joyous." As I braced myself to sit in traffic for a very long time, and yet very few miles away from home, I let the sentiment behind those words wash over me. The utility of the message on a car, with its potential to inspire and calm LA commuters, was not lost on me. In fact, it put a smile on my face– which replaced the sense of impending doom that often accompanies sitting in hours of traffic. It reminded me that while we can't control our surroundings, we can control our reactions to them, and that even in the most bleak of circumstances- to which commuting certainly does not belong– we have the choice to be joyous. It is a great idea to periodically remind oneself of this, and it is a great antidote to foreseeable and unforeseeable stresses that can radically impact one's mood and outlook. Be joyous! xo