Always Happy

Me and My Dog 🙂

It’s not really my dog. It’s my daughter’s dog. But my daughter lets me borrow her dog. Sometimes we sit on the porch and drink coffee.

I started working as a chaplain several months ago. I visit people at their places of employment. I know. It’s weird. When people think chaplain they think hospital, assisted living, military. But, no matter how hard we try, we take our personal life to work and our work life home. Because wherever we go…there we are.

I think companies have finally figured out this reality. And what if we helped people deal with what they are bringing to work and taking home? What if we gave them room to talk about it and process it? Is it possible we could avoid a few “postal” situations?

Today I visited one of the businesses where I serve. I saw an employee that I had not seen in awhile. We chatted. It was nice. Then she said, “You are always so happy”.

You are always so happy!

Hmm, it’s difficult to get people to talk to you if you are always grumpy. And I do have much joy in my life. My faith in God has done this and I work hard to cultivate gratitude. But “always” is a strong word.

I am not always happy. The irony of the moment was that my morning was very much less than happy. I was struggling with doubt and self-confidence. I was worried about some upcoming changes. And I was a little sad that my youngest child is graduating. Happy for her. But sad about this life transition.

Some people might have accused me of being fake, insincere, or wearing a mask. And, in the past, I would have agreed. But I wasn’t being fake. I was happy. I was happy to be with her at that moment. I was enjoying meeting and encouraging a group of business women as they pushed through their week. And I was also sad about some other things happening in my life.

It is possible for us to experience a myriad of emotions throughout a day, week, month and still be authentic. At that moment with that lady I was happy. I was present. It was good. And it was genuine.

Maybe it’s time to give ourselves permission to experience ALL of our God-given emotions. Maybe it’s time to wake up and realize we are complex, creative beings here to connect with other complex, creative beings.