Stop Being Afraid Of Happiness

When the other shoe seems to consistently drop and sadness feels like a perpetual state of being, it’s hard not to tremble in the face of that fleeting feeling called happiness. You’ve become so accustomed to a pessimistic viewpoint that a change in perspective leaves you seeing double or tirelessly squinting or completely blind altogether. So you call it necessary and you label it “defense” and you talk yourself out of unknown situations.

Stop.

Stop being afraid of happiness.

Stop being afraid to look in the mirror and hold your head high despite what a magazine or billboard or a member of the opposite sex considers attractive.

Stop being afraid to smile when they remember to put the toothpaste in the shower because, unlike them, you can’t brush your teeth without making a mess so you kill two birds with one stone every morning.

Stop being afraid of laying back in an armchair and filling your lungs with relaxation and taking the time to appreciate your accomplishments and the hard work that captured them.

Stop being afraid to lean on broad shoulders or hide between frail arms or blink tears that make you look less than desirable but allow you to experience real, unabashed, genuine comfort.

Stop being afraid to sink into a quiet night at their place where you desperately try to cook while they harmlessly chuckle and you both end up ordering from a takeout menu.

Stop being afraid to laugh so hard you snort or cry so hard it hurts or waste days with others that have occupied your life long after the ones you once loved so much have gone.

Stop being afraid to cherish goodbye kisses and good morning whispers and how-was-your-day hugs.

Stop being afraid to show the birthmark you always cover and the scar you got from your father and the message that ended the relationship you compare every subsequent relationship to.

Stop being afraid to admit that you love seeing them every day and miss them when they’re only a few miles away and have a hard time sleeping at night when they’re not next to you.

Stop being afraid to put on music and dance in your underwear and smile for no reason other than you’re enjoying a moment completely alone.

Stop being afraid of that greasy burger or that layered cake or that five cheese macaroni that leaves you in a succulent heaven only calories and sugars can take you.

Stop being afraid of life.

Because the other shoe will drop too many times and sadness will feel like a perpetual state of being more than once and a pessimistic viewpoint will begin to feel all too common again and again.

And in those moments, your happiness will carry you through.