Choose Happy

"Choose to be optimistic, it feels better" ~Dalai Lama XIV

 

About a month ago I received an invitation for an exciting & unique opportunity.  To say it was a surprise is an understatement.  I can't quite explain the feelings of excitement, joy, honor & total shock when I discovered my name in the comments section of the Following Atticus Facebook post as one of the first few selected to join author Tom Ryan and Atticus on a hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire on October 5.

 

Following Atticus is Tom Ryan's remarkable true story of climbing mountains with his little dog, Atticus M. Finch and the challenge of a lifetime. Together Tom & Atticus attempted to scale all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s 4,000 foot White Mountains twice in the dead of winter. 

 

A few months ago, a friend recommended I read Following Atticus. My first thought was, I'm not reading a book about a dog if the dog dies in the end. I have never enjoyed books or movies with sad endings. I can handle a few tears here and there, but I figure, why subject myself to crying sad tears when I don't have to? It's a choice and I always choose happy. 

 

At my friend's insistence, I picked up Following Atticus from the library and after reading a few chapters, I was hooked.  It is just such a wonderful story about taking steps toward building the life you want for yourself and remaining positive because that really is the only way to 'be'.

 

This message struck a chord with me because I have made a conscious effort over the last several years to be a more positive person.  It is important to me when faced with a challenge or when I'm in a situation that frankly sucks to take a step back and see what is the good in all this?  What can I learn from this and where will I be if I spin it around to see the good side?  It's not always easy, but I try.

 

In the book, on his blog & on the Facebook page, Tom Ryan shares a similar philosophy.  His mantra is "We are right where we're supposed to be."  It's hard to believe sometimes that he can be so positive when you consider the journey he's on right now with Atticus.  You see, right when I finished reading Following Atticus & started catching up with them on Facebook, Atticus was diagnosed with cancer.  He had one toe amputated & is now undergoing a few months of chemotherapy.

 

Every day I would check for updates on Atticus. Every day there was an uplifting message, photo or quote that inspired me more than the last.  It has reinforced my own choice to always find the good in any situation. 

 

One day about a month ago, there was a post about a hike Tom was thinking about doing in October.  Even though he and Atticus prefer to hike just the two of them, Tom wanted to show his thanks to the Facebook community that has been so supportive during this cancer journey with Atticus.  He was considering inviting a group of about a dozen on a one-day hike in the White Mountains in New Hampshire at the peak of foliage season.  To me this sounded like the most perfect day, so I wrote that in a comment on the Facebook post.

 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that just a few hours later I would check the post again and see my name as one of the first few selected for this hike! I think I read and re-read it at least a dozen times to be sure I wasn't imagining it! I didn't even pause to decide, I KNEW I was going on this adventure of a lifetime. No matter that I've never hiked a mountain in my life or that I would be among a group of virtual 'strangers', or that it all seemed too good to be true; I just knew that by saying yes, by choosing to accept that I had been chosen, I would no doubt be led to something extraordinary on this most amazing journey. And that has made me so happy.