“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Abraham Lincoln
As I sat preparing to go into meditation, I gazed out the window of my hotel room on the 28th floor. I was appreciating the unparalleled view when suddenly a man appeared right in front of me on a hanging scaffold and began washing the window. And, as if that weren’t enough, he was happily singing “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong at the top of his lungs as he listened to his iPod. My initial reaction was, “Oh great! I can’t meditate with this guy just hanging there, singing like the leader of a karaoke band, looking directly at me as if I was his audience.” Then I noticed the window was so darkly tinted he couldn’t see me at all. He wasn’t putting on a show for me—this guy was genuinely happy doing his job, and I was being invited to anonymously bear witness to the attitude he brought with him to that job. That’s when I realized that my master teacher for the day had just descended from above and was dangling, suspended right in front of me, as if sent directly by God.
I must admit I had woken up that morning feeling less than joyfully connected to life, and then this fellow drops in and begins giving me a personal concert 28 stories off the ground in 104-degree heat. He didn’t seem to let the extreme conditions of his work environment determine his state of happiness. I couldn’t help but smile in appreciation of his attitude. Since I get dizzy even on a 6-foot ladder, I could no sooner do his job than I could walk on a tightrope across the Grand Canyon, but the one thing I witnessed that day was someone who loved what he was doing, and it was revealed by his attitude. It gave me pause to consider the attitude I sometimes bring with me to my work. I have often said that the “altitude” of our attitude has everything to do with our state of happiness, but I never expected to see it played out in such literal detail.
At times I have wondered if happiness is the cause of a positive attitude or if a positive attitude is the cause of happiness. I suppose it doesn’t really matter as long as we are clear that, in either case, it is an inside job. That was the teaching I received that day: Happiness is a choice we make on a daily basis, and it is not based on what’s going on “out there.” It’s based on what’s going on “in here,” within our minds and hearts. The lesson my window washing guru brought to me was simple: We bring happiness with us wherever we go. Happiness is not something that happens to us; it happens through us when we consciously choose to make space for it to do so. For the window washer, “happiness happens” hanging 28 stories off the ground because he brings it with him. How about you? How much happiness will happen in your life today? In other words, how much happiness will you bring with you the next time you walk out the door of your home or, for that matter, in that door? Perhaps now would be the perfect time to pause and consider the fact that you have been given another precious day of life on this planet. Choose to make a space to let happiness happen through you this day. Who knows, you may even feel like singing “What a Wonderful World”!
Dennis Merritt Jones is a local spiritual mentor, keynote speaker and author of the book “The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life.”
As I sat preparing to go into meditation, I gazed out the window of my hotel room on the 28th floor. I was appreciating the unparalleled view when suddenly a man appeared right in front of me on a hanging scaffold and began washing the window. And, as if that weren’t enough, he was happily singing “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong at the top of his lungs as he listened to his iPod. My initial reaction was, “Oh great! I can’t meditate with this guy just hanging there, singing like the leader of a karaoke band, looking directly at me as if I was his audience.” Then I noticed the window was so darkly tinted he couldn’t see me at all. He wasn’t putting on a show for me—this guy was genuinely happy doing his job, and I was being invited to anonymously bear witness to the attitude he brought with him to that job. That’s when I realized that my master teacher for the day had just descended from above and was dangling, suspended right in front of me, as if sent directly by God.
I must admit I had woken up that morning feeling less than joyfully connected to life, and then this fellow drops in and begins giving me a personal concert 28 stories off the ground in 104-degree heat. He didn’t seem to let the extreme conditions of his work environment determine his state of happiness. I couldn’t help but smile in appreciation of his attitude. Since I get dizzy even on a 6-foot ladder, I could no sooner do his job than I could walk on a tightrope across the Grand Canyon, but the one thing I witnessed that day was someone who loved what he was doing, and it was revealed by his attitude. It gave me pause to consider the attitude I sometimes bring with me to my work. I have often said that the “altitude” of our attitude has everything to do with our state of happiness, but I never expected to see it played out in such literal detail.
At times I have wondered if happiness is the cause of a positive attitude or if a positive attitude is the cause of happiness. I suppose it doesn’t really matter as long as we are clear that, in either case, it is an inside job. That was the teaching I received that day: Happiness is a choice we make on a daily basis, and it is not based on what’s going on “out there.” It’s based on what’s going on “in here,” within our minds and hearts. The lesson my window washing guru brought to me was simple: We bring happiness with us wherever we go. Happiness is not something that happens to us; it happens through us when we consciously choose to make space for it to do so. For the window washer, “happiness happens” hanging 28 stories off the ground because he brings it with him. How about you? How much happiness will happen in your life today? In other words, how much happiness will you bring with you the next time you walk out the door of your home or, for that matter, in that door? Perhaps now would be the perfect time to pause and consider the fact that you have been given another precious day of life on this planet. Choose to make a space to let happiness happen through you this day. Who knows, you may even feel like singing “What a Wonderful World”!
Dennis Merritt Jones is a local spiritual mentor, keynote speaker and author of the book “The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life.”
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