Some of you might remember Bozo the Clown. He was a clown character in the 1960’s. There have been a few people who played the Bozo the Clown character. Seems as if Larry Harmon might have been the most popular or recognizable. I honestly don’t remember watching a TV show with Bozo. But I do remember the name Bozo the Clown. I grew up with it being used as a phrase as in -doing something (your walking/talking/acting)- like Bozo the Clown. I do remember a Bozo the Clown toy. I don’t remember if I owned it or where I experienced it, but I do know I have punched it way back when. It was a toy that was three or four feet tall and made of blow up type of plastic. It was shaped like a long skinny potato, but with a wider bottom than top. And the bottom was weighted. It had sand in it. It was a punch “bag”. It sat on the ground and you punched it and it would “fall” backwards, but then pop right back up. I was reminded of it recently when I decided I normally was like that. Ya know where things just come at you, and you might go down for a second from the initial “punch”, but you just pop right back up with a smile on your face.
It is not always easy to pop back up with a smile, especially when it seems as if there are a lot of “punches” in a row. Or a lot of BIG life changing “punches”. But I generally try to examine a situation then focus on the positive. With so much positive I don’t feel it is appreciative and in the correct spirit of things to just remain negative for a long time.
In my examination of things I usually look at it, I might do some research I might learn somethings I might have been happier not knowing. Then my exam could include crying about it or yelling about it or dancing about it or talking about it. Whatever. But I try to let it go or let it be, or accept it and really focus on all the great things going on. I also don’t like to have one negative moment or happening dictate my day and say it is a BAD day. Recently though, I just had a day when I decided to take the day off. I decided to stay down. I wasn’t going to pop back up with that smiley face. I still did not label my day as a bad day, but I just didn’t fight against the grump and the negative and the rude and the annoying and the inconsiderate. I just said, “Today, I am not going to be Polly Positive. I am not going to pop up smiling. Today I am gonna kinda pout about the crap that was thrown on me. I am just gonna let it stick and just go about my day all stinky.”
It was interesting. I am not going to say it was good or bad, just interesting. I will say that I felt it was a lot less exhausting. I mean fighting against all the crap everyday, all the time . . . .whew, gets tiring. But as I type this I am reminded that I don’t do it by myself. I do get energy from other sources so that helps. The same sources that are the energy on some days can be the source of the “punches” on some others days, again, normally, that is fine – but it was nice to have the day off.
I woke up the next day back up and ready for some more “punches”. It was kind of a little reset. As if the sand got off to one side and stuck Bozo down. But the day off was the shift and here we go again.
How about you? What do you think? Ever have a day where you just decide to let it stick?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 