Member-only story
How to Turn a Bad Day Into a Good Day
A bad day doesn’t have to go on and on being a bad day, it’s your day after all. Here’s how you can make it the way you want it to be.
I remember a day long ago when I was feeling down in the dumps. I woke up that morning with a feeling of dread. It was as if my mind was filled with darkness. I just knew that nothing good was going to happen that day. Sure enough, I had run out of toothpaste, and my mouth felt like the grit on the bottom of a birdcage. That was before I got to the breakfast table and discovered we were all out of bread and coffee. Then, of course, my train was late, so I was met by steely stares when I eventually rolled into work. Do you get the picture? You may have had days like that.
Anyway, at lunchtime, I was sitting on a bench in the park munching moodily on a sandwich when a pretty young lady came tripping along the path. I estimated she was about thirty years old. She had shiny brown hair and carried a small plastic lunch box in one hand and the other a leash at the end of which a black terrier was straining. She stopped by the bench and looked me straight in the eye. “May I sit here?” she asked with a polite smile.
“It’s a free world,” I muttered grumpily.
She plonked herself down, ordered the terrier to sit, and opened her lunchbox. Before she took the first bite of her wrap, she said brightly. “You don’t seem to be in a very good mood.”
“My mood is none of your business,” I intoned rudely.
She chewed her mouthful thoughtfully before announcing, “That’s not right. When you give off your dark vibes, others might catch them and get dragged down into your dark place.” She looked at me thoughtfully. “Have you ever thought how selfish that is?”
I was not in the mood for a lecture. I sighed. “Listen, I’m just sitting here with my thoughts. I would appreciate it if you would just leave me in peace.”
My response seemed to please her. She smiled brightly. “That’s great!” She announced enthusiastically. “You’re thinking, and you want peace.” She turned her whole body to face me. “The question is, are you thinking about peace, or are you just allowing your mind to whirr around and around all the same old negative thoughts?”
“Oh God,” I turned away to look at the dog, who was drooling over the remains of my sandwich. “What did you do to deserve her?” I…
