The cactus stretched before me like a sprawling city trying to reach the suburbs.  A thriving lake lay just beyond the city limits of Cactus Ville.  The lake was lush and its borders were fertile but I had a problem; how do I pass through the city of thorns with my skin in tact.  I turn left and after a few steps I realize I am traveling a street with no outlet.  I retreat and take another path only to find I will need a pole vault to keep wandering here.

        Scratched and bleeding I wish I had a flare to send up to get some help.  The cool waters of the lake lay just out of reach and I am stuck here in a maze on Thorn Street.  And just when I am about to give up hope I realize that I have a visitor; a dragonfly cheerfully lands right in front of my face.  Now, I don't know about you, but I have always loved the sight of a dragonfly.  Every time I see one I can’t help but smile.  It is said in some Native American beliefs that dragonflies are a symbol of renewal after a time of great hardship.  I thought how appropriate when my little buddy landed in front of me, surely this is a good sign.

        As I began to photograph my new guest I forgot about trying to find a path to the lake.  I was so caught up in the joy of the moment that I completely forgot about the thorns and the thriving waters.  My heart was filled with joy and I followed my friend right out of the cactus and the next thing I knew I was standing at the edge of a beautiful lake.  Cheerfulness led me from the land of despair.  The strength of cheerfulness is unbelievable.  A cheerful person multiplies and increases his endurance; he will do more in the same time, will do it better, and will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen. 

        Even if we can’t be happy, we can always be cheerful.  Cheerfulness is the habit of looking at the good and positive side of things.  Instead of focusing on the thorns, disappointments and obstacles that surround us let us choose to seek the path of cheerfulness.  In the land of cheerfulness burdens become light and easier to bear.  Having a song in your heart and a smile on your face may not cause your problems to disappear, but they will make them appear smaller.  Cheerfulness is the atmosphere in which all things thrive.  Happiness is a choice; choose to smile and spread some good cheer today.

Something to think about:

• The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.

• Optimism: A cheerful frame of mind that enables a tea kettle to sing though in hot water up to its nose.

• Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers and are famous preservers of good looks.

• Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.

• Cheerfulness removes the rust from the mind, lubricates our inward machinery, and enables us to do our work with fewer creaks and groans.

• Cheer up: birds have bills too, but they keep on singing.

• Cheerful company shortens the miles.

• The best of healers is good cheer.

Thankful for cheerful companions
Rickey Moore