Shiny Happy People

I just love interacting with people with a bad attitude. Nothing brightens my day more than having to deal with someone with a sour face and a nasty remark. I especially love when they yell at me. It gives me warm feelings all over.

If you didn’t yet catch my slight sarcasm, please, stop reading now.

The other day, after my exercise class, I panted over to the nearest mini market. It’s true – I exercise! Somebody give me a Mazal Tov! Can I get a A-men?! I put my youngest one in daycare, and I’m free! Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!  (Shout-out to Dr. Martin Luther King for the brilliant and over-exploited line.)

I’m free. Free to do the laundry, dishes, sweeping, and toilet-cleaning at my own leisure. Every day is like a vacation. No chaos, no kids killing each other, no screaming like a drill sergeant on steroids. That all starts at 3:00.

Wow did I go off topic. Sorry. Okay, so I was at the market, and predictably, there was only one checkout open. Hashem likes to have fun with me, so He put a very old couple in front of me. The lady was trying to return something or complain about something, and the checkout lady was having a hard time understanding her. I saw the manager walk by and asked him if there was another register I could go to. He said no. Of course not. How silly of me.

After what felt like half an hour, I finally got to pay for my stuff. Then, the checkout girl hit me with, “What’s your problem? You couldn’t just wait a few minutes?” Then she topped it off with a dirty look.

My legs already felt like rubber bands, and I really almost fell down. I looked her right in the eyes for ten full seconds with my jaw half-open, so she could get the full effect. “Are you serious?” I responded, “That is not the way you speak to a customer.”

I didn’t yell at her. Instead, I thought I would try another technique, and speak really slowly and softly, so as to make her feel bad. Trust me, it’s much more entertaining than responding with yelling! Israelis love to yell, and they’re constantly looking for reasons to do so. Even talking on the phone is an excuse to yell, as I pointed out in a previous article, “You’re Israeli, No?”

If I would have fallen for her bait, she would have ended up feeling self-righteous, and not have seen where she was wrong. Now, if I were a tzaddekes, I wouldn’t have responded at all. But, guess what? I’m not! I like getting under people’s skin if they annoy me. I’m working on it, but it’s a process. You know. A verrrryyyy sllloooooowww process.  

Checkout Girl is, unfortunately, all too typical in the world. Just look around – how many people do you see with smiles on their faces? Forget that. How many people do you see that don’t walk around with scowls on their faces? I would estimate that less than 5% of the people in the entire world are genuinely happy. Take away the 4% that are on some type of hallucinogen or other drug (legal or otherwise,) and you’re left with a measly 1%. To me, that’s even a generous number. Would it be a stretch to say less than 1% of the people in the world are truly happy?

How in the world did I come up with such numbers? I have no idea. But, the point is, generally speaking, people aren’t happy. And isn’t it a shame? Look at how many blessings we all receive on a daily basis! If we would actually take the time to write out each blessing, we would be shocked and amazed at our gross ingratitude. We would be horrified to see that we behave like spoiled brats, too!

Rebbe Nachman says that joy is one of the main goals we must work on reaching. In Likutey Moharan 2:24, he states, “It is a great mitzvah to be happy always. Strengthen yourself to push aside all depression and sadness. Everyone has lots of problems and the nature of man is to be attracted to sadness. To escape these difficulties, constantly bring joy into your life – even if you have to resort to silliness.”

I would say that not only is it a great mitzvah to be happy; in my mind it’s the main mitzvah. Without happiness, how can we pray properly? How can we do any mitzvah properly? How can we be positive role models for our children and others? How can we be good spouses?

Emuna is the secret of happiness! When we have emuna, and we accept everything from Hashem with love, we are not only showing Him that we are humble and realize that everything is for our best. We are also showing Him that we truly appreciate everything He does for us at every moment!

Is there any higher connection we can have with our Creator?

We can all be shiny happy people! All we need are a little, okay, a lot, of emuna and gratitude! Here’s my triple header suggestion: read The Garden of Emuna and The Garden of Gratitude. Get the CD, Stop Crying.

R.E.M. might have come up with the song, “Shiny Happy People,” but the lyrics make no sense! I am officially taking over their song and making it my own. Go ahead, sing along!

Everyone around, people, people

Take your ego down, take it, take it

There’s no time to cry, happy, happy

Put it in your heart where tomorrow shines

Look up at the sky

Shiny happy people thanking God

Shiny happy people thanking God

Shiny happy people thanking God

Shiny happy people laughing