I have always loved the Life is Good slogan. The first exposure to the brand was a gift from my in-laws in the form of a cute visor. I even wrote about it when I first started blogging. Turns out the Plain Hardware store was ahead of its time with a whole section devoted to this happy logo.
Sometimes, life is hard, life is a struggle and it’s difficult to find the good. I’m wondering if, as a culture, we spend too much time with our game faces on. (mmmh. It might be more my generation’s habit as there does seem to be a lot of buzz around ‘self-care’ among the millennials.) So, maybe sometimes we need to confide in those around us our troubles.
A couple of months ago I was teaching a fitness class and had a sharp pain in the ball of my foot. There was about 20 minutes of the cardio section left, and other than my foot REALLY hurting, I was in a groove. So I kept going; you know, I ‘gutted it out’. By the time I got home I was limping, trying to keep the weight off it, knowing that I had better make a doctor appointment and grab one of the homemade ice bags out of the freezer.
Side Note: Be wary of becoming someone’s personal dumping ground for all their ongoing crap. The attitude of tell me more can backfire: being on the receiving end of a continual stream of all that is wrong in someone’s life can end up a mind numbing task you Just.Want.To.Run.From. It is not fun when you start making bets with your close family how long it will take for your friend to ask something, anything, about your life. The friendship where you never have a chance to say, ‘I broke a metatarsal in my foot and it really sucks’. I think this type of friendship is probably broken.
Anyway, I am sure a few of my close girlfriends and certainly my daughter and husband have heard my lows and probably I have chattered on and on to point they were gutting it out to get to the end. What I’m trying to say is if you keep it all inside, that’s not a good life.
It’s ok to sometimes admit life is not good.
Sidenote: Want to hear the feel good story of the owners of Life is Good? Check out this podcast: How I Build This Sept. 1 episode
P.S. and in case you need it, here’s how to make a homemade ice pack:
- 1 quart or 1 gallon plastic freezer bags (depending on how large you want the cold pack)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup rubbing alcohol (70%)
Instructions:
- Fill the plastic freezer bag with 1 cup of rubbing alcohol and 2 cups of water.
- Try to get as much air out of the freezer bag before sealing it shut.
- Place the bag and its contents inside a second freezer bag to contain any leakage.
- Leave the bag in the freezer for at least an hour.
- When it’s ready, place a cloth or paper towel between the gel pack and bare skin to avoid burning the skin.