There is Happy in Unhappy

I live in Modesto, California. Born and raised. 

It is nestled in acres of peaches, almonds, walnuts, vineyards, corn and alfalfa, in the heart of the world's bread basket.

And its people are as rooted in its earth at its agriculture is.

If you are lucky enough to escape, you have to keep a watchful eye that it's vortex doesn't suck you back in.

It wasn't always this way.

It once had some homey, Americana charms about it. But those have faded.

Modesto became dazzled with the idea of being a "big city". And it sacrificed its small town charms, spreading its legs to development to become the epitome of urban sprawl.

This has been validated by several "lists"

Highest Rate of Car Thefts

One of the Highest Unemployment Rates

#3 in Negative Equity

Second most Unhappiest City In America

So how do you stay happy in the midst of all the unhappy?

There is a weird thing that happens when everything is "all wrong and bad".

The happy shines like a bright beacon.

Just down the street from my house is a little tulip farm.

I drove by yesterday and was blessed with the vision of sunny daffodils dancing in the breeze along the roadside.

Simple.

Sweet.

Today, the sky is a clear, robin's egg blue, adorned with huge, puffy clouds. The orchards are dressed in pink and white blossoms. The heat of the sun is thawing the winter damp. Fifty, country finches are visiting my Mulberry tree and bird bath...

and HAPPY is everywhere.

Namaste,

C H E Z

Comments

[Sharon Bennett]

Oh yes, are we not glad to live here under the arch?!

[Lois0607]

Very well said - thanks for this post

[lynda howells]

Glad to see you can still smile about life. some times living in London, you can feel quite down about the place and the world and then suddenly some-one is kind or the sun shines and some how it is ok againxxltynda