Sometimes you just have to laugh, since crying won't do you any good.

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It's Friday and if you are like so many other people you have had your ups and downs this week.  It's Friday and if you are like so many other people you can't wait to get out of the office and just head out to some other place that is anywhere but here.  It's Friday and like so many other people you have said it's all over but the crying.

There's no doubt about it, weeks and days can be challenging and no matter how you look at it when you are in the middle of it, all you want to do is cry. However, there is a better way of handling it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all about a good cry every now and again.  I think it does a body good to get out all the emotion and bent up frustration, after all very few of us live a completely stress free, absolutely nothing wrong with, kind of life.  The issues arise when crying is all you do, and quite honestly in reality,  it has done nothing to eliminate or solve the real cause of the problems.

I have learned the hard way that if one is going to look out for one's self, then you have to take off the gloves and play the game like there is no tomorrow.  I have spent years trying to please everyone and in the process the only one who was miserable was me.  Yes there are times when we are our own worse enemy, and sitting around complaining about how bad life can be is never going to get you ahead in the game of life.  OK, so the situation is almost intolerable.  You are at the end of your rope. If you have to go through one more moment of this torture you are going to bust.  I have heard all this before and said all this before.  I guess I have gotten to the point where I just have to laugh about it now.  How many times can one get knocked down and still get back up trying to make a go of it?  I have been knocked down plenty of times, and each time I have to question myself as to why this is happening and more importantly why am I the one at the end of the "beat em up" stick?

Each situation you face, every occurrence, all things that go on from day to day, are lessons to be learned.  Some lessons are easy, others are monstrous, all are there for a reason.  I know I repeat myself a ton, and as a writer I do it for effect, as much as anything else.  But the simple truth is I need you to understand certain things, and without this basis of understanding and knowledge all other things will be fruitless.   Why people bemoan a lesson is beyond me, well not really beyond me, but more like wonderment.  I won't deny that some lessons can be painful, but not nearly as painful as having to repeat things over and over until you are finally smart enough to pick up on things.  If someone has the knowledge that everything is a learning opportunity, put in front of us to teach us something very valuable, then why the crying?  Why not see it for the opportunity it is, and start laughing, because you are never going to change the inevitable.

I love going through lessons, not because they are fun, which most are not, but because I know that at the end of the day, I will have learned something that I need in order to move forward in my destiny.  Do I always handle lessons with laughter?  Come on now, I am human and just like you I have my days when I want to blow something up.  I have learned however, that taking a few moments to reflect on what is going on and not just jumping into a situation with both feet before looking around, is often the thing that keeps my ass out of the fire, although I have felt the flames in times past that is for sure.

So it's Friday and you have the perfect opportunity to put the past behind you and learn from those things that you may have gone through this week.  Your choice is to carry the frustration and anxiety around with you until you head back to work on Monday, or, let it go and laugh a little.  Realize that the choice is always going to be your own, but when you look at it logically do you really have a choice in the matter?  Find the good in each situation.  Determine what this lesson is supposed to teach you.  Put two and two together and come up with four.  Believe you me when it is all said and done you will know why things have happened a certain way and then you will proudly declare that all is right with the world and you needed these things to happen to get you to your proper place in the universe.

So it's Friday and now you have the perfect opportunity to turn a new leaf and do what you know to be true and let go of the things that have not benefited you in the past.  No need to cry, unless of course you are watching a good movie, and I will admit I get teary eyed during those, but dry your eyes and take a deep breath and let out a deep belly laugh.  Realize that laughter does work like a medicine and right now your medicine cabinet should be full to the brim.  When one knows that all things line up according to a divine plan, then the struggles and pitfalls we go through will seem to be inconsequential and you will be able to laugh off the small things, gain the strength to handle the really tough battles, and wisdom to be able to distinguish between the two.  Go out this weekend and show the world that you are not  measured by your successes but rather how you handle the really tough things that get thrown at you during the week. Your destiny awaits you if you will begin to laugh instead of cry, if you will lead instead of follow, and if you will believe rather than doubt.  It's a great time to be alive, and now you must help others come to this realization.  Get out there and play the game, and show others how it's done.