Be Happy

I receive an Agriturismo newsletter from Italy in my email every month or so. Basically a taunting, “You could be here!” type of thing.

Well, not really. It’s more of an invite, “Why don’t you come see what you are missing?”

Agriturismo is basically two Italian words melded into one. Agriculture and tourism for you English speakers. Sort of like the word melt and weld=meld.

In a nutshell? It is a vacation in a rural farmhouse while enjoying locally grown food and wine. Sigh. Utterly peaceful except for the odd fox trying to get into a hen-house and making a racket.  They are all over Italy. Not the odd fox. I am referring to the agriturismos.

Outside Bologna

I was fortunate enough to have this experience more than once. That is why the love affair between Italy and me will never end.

But that is not even the reason for this posting. At the end of the newsletter there was a quote that caught my eye. I am not even researching to see if it is accurate. I like it that much.

Lorenzo the Magnificent once said, “Whoever wants to be happy, let him be so: of tomorrow there’s no knowing”.

Lorenzo (in the 1440s) had it going on!

And I would like to add something besides “Thanks, Lorenzo, for the art!”

Yes, let people be happy. Allow them their joy. Keep your negativity to yourself.

But what I might add is this. Every day we have a choice. Like Lorenzo said “Whoever WANTS to be happy…” We can be happy or not.

I look at it like this. If you have your health, a roof over your head and a meal in your belly then you have way more than most folks in the world. You should be happy about that. If you can’t be happy and want to spend the day being negative? Guess what? You’ve wasted a day of your life feeling badly or making others feel badly. If you don’t want to be happy then don’t regret the wasted days.

But do allow others to be happy.

Of tomorrow there’s no knowing.