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Celebrating the Ordinary (a re-post from Malakai's Pages)

Everyone has heard of Murphy’s Law — WHATEVER CAN GO WRONG WILL GO WRONG. In fact, those who have decided to embrace advertising as a serious career live by this particular discipline. So I bring my powerpoint file, which is in my thumb drive and in a diskette (how dated!), save it still on the hard drive of the laptop I’ll be using and just as a fallback measure,I put together a flipchart version of my sheets (that was then!) in case technology decides to take the time of my presentation as the opportune time to hibernate.
But who’s this guy, Murphy anyway? And why do we quote him? Heed his simple statement? Any fool can see that a great deal more unexpected good happens each day than unexpected bad. Bad news is reported by the media because it is so rare an out of the normal. Good news is so abundant that it is rarely considered news at all.
Over the years, Murphy’s whining has inspired many to adopt his twisted perspective as the foundation for their own world view. Sitting in warm homes, driving beautiful cars, and eating delicious meals, these misguided lot still believe deep in their hearts, that whatever can go wrong, will definitely go wrong.

My mother attempted to play her role again as my Mom last weekend when my sister told her  I will be undergoing surgery in less than a month’s time. "Do you really have to do that?" she asked. "Many things can go wrong in a surgical procedure. You might end up like Tita Erly who’d probably be still alive if they did not mess with her little cyst."
My thought balloon was, what would you rather have me do? Nurture this little glob that’s growing at the base of my brain until its surgically impossible to remove?
I guess if I go home late from work and go to the parking lot in the wee hours of the morning, I might also do a Nida Blanca. Or if I pig out on my favorite meal tonight
and sleep right away, I’m sure to do a Rico Yan!
The possibilities are endless! But thinking about only that and nothing  else, the idea is truly ridiculous! If we look at the bad in every situation, is there any doubt that we will find it?
Our lives are like an unplanned picnic. We awaken to find ourselves surorunded by the beautiful scenery, good friends and excelletn food. Would you rather find this bright day with challenging games and warm conversation, or would you prefer to complain about the ants on the blanket and fret about the mosquitoes hounding you?
Take a moment to consider the abundance of the good things in your life. Does anyone love you? Celebrate it. Did you drive your car to the office today with all the lights turned green so that you were able to make your early morning meeting on time? Take pleasure in it.Is your health good enough to survive the day or the year until your next birthday? Revel in it. If you want everyday to be a happy day, you must learn to celebrate the ordinary.
I suppose Murphy as never able to do so. Or perhaps no one ever told him that whatever can go wrong does not necessarily have to go wrong …all the time.

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