I have an alter-ego. Her name is Happy N. Bright.

Happy cannot help but find extreme amusement in just about everything she hears including everything she says herself.

She laughs loud and long when something strikes her as being funny.

Just about everything strikes her as funny.

She laughs longer than most people would find appropriate. She doesn’t care. She laughs anyway.

Happy is bold and unique. She doesn’t compare herself to anyone else because she is perfectly happy with who she is.

She always looks at the bright side of things which means she is not pulled down by the endless reasons to be hurt, angry or upset that swirl around her.

She knows that being victimized by situations that are out of her control will not help her or anyone else.

Instead of taking them on as if they are part of her, she focuses on that which lifts her up rather than pulls her down.

Happy N. Bright knows that how she can be of service is to keep her attitude above sea level. She knows that allowing herself to focus on all that is bad, or wrong will not make her more powerful or effective.

Many people do not take her seriously, which also amuses her. They accuse her of avoidance and burying her head in the sand. She laughs at that judgment.

The truth is she knows there is a never-ending list of wrongs being done to innocent people daily. She knows there is disease, pain, suffering, and injustice worldwide. She also knows that lamenting and complaining does not change anything. Positive action does.

Her greatest wisdom comes from an understanding that she has a choice in how she will navigate it all and she chooses to follow one of her quotes as a guide: “A cheerful heart doeth good like a medicine”.

If you find her offensive, no problem. She will love you anyway since indignation, resentment, and hate will not make the world spin any smoother and it will not make you or her happier.

So the next time you find yourself overwhelmed by the negativity that swirls around you perhaps taking a page out of Happy N. Bright’s book of life will help you to better focus on the bright side of things.

Happy N. Bright is a character I am currently playing in a community theater Courtroom farce with Hamilton-Gibson Productions She may be extreme, but worthy of consideration as an inspiration. http://www.hamiltongibson.org