Relax...!!

I recently spent some time at a family dinner over the holidays, and because it was held at my older sibling's house, the food was close to perfection: a big fat turkey and brisket along with the most incredible side dishes like grilled artichoke, broccoli quiche, "grandma's coleslaw," along with the best wines and champagne. And the piece de resistance : homemade hazelnut chocolate tart.

Because there were about twenty-five people there this year, dinner was in the form of a buffet. As I was waiting in line to snag a piece of that amazing chocolate hazelnut tart, a distant relative sidled up to me and asked "How are you," and I responded "Great." He wasn't through yet and followed up with a grave look on his face, as if someone died, and said "How is it going?" I knew he wasn't talking about my health, which is fine, but I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about, so I said "I have no idea what you are talking about." He is not an intimate relative, he is not a business partner (I don't have any), so I was a bit at a loss, though I had some inkling what he was aiming at...He responded by saying those dreaded words we all hear all too frequently these days: "The economy," whatever in heck that means! My response said it all, along with the look on my face (I can't hide my real feelings, never could), when I said "Oh that!" then I quickly added "just fine, thanks for asking."

Just for the record, the association between economic prosperity and happiness has yet to be proven. In fact, a recent study released on the internet rated the levels of happiness in countries around the world. Guess who came in Number 1 and Number 2? Okay time up: Mexico was Number 1 and Colombia was Number 2. Surprised? I'm not at all. I have many friends from Colombia in Miami, and I have been around enough Mexicans to see a culturally enforced norm of happiness and smiles regardless of circumstances: We're talking basic, fundamental joy in being alive.

Here's' a novel experiment for everyone this week: Try and be content with exactly what you have without striving for more.

Get back at me with the results.
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