What’s a little grey?

I was looking at pictures of myself lately and I noticed a bit more grey than what I thought I had. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just a bit shocking since the mirror doesn’t show as much as pictures do if that makes sense? It could be that in some of these pictures I was with my daughter who doesn’t have a bit of grey, and she is significantly younger than me, which tells my brain that maybe just maybe I might be getting older.

With age comes beauty right? I think with age comes the ability to see the beauty inside. Flipping through the pictures in my phone I see the aging process happen and I love the outcome of the process. Yes I will probably still dye my hair, mainly because it’s fun, but it helps a little with my self care. I already feel tired and old, especially after a long week at work, I don’t need to look the part. I have actually seen more Instagram posts of people embracing the grey and good for them, they look adorable and beautiful.

Then there is the pug that is all the rage with the young people Noodles I think is his name. The gentleman that owns him goes onto his social media sites, and basically plans his day based on what his pug does. Now this is sweet in itself since the pug is older and this is probably a way for the owner to cope with the fact that Noodle may not be around much longer. The way it works though is this sweet, older, greying pug is placed on his bed or on a surface, if he stands and tries to get around it will be a productive day. If Mr. Noodles decides to just lay there and look cute the day will be a rest day. I really think there is something here, I mean I have said it in past posts, that we really should start acting like our dogs. This owner just took it a step further and showed us what that meant. Seriously though, maybe we should take the hint and follow our dogs examples more, plus you ever notice how endearing our pets looks when the grey sneaks into their muzzles?

Charlie our dog has no grey anywhere on her, she is pure white with a brown spot here and there on her body. She is a cuddle bug and full of energy. She loves to prance around the house when she has something in her mouth. The girl cannot lie! We know by her prance that we should go looking into her mouth to dig out whatever it is she picked up. Luckily lately it’s the random leaf that was found on the ground. She is pure innocent, wrapped in a bottle rocket of energy. She is the epitome of pure joy. She wasn’t always that way, but from where she was a year ago, to what she is today is amazing! So what if we were to mix the energy and the joy of Charlie with the contentment of Noodles? I don’t think we need a post to determine what way we should go.

What would it look like to be content with you life, waking up each morning deciding to live life with joy? I am not the same person I was when I was 20 or even 30, thankfully. When I have conversations with my daughters I get a glimpse of what my mentality was at their age. Going grey means I have grown up. I have had many more experiences and I have matured. This doesn’t mean I can’t have the childlike innocence like Charlie my dog has. There is just knowledge behind it now. Adventures cause me to get all gitty inside, but if there is a day that I can curl up under a blanket and read I will take that too. I chose joy on most days. Hardships in life try and take that from me, watching my kids make choices I don’t fully understand causes more greys to pop out. Hearing about friends being sick or getting hurt can put a kink in the joy, but then I remember that I am not in control. I need to protect the joy I have, get on my knees and speak to the One that ultimately is in control of everything. Grey can be covered (if you want to). Joy comes from finding the peace from knowing you don’t have to be in control. Until next time:

Negativity is contagious. Unhappiness is contagious. Fear is contagious. But so is happiness. So is optimism. So is love. Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. And strive to be a reflection of what you want to receive.

Michelle C. Clark