By Lacey Szczepanik, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
It only requires around 60 seconds of listening to the news to conclude that it’s pretty bad out there. Natural disasters, man made wars, economic crisis, it seems every box on the “Signs Things Are Going Down the Toilet” list can officially be checked. It can appear so bad, even perpetual optimists are feeling disillusioned enough to consider throwing in the proverbial towel and calling it a day. At best we manage to simply turn the T.V. off, wander away and wonder ‘Where did the good go?’
In his poignant, hilarious and just plain lovely ‘Book of Awesome’, Neil Pasricha tells us where we might begin looking. Our society is quick to encourage us to ‘Think BIG!’. However maybe it’s time we as Willy Wonka says, “Strike that! Reverse.” Pasricha encourages us to find joy in the little, the overlooked, and in the unnoticed. You may be surprised at all the awesome things waiting to brighten your day, if you know where to look.
Maybe for instance you’ll find a little bit of Awesome buried (#524) with that onion ring stashed in your fries order. Or you may discover a sliver (#533) when you find out your new place has a really good shower. If you look hard enough you’ll even uncover some Awesome on ‘one of those days’, like (#528) when your pet notices you’re in a bad mood and comes to see you. All these little things start adding up and keep adding up until finally you begin to believe the whole world is pretty awesome in general.
Pasricha doesn’t simply give us a list of Awesome Things. He goes in depth and explores exactly what makes awesome things well… Awesome!
Take #917 for instance: The moment at a concert after the lights go out and before the band comes on stage.
“You go early, you grab a drink, you buy a T-shirt, you find your seat or you edge up to the stage, you listen to the opening act, you people watch, you talk to your friends, you guess what songs they might play, and then the moment finally arrives: the background music fades down, all the lights suddenly go out, and there’s total blackness.” “You feel a massive wave of anticipation sweep across the crowd, people stand up, raise their arms, and scream — and everyone clamors for that first view of the band walking onstage.” “AWESOME!”
And who can’t appreciate #797: Seeing a cop on the side of the road and realizing you’re going the speed limit anyway.
“Stress level goes up. Stress level goes down.” “AWESOME!”
While flipping through ‘The Book of Awesome’ it dawned on me I was sporting a little smile, a smile that lasted hours. Not only did I literally laugh out load, (many times), but I was inspired to begin compiling my own list of ‘Found Awesome’. Be warned, the more you hunt for awesome the more you find it. Pretty quickly, awesome hunting becomes addictive.
Let’s face it. We all have dark days, sick loved ones, piles of bills, and a perfectly planned future that doesn’t go according to plan. Life in general can get pretty heavy. So when the moment arises and (#822) there’s still time left in the parking meter when you pull up, enjoy it! Embrace it! Do a little happy dance. Because you just experienced a little bit of AWESOME.
This article is a little bit of AWESOME in my day! Definitely going to check out that book. So very true that we need to take more time to celebrate life’s little victories in this ‘big bad world’.