The Decision to Love

What if you can fall in love every day? I can, and I do.

Think about this. Every time you see a character fall in love on the stage or screen, it's got to be really happening or else you, as an audience member, are not going to believe it. That actor needs to be actually falling in love with that actress at that very moment in the scene. The way my acting coach explains it, you need to be able to find something in that person's eyes or on his face that can make you fall in love. The same holds true for anger, sadness, joy. They all have to be real in order to be believable. This is one of the hardest tricks about acting, learning not to act.

But what if it's not really a trick? What if it is a very useful tool that we can all learn to make our lives more enjoyable?

We all dictate our own emotions to some degree. When you force yourself to stand up a little straighter, you feel more confident. When you smile, you feel a little less grumpy. And remembering a day on a warm, sunny beach makes you feel calm.

My husband often tells me that he chooses to be a happy person. That doesn't mean that life is always wonderful. I know that things sometimes don't go the way he wants. But every morning when he wakes up, my husband decides that he is going to be happy. And he is.

Terry and I have been together for a very, very, very, very long time. 

And during that time, we've learned to push each other's buttons. But then, even through my annoyance, I remember that we made the decision to love each other. I look at his blue eyes or something on his face, and I fall in love.