Bumper Stickers

Let me begin by saying this: if you are going to have a bumper sticker or vanity plate, please make sure it makes sense to those who see it. There have been countless plates lately with such odd collections of numbers and letters that I don't understand I usually cry out in fits of rage.

Bumper stickers are better, but I absolutely hate when the text is too small or the saying doesn't make sense. In general though, bumper stickers were designed by someone trying to make a statement. A personal favorite of mine: 'My Labrador is smarter than your honors student.' Its big, its easy to understand, and I get a nice little chuckle. Job well done.

This weekend I saw another 'A+' bumper sticker. It was on a small pick-up truck with dirty windows and all it said was, 'I pooped today.'

Let the crassness pass. Maybe let your laughter subside. I'll give you a moment. Okay. You good?

Excellent. Now think about this for a moment. I think there is a certain amount of genius in this. I don't know if the person who had this did so to better ID their car, because they were trying to be funny, or if they were trying to make a statement. Whatever the reasons this particular bumper sticker graced their window it made me think of two things: 1) 'Hey, I pooped today too, we must be pretty similar.' and 2) sometimes celebrating life's little accomplishments are all you need.

The first part of that thought made me far less aggressive with this particular driver. When someone shares with you that they pooped, you have a connection with that person. Maybe its the connection of shared experiences. Maybe its the connection of sharing intimate details about life. Whatever it is, I had this guys' back, no matter what. 'Hey, you go ahead and come into my lane, you pooped today!'

The second part of my thought, the thought about how celebrating life's little accomplishments is all you need is really what got me thinking. On my wall I had a manifesto from Lululemon. There are many motivational quotes like, 'Do one thing a day that scares you,' and stuff like that. One quote always puzzled me: 'The Pursuit of Happiness is the Source of All Unhappiness.'

Ponder that for a moment. We're all taught about the pursuit of happiness. For those of you who forgot, its in the Declaration of Independence. Tom Jefferson wrote about it as an unalienable right. We as a people have the chance to go out and try to find happiness. Its liberating. Its awesome to think about. Its terrifying for most of us today.

I think much of this terror comes from the fact that we have so many influences on our life that try to tell us what happiness looks like. Is it gobs of money? Is it a nice house? Is it a great job? What is it exactly that makes us happy? In a quest to find the answers we begin to reach for all the things we think we need. We don't make enough money so we search for ways to make more, only to become disappointed when we can't make what we thought we needed. We want a nice house, but become distraught when we can't afford the luxury we want. We strive for a great career and find ourselves stuck behind an office desk wondering when we can escape.

The pursuit of happiness is often the exact cause for unhappiness in our lives, a notion that we don't have what we want so we must not be happy. I look at it as that one thing you search and search for and no matter how hard you try to find it, you can't. And then, one day you stop looking. You give up the search and suspect you will never find it. You let it go. And suddenly, there it is, exactly where you left it. This, I think, is the pursuit of happiness. When you stop trying so hard to get the things to make you happy you might find that you are already there.

I pooped today. Such a simple statement. Something that sounds proud. If that person accomplished nothing else today, they can be happy with the fact that their bowels are under control. Sometimes these simple things are enough. We can always strive to be better, but what is it that makes us better? Your wallet and your house and your job don't really care about how your day was, but the people in your life do. Chances are the secret to happiness lies not in the things we think we need to pursue, but in the small joys and accomplishments of the day.

So the next time you are having a tough day and thinking about your personal weaknesses or things you didn't do correctly; the next time you think you don't have enough money or a good house or a good job, just remember that you did accomplish something today. You pooped. And even if today was not that kind of a day, there's a good bet that tomorrow will be. Enjoy the simple things in life and happiness will find a way to you.