Fun With Friends
Do you have fun? Are you fun to be around? If you won the trip of a lifetime for two, would you have a friend to take with you?
Finding a Friend
What comes first, fun or friends? Does it matter? If you can have fun alone, that is terrific. Sometimes having fun with a friend is easier and frankly, more fun. A friend is just a stranger you haven’t met yet. How do you find a friend? Everyone has things they like to do. What do you like to do? Do you love to play cards, board games, hike, ride a bike, listen to music, go to art galleries, drink wine and/or beer, run, swim, camp, watch television, go to movies, shop, visit flea markets, attend open houses? Use your imagination. There are endless opportunities to find like-minded people. Search in your local area at Meetup for things that interest you and join in. There are also many groups on FaceBook that have events in your local area.
If you are looking for a significant other friendship, you can join a dating site or even meet at a singles meetup. Existing friends can introduce you to their single friends. When you go to events that have things that you normally like to do, you will find others who like to do those same things. While you may not click with everyone there, I can almost guarantee you that if you will go, you will find at least one or two people worth spending some time with to find out if you are compatible and could become good friends.
Having Fun
I believe that having fun is a choice. You can choose to find joy in everything you do or you can choose to be angry, sad, frustrated or even depressed. I am not a medical professional and I sincerely believe that there are people with clinical depression, however, I also feel that there are many people who just have a bad attitude in general. I will give people the benefit of the doubt the first few times I meet them. I will even try to be the impetus to get them to see the glass have full instead of half empty. After that, if they are Negative Nellie or Angry Adam, I choose not to hang around with them in the future.
Shaking Off the Downtimes
So what should you do if you’re feeling lonely, down, stuck and don’t know what to do or where to turn? If you believe in God or a higher power, you can start there. Praying and/or meditating can be very relaxing and can help to re-center one’s self. One of my favorite things to do is to call one of my friends, or if I’m in a new place and possibly a different time zone, I will go volunteer somewhere or go walk around and talk to 3 people I see that I’ve never met. I will sincerely compliment them on something that I find attractive. It may be their hair, shoes, clothing, car, skin tone, etc. But it must be genuine. If it doesn’t grab you, don’t do it. It’s absolutely amazing to tell someone how much you love their dress, or tie, or car and watch them grin from ear to ear. They may even tell you a story about the very thing that you complimented them on. Both of you will leave with a smile on your face.
Fitness
I happen to be into physical fitness and taking very good care of myself and my body. I want it to last a really long time, so I am very cognizant of clean eating, clean drinking and some sort of physical exercise. Because I bike, run, hike, kayak, swim, do yoga and walk everywhere I can reasonably walk, my weight and body fat are extremely low. Hear me when I say, you don’t have to be an extreme athlete. I sincerely mean that. You should practice eating smaller portions and moving around more. It can be walking around your block or dancing. It can be hiking a nearby nature trail. Perhaps playing hide and seek or catch with your grandchildren would be your activity. Hand washing your car, pushing your lawnmower, gardening are also movement activities that count. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator and parking at the far end of the row to walk to the door of the store are also great options.
Be sure to let me know what happens when you try some of the things I’ve mentioned in this post and just keep smiling at whatever hand life deals you. As Hunter S. Thompson once said, Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!“
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