The joy of the sparkly hat.

I have the most glorious new sequined faux fur Russian cap, rescued from the bottom of the children's accessory bin at Marshalls. It's sparkly, it's furry, it's warm, and it's fun. It makes me happy...and I like being happy.

Yesterday, I happily put on my new, wonderful hat and headed out the door to work. As I sat on the subway I noticed people staring, and I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Is my hat too big? Is it too fluffy? Is it too sparkly? Maybe they didn't like it, which is fine - we all have our own tastes. I'm sure I was just being paranoid. But, from my perspective, people were looking, and even though I loved the hat, all of a sudden, I wasn't entirely confident wearing it. I felt myself starting to feel a little embarrassed - a feeling that came out of the blue. I'm not sure where from.

Anyway, later that day, as I was leaving the office to walk to my Abs & Arms class (yes - I'm still happily going!), I'm ashamed to say, I started to question my wonderful hat. I almost stuffed it in my bag (I'm sorry, hat!). I didn't though - I put it on my head just as I'd done that morning, and walked with a friend to the studio.

As we chatted along the way, I forgot about the hat, until I walked in the door and realized it was still on my head. I quickly pulled it off as I waited to check in, and just then, something happened. My doubt was shooed away and I was reassured! Thank you, Helena, not for loving my hat as much I do, but for taking the time to tell me so - and at just the right time. I guess the hat, with it's happy little sparkles, is really more than a hat. It's representative of how I try to live my life, which I do sometimes question. This validation did two things for me. It confirmed that 1) the hat is, indeed, glorious (duh! how could I ever have questioned it?!), and 2) there are many roads to happiness in life, and there's nothing wrong with choosing the sparkly one.

Whatever road you choose, live each day as the gift that it is. Seek out the good, the fun, the happy - in people, in animals, and even in the small things, like glorious sparkly hats. We each get one life - one shot. Why spend it wearing a plain boring hat, when you can wear a fabulous sequined number? We all have a choice when it comes to what path we take. I've made my choice...and my path is paved with sequins. :)