You ever hear a word and suddenly out of the blue it strikes a chord in you? It is almost as if it is the first time you are really hearing it or perhaps truly comprehending what it actually means? A few weeks ago we had Memorial weekend at my parents, everyone came and for two lovely days we lounged by the pool, laughed, ate great food, everyone pitched in and cooked, cleaned, we played a raucous game of Taboo, no one bickered or got on each others nerves, everyone was happy to be there and it was just a really relaxed and wonderful weekend. At the end of the weekend as she was leaving my sister Claire said to me, “Thank you for being so great this weekend, you were so pleasant.” The word "pleasant" stood out to me, as if it was the first time I was really understanding exactly what it meant. I realized that the entire weekend had indeed been pleasant, and everyone involved had behaved in a pleasant manner. When I was younger if you had described someone as being “pleasant” to me I’d have thought, “Wow, they sound about as fun as a bag of bricks”, I associated pleasant with being staid, boring, and unadventurous. Now I think to myself, “Say! That’s someone I’d like to get to know better!” When Claire said I was pleasant I realized how much I truly took for granted being pleasant and how much I really enjoyed life when it was simply "pleasant".
I say all this knowing that I can be particularly UNpleasant. In fact as recently as a few weeks ago I was guilty of being unpleasant, bawdy, boisterous, disagreeable and downright insufferable. Things that I am repelled by in others I have displayed in myself. Just recently after a night out where I had a few too many drinks I turned into Dr. Jekyll's loud mouthed and rather unpleasant sister. My friend informed me that whenever she said something that I apparently disagreed with I would slap her on the mouth. I would categorize that as highly UNpleasant behavior. I was mortified and apologised profusely to her of course, (lucky for me she had a good sense of humor about it and accepted my shamefaced mea culpa). I realised not only am I horrified when others behave that way, but when I am the one being unpleasant and disagreeable I feel downright hypocritical and embarrassed. If I desire to live a more productive and happier life, if I want to be a certain type of person, then I must learn to be more pleasant.
So, spurned on by my embarrassment over my own bad behaviour and my newfound comprehension of the word "pleasant", I made a resolution to be decidedly more pleasant. See, what I didn’t realize when I was younger is pleasant isn’t synonymous with boring, why, a picnic in the park is pleasant! Strolling on the beach on a summers day: pleasant! Flowers being delivered from a secret admirer: a pleasant surprise! Pleasant isn’t dull and uneventful, it's actually rather delightful! It's living by the golden rule, expecting more from yourself than you do of others, creating the life you wish to live, and above all treating others with love and kindness. So my new goal is to be pleasant, make good conversation, make sure the people I care for are aware that I indeed cherish and care for them (that means no more slaps on the mouth), enjoy myself and not sweat the small things, create a life that I am proud of and that makes me happy, and lastly, keep the vodka consumption to a pleasant 2 or 3 drink maximum.
I went searching on the interwebs for quotes referring to the art of being pleasant and lo and behold there was a perfect quote from one of those old Greek guys again!
“It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.” -Epicurious
Did these guys have it all figured out or what? I feel like I will have what I think are these massive epiphany's, and just when I am ready to call the media and hire a sky writer I stumble upon a quote from one of them circa 500 BC that boldly illustrates to me how much I still have to learn about living and being a good person. Smart guys. Indeed, they seem like pleasant chaps I would say!
Here’s to us all having a pleasant summer!
This little guy has pleasant all figured out!
Pip pip & Cheers to a Pleasant summer!! (You could never be boring, even when trying to be pleasant - so, no worries there!) xoxo
p.s. isn't the Interweb fantastic!
Posted by: Missy | 06/09/2011 at 04:10 PM
I love it when you express what I think but; could not put into words. Great post!
Posted by: Eileen McCorry | 06/09/2011 at 04:46 PM