Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

The basics of happiness

 by Julie Carter

The world seems to want to close in around all us day-to-day folks who are raising families, working jobs and wondering if it could possibly get better before it gets any worse.

The weather, the economy, and trends in lifestyles that are controversial and foreign to us push hard from every direction.

We spend each day trying to look forward but find ourselves spending a whole lot of time serving up doses of the past to ease the moment.

Looking to that place from whence we came -- those times that our memories serve up sweeter moments and easier days.

They probably really weren't, but that's how it is with memories.

Ingredients for happy moments for country folks have been as simple as good music and table full of food shared with friends and neighbors. Thankfully, that hasn't changed much.

Even this far into the age of high-tech living where before puberty comes iPods, cell phones and laptop computers--the basics of rural family entertainment still remain.

Those boot-scootin' teens will happily show up at a country dance - hats on, belt buckles shining and smiles that light up a barn where they'll shuffle around the dirt floor to the rhythm of country song.

It started when they were barely big enough to walk. Momma or Daddy took them out on the dance floor and danced with them.

By the time they were in the fourth grade, they were finding their own dancing partners, usually someone they had played with in the sand
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under the bleachers when they were toddlers at the 4th of July rodeo.

I know people have been dancing in barns on dirt floors since they invented barns. They've laughed and smiled in the rain since the beginning of rain, except for, maybe, those folks stuck on the shore while the ark floated off over the horizon.

A huge part of this country is living in situations and circumstances that are far from entertaining or uplifting. Fear and worry feed the stress they wear on their faces. I believe the majority of people in those places have forgotten how to have fun. They have no way to fight it except with what ends up as addictions and a boiling rage at life in general.

However, what I see now, is an almost desperation to again feel that levity of spirit and each time there is a gathering of folks to celebrate something worthwhile, some of those old feelings return and with it, a crack in the despair. Smiles come easier, folks laugh more readily and there is an elevated appreciation for friendships and the freedom to be happy.

A joyful spirit is a generous spirit and when there is a need, even the poor will pull out their pockets and empty them for a cause. That fuels even more joy. Pie auctions and passing the hat are two of the original bailout plans. As natural disasters have plagued our country this year, people have nearly trampled each other to get in line to help out whoever and whenever they could.

Is this the upside of a disastrous economy and uncertainty for tomorrow? Are we, the people, finally realizing that what we have right here in front of us is precious and that simple things can bring great pleasure?

I'm just saying, I'm convinced those folks dancing in the barn and smiling in the rain have something figured out. We need a whole lot more rain, and with it, a whole lot more neighborly barn dances.

The recipe isn't new, but the enthusiasm can be renewed. I'm all for passing a little more of that around.

Julie, who never did learn the Cotton-eyed Joe, can be reached for comment at jcarternm@gmail.com.

Oh No! Julie Carter can't do the Cotton-eyed Joe.  The world as I've known it will never be the same.  The ground is rumbling under my feet as a sea change sweeps across the West.