happy go lucky

my father used to tell me to not be that nice to my friends. he was afraid I would get abused by them. It kind of had a strange impact on me because my father is exactly the one in our family who unconditionally helps everybody he knows. if there was a family from abroad that has just moved to Germany, he was the one inviting them for dinner, doing errands for them and doing other favors. he doesn't know any limits when it comes to help someone.
however it's your own experience that makes you learn to decide whether and when to behave in a certain way or not. I was nice but I chose when to be egoistic or not. nevertheless I cannot say that it made me happier than ever. when I go into a shop and get confronted with an unfriendly shop owner or even an unfriendly customer it always makes me feel sad.
today I try to not give a damn whether those people are friendly or not. I am and stay friendly. and I hope that some day it pays off. stories like the one told by Peggy (see the link to her blog "episodes of life" - "kindliness pays off" - on the right) are encouraging in doing so. and also movies and literature about this topic do.
"happy go lucky" e.g. talks about a woman who is cheerful and positive all the time. she gets trouble in the end because of that. but nonetheless she doesn't change whereas other people would become bitter.
what I've learned is that kindliness sometimes is the best weapon ever to fight hard situations. It also promises more success than trying to achieve things when being bitter or depressed.
maybe it's a neverending story in society. there will always be negative and positive minded people. maybe it's a cultural thing. when going abroad we compare the different behaviour with one another and see that some other cultures are friendlier and more easy-going than the Germans.
I hope that we get adjusted to the good things of other countries, and that more and more are going to see that life is easier and enjoyable when being friendly.

learn from Poppy!: