Saturday I visited St. Joseph Peninsula State Park which is located between Port St. Joe and Apalachicola, Florida.  It was one of those days when you just jump in the car and drive, with no destination in mind, just a desire to go somewhere you have never been before.  I follow the coast until I spot one of those big brown signs that point to state parks, historical sites and other points of interest and just follow the trail. 

        As I enter the park I am at once amazed at the large number of butterflies apparently going in the same direction as I am.  At first I thought they were leaves falling from the trees until those beautiful leaves started flapping their wings.  I have been to two butterfly gardens this year and both combined did not have the number of butterflies that this out-of-the-way park had on display.  I follow my winged rainbows and stumble upon a pleasant place for a picnic and park the car.  I was astonished to find that my little piece of paradise came equipped with its own climate control system of shade trees, a cool breeze flown in from the Gulf of Mexico and a fan made of hundreds of tiny wings.

        During lunch I was asked to judge a high jump contest for the local fish.  Afterwards I was treated to the acrobatics of this nimble butterfly that walked his fancy tightrope of yellow petals and gathered his food among the flowers.  The funny thing was his position; I followed him from bloom to blossom and he never stood upright.  He was like some contortion artist twisting around and hanging upside down while he moved through his garden.  Suspended in such an awkward position I would have been paralyzed with fear, but not my new buddy.  He taught me a valuable lesson; it isn’t our position but our disposition that makes us happy.

        Your point of view is everything.  You can spend your days searching for sweetness to share or looking for mud to throw and the choice is yours.  You can look at your problems like a victim and grumble and complain all day long or you can see them as stepping stones sent to help you climb upon.  Today, let us examine our attitudes; test our temperament and diagnose our disposition because these are the places where we shall find happiness and contentment.  Remember, happiness is a choice; choose to have a good disposition today.

Something to think about:

• The most destructive acid in the world is found in our sour disposition.

• Gather the crumbs of happiness, and they will make you a loaf of contentment.

• A person’s attractiveness lasts only as long as their disposition stays sweet.

• Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people.

• Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world

• A bad disposition has lost many a good position.

• Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.

Thankful that I already have everything I need to be happy
Rickey Moore