We are at the halfway point of 2024. Usually, when we hear this, it is in the context that there is still time to pick up your resolutions or goals and be productive. This can be a great nudge that we need, but it can sometimes feel a bit like saying you’re not good enough. You had better hustle now. 

I don’t have the chutzpah to bring that kind of energy to you. I am not feeling it at all. Maybe you aren’t either. By chance, like me, you have worked hard on other things this year and your internal reservoir of grit, tenacity, or even motivation is running on the low side. 

I would instead like to ask myself and you: Are you living the life you want? Are you having any fun? In that vein, we have roughly six months remaining in the year to court enjoyment. I don’t even mean planning or being able to afford some big elaborate vacation or excursion, although if you can, go for it! I mean simply doing small things every day or a few times a week only because they bring you some sense of satisfaction. 

• Maybe going through the drive-thru at Starbucks and getting a pup cup for your canine friend adds a spark to your day. Then do it!
• Maybe every now and again, you’d like to go to Dairy Queen for a blizzard.
• Possibly, you are fascinated by lightning bugs like my husband, and you want to sit outside for a few extra minutes in the evening to watch them seemingly multiply before your eyes.
• Better yet, if you love books but haven’t taken the time to read them lately, mark off time on your calendar or head to bed 30 minutes earlier at night so you can dig into a delightful summer confection. If you’re like Lowi, it might be more of a delightfully deadly murder mystery. To each her own!

The daily grind can slowly disintegrate our happiness, and worse yet, it happens so incrementally that we don’t even realize it until we are way off-kilter. 

That is what this little missive is intended to be; a gentle reminder to check in on your entertainment meter. Is it sitting at zero, hovering around 20, or well-tended at a solid 88? There is no wrong answer, but before we can begin to hammer down on those unfinished goals, we need to feel rejuvenated and inspired. That can only come from leisurely and unfettered fun. Maybe then you will revisit those goals, or perhaps you’ll find they were taking you in the wrong direction anyway, and you’ll create something more worthy of you. Either way, do it with merriment and gusto!