"...if you do what you love, it is the best way to relax.." -- Christian Louboutin

 Delaroche actually did this painting in 1840, after Napoleon's death. But it's one of the most famous, along with the five versions of him crossing the Alps.

 The painting has always spoken to me as one depicting the sometime disgust and fatigue of Daily Life. Be it due to a job, having kids, car problems or whatever, we sometimes slouch into a chair, throw up our hands and say what the hell, even when we know sometimes it's our own damn fault.

 I've lately been observing and thinking about self-created problems that go unrecognized by those making them. There's the old line about insanity being a case of doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. While there's something to be said for continued effort and repeated failure (Edison being one example), I tend to side with that great philosopher W.C. Fields, who said, "if at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No point in being a damn fool about it."

 Some folks are "poor me" individuals. They're always victims, a situation exhausting for themselves and those around them. It's largely learned behavior and a habit extremely difficult to break. I watch it almost daily, knowing one can't simply snap their fingers and be more happy. At least not without some pharmaceutical help.

 The antithesis to this is the person who's able to find enough good to work through whatever it is, see a way of dealing with the negatives and step past them. Just as misery can be self-imposed, so can positivity -- and I don't mean the kind that's just an act. This has been reinforced on me over the past year or so, particularly the past couple of months.

We can each create positives and negatives. I'm reminded it of it daily by both observation and experience. One of the things I've re-learned is how to set the boundaries I've talked about in earlier entries. It's not always pleasant but is a guarantor of moving forward.

 Happiness is a choice, but finding it ain't always easy.

"...the time to relax is when you don't have time for it..." -- Sidney J. Harris