When I was growing up and things were shit, my mother would always remind me, “This too shall pass.” She was right. They always did. But what I hadn’t realized was that the good times also pass.

That’s an important part of that old saying and one we should take note of, because while “This too shall pass,” may help us through the ugly times, the same phrase should make us throw a big ass parade, a frat party, or a solo cheerleading event with lots and lots of pom moms for the good things.

This is one of my promises to myself in the new year, to focus and celebrate more of the good, ok, acceptable, not hideous stuff that happens. Things, like finding a great parking space smack in front of my destination, or having a client who’s really happy with something I’ve written, or finding those boots ON SALE, are things I’m going to let out a way too loud appreciation yell for. I’m going to spend more time thinking about them and letting them fill me up with Oxytocin and other good chemicals our body makes when it’s happy.

There are plenty of unspeakably crap things that happen that can overtake us, like ants on a crumb of fallen bread. They can do us in if we let them. But if we give the good things their full due, if we honor them, and let them seep into our pores, the miseries of life feel a lot less bad. So, here’s to the good. The little good, the big good, and every good in between.