Going Up the Down Escalator

Yesterday, I had the privilege of participating in one of my favorite activities with some of the most wonderful people in the world; I went shopping at the mall with my roommates!  We had a particularly grand time, and I am especially enjoying my new shoes. 
One of our stops was at Macy's, where there are escalators.  As Selene and I were walking past the down escalator, I saw a little boy walking on the escalator.  It was completely normal except for one thing and at this point, you've probably guessed what he was really doing.  He was walking up the down escalator, doing what every person has wanted to do at least once in their life.  And then, I realized there is a valuable lesson to be learned here and it just happens to in be in concurrence with my view on life! 
This life is like an escalator; sometimes it goes up and sometimes it goes down.  Sometimes it's really crowded and sometimes you're the only one on the ride.  And sometimes people walk up the down escalators.
We've all been on the down escalator at least once in our lives, maybe even more: a loved one passes away, a friend loses a job, it's raining and you forgot your umbrella, you haven't been forgiven for an honest mistake.  Lots of things happen everyday that can potentially carry us down on that down escalator by just going with the flow.  I hate feeling that way.  I hate feeling depressed or angry or sad; it's just not any fun!  And no one wants to be around you when you're in that kind of mood.  So, what's the best way to get rid of that feeling and stop going down?  Go up!!  Even when you're on the down escalator and everything going on around you tells you to just go on down and no one would blame you for being that way (After all, you're escalator is going down!), go against the flow and go up!  There is always, always, always at least one reason to smile and be happy!  Yes, it does a take a certain amount of effort to go up the down escalator.  It does take effort to look past all the negative stuff that Satan is trying to bring you down with and just be happy!  But everyday you do it, it gets easier and easier!  This semester, I have been trying to just be happy no matter what is going on around me.  And guess what?!  It's contagious!  When you're happy, everyone else around you starts to be happy, too!  It's a crazy phenomenon!  Don't you just love being around people who are happy?  I do!!  Even the Lord told us to "be of good cheer!" 
So take this opportunity when you are just relaxing and enjoying your free time to decide how you're going to handle those down escalators.  It's easy to just always go with the flow, for sure.  And there's not anything wrong with going with the flow, rolling with the punches.  But can you challenge yourself?  Can you do it?  for just one week, try to be happy no matter what.  Look for the positive, for something good about your day.  Even when it's hard.  I promise you'll love it!