You can help yourself by helping others

In a busy world where everyone is constantly on the go, we get lost within the hustle and bustle, and forget about the important things in life.

For example, the old cliché, "Take time to smell the roses."

Are the said roses, the thorn bearing beauties that we see in someone's garden? Or is the age old cliché referring to something more?

In my opinion, we are all roses. We have a gorgeous budding exterior, but no matter how much we prune ourselves there is still that thorny posterior that rears its head when someone reaches in.

Sure, we are all a little rough around the edges, but as long as we keep adding that Miracle Grow called happiness, we can all blossom beautifully.

How can we douse ourselves in that miraculous growing serum? Metaphorically, of course.

We can start by believing in ourselves. After all, we are our own worst critics. Did you get a bad grade on a test? Study harder next time. Get in a fender-bender? Pay more attention. Did your significant other break your heart? Spend some time with your friends.

The best way to make yourself feel better is to take the time to make someone else feel better. Hold the door open for a complete stranger. Give a homeless man a dollar. Let an Alzheimer's patient call you "Janie" even though you know that was her daughter's name and not yours.

Most importantly, tell someone they are beautiful. We do not get to hear it enough. Significant others brush past each other on the way to work, barely in enough time to say good-bye. Fathers leave for work before their children are getting up for school. The 93-year-old lady next door lost her husband 10 years ago. We do not get to hear that our personalities are gorgeous. Don't just base beauty on personal appearance, it goes so much deeper than that.

We get caught up in ourselves and our lives, and forget everyone around us. Happiness can create a chain reaction. Smiling at a person who is frowning may cause that person to open the door for a complete stranger. The person with the door being held open for them could give a distant family member a call. Maybe that phone call could save someone on the brink of self-destruction. That may seem unrealistic, but you never know unless you try.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."