The urban dictionary defines it with the following words:

“Used to express the joy one feels in knowing that the work week has officially ended and that they have two days off with which to enjoy.”

     Hmm. I guess this is as good a definition as any. But it seems to mean a lot more than that to some people. I have known people who only look forward to Friday. They saw Friday as some kind of holy graille of the work week.  Kind of an elevated state of being.  —-  This has always bothered me some.

      Why does it bother me? Because when we rank the significance of one day above another; it signifies the perception that some days aren’t worth the same value, as each and every day.  This is a very poor outlook. Now, is the magic moment to live!

     Friday’s are somehow lifted up because they lead to recreation, while the rest of the week is focused on work. I’m OK with that. Surely nothing wrong with people looking forward to family time and healthy personal pass times and pursuits.

     Yet all too often, I have seen this affection for Friday turn into something very unhealthy. An excuse to get bombed. That Friday is the day that the focus can turn to a “party hearty” mindset. Heck. This kind of thinking beat the pudding out of me. [Beat more than pudding out of me but I am trying to be polite].

     In fact I have seen this attitude towards Friday turn into a poor philosophy with a multitudes of people. Many develop such a preoccupation with party-ism, that they fail to miss the joy of daily life. {And yes that is what I promised to write about this week, the joy of daily life}.

     What I think happens is that people get caught up in what I call “imaginary euphoria-ism.”  Some party moment or moments has stuck in their mind with such affection that all these people think about is a magic party moment. That the duty of normal life is boring and that this magic imagined moment, of celebration is to be preferred above the boring details of life.  

     There are Several problems with this line of thinking. 1st; the magic way off somewhere moment rarely occurs like someone thinks it will and 2nd; when it does it does not have the power to add significance and meaning to the rest of life.

     Surely, there are magic moments in life. I am clear about this. But often they happen when we least expect them. And the amazing thing I am discovering is that all of life can be a magic moment, with a different way of thinking and feeling.  But it requires an oil change. A radical departure from this gospel of phony-ism.

     My mother Louise was the chief architect of the joyful power of everyday life. I saw in her, that daily duties which bored lots of people, were celebrations to her.  Mama made the everyday a thing of beauty. She taught me that the everyday is more miraculous, than mundane. She had GUTS in daily life.

     What is sought on Friday’s can be the joy and meaning of every day. Cheerfulness is a disposition not a magic activity. Simple pleasures of music, flowers, sea, sky, animals, friends & family can be enjoyed every day. The joy of a cup of coffee.  The happiness of a good meal. The mirth of a good joke. The sense of satisfaction of a job well done. These and one million other delights can invade our senses each day, that we give them proper attention. The daily joy to be found in them can only be lost by not properly appreciating these simple pleasures. The loss of them only occurs when someone’s primary focus is on escaping to something else!

     Ahhh!!  That’s it. There’s the key. That’s what I am trying to get at. The underlying thing that happens to a lot of people with a TGIF mentality is escapism. There is some aspect of daily life that is so uncomfortable to them, that they want to get away from it. So the possibility of running away to something else appeals to them more, than finding the meaning in the requirements and duties of the day.  

    Gosh. This is an unhealthy mindset. The goodie is the joy of every day; not the retreat from it. A healthy outlook on a moment by moment basis will make the “special” moments, even more rewarding when they do happen. Because one will have the capacity to appreciate them and not dread them ending, because they have to go back to the mundane, when the “special” moment ends.

     TGIF is ok when it is a healthy appreciation for the great joys that the weekend really brings to life. But when it is taking for granted the blessings of every other day; it is not OK. It represents an unhealthy view and outlook towards life.

     God’s love and care is every day.  It is today, Friday or not. It is like the rain and sun, to the flowers. Sometimes it rains on the flowers. Sometimes it shines on the flowers. But the flowers need both to grow. Look for the blessings of today, instead of wishing for the joys of another.

     I have enjoyed karate for many years. It is not just the fighting. {Sorry, I do like a good fight}. But my joy in it comes more its rhythm & rhyme. There is a meaning to the movements. Every move is important. Every nuance is significant. There is a right way to execute every detail. And every detail needs more practice. Yeah baby!!! That is the stuff of life. The moving majesty of life’s symphony is found in the practice of the details. The small stuff is important. In fact, it is the small stuff that leads to the big stuff. And the small stuff that makes big stuff meaningful, when it happens.

     Practice the small stuff. Work on the details. The details are important. Don’t dread them. Master them. The small things are often the critical things. They are most times, the deeper issues of life and if we learn to enjoy them; then all of life becomes TGIF; A CELEBRATION.

    Make the most of the magic of TODAY. Oh and by the way it is Friday. Have a great one!