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As I walked along checking off my mental shopping list, I began to break a bit of a sweat. It might have been that I was walking rather fast, pushing a loaded cart, or simply cranking my neck every few seconds to make sure my brood was still there.

I wasn’t feeling all that warm or fuzzy for that matter.

When I was two items away from being done, and almost felt like I could touch the finish line, I saw my dear friend, Lisa, sitting in a booth at the Subway with her son. They were enjoying some lunch and conversation, and sure seemed a lot more joyful than I felt at the moment.

When our eyes met, her smile gave me goose bumps. She jumped up out of her seat with a laugh, and I walked over to hug her. We talked for several minutes and tried to catch up on life as my kids wiggled, giggled and I prayed desperately that they didn’t knock down the beverage display nearby.

When we said our goodbyes, I headed for the checkout, feeling so much better than I had. I was suddenly content to walk more slowly, smile at the good people I passed, and the kids seemed better behaved than before.

Yep, Lisa is definitely a warm fuzzy in my life. In fact, I think I have been blessed with more warm fuzzies than I deserve. Usually, in my haste to breeze by the chaos that is my life, I may sometimes treat them more like cold pricklies.

Maybe the world is not all that complex. Maybe we all need a new perspective on things. After all, you know the sun will set tonight, and it will rise in the morning. And people will be people. All types. All kinds.

Everyday, you will inevitably run into some warm fuzzies and some cold pricklies. But I’m not sure the secret to finding joy is figuring out which is which, surrounding yourself with warm fuzzies, and avoiding all the cold pricklies.

I think the secret to true joy is becoming the kind of person that can turn any cold prickly into a warm fuzzy with a smile, a nod, and a fuzz ball of warmth.