Yesterday I was mean. Apparently.

Know what? Maybe I AM mean. I haven't really taken the time to research the issue, but judging by the way I laugh at morbid jokes, giggle when someone falls over in the street (well, they'd laugh at ME, wouldn't they?) and my recent lack of fondness for certain street sellers, I guess it's conclusive.

I'm a bitch.

Granted, I don't mind that much. Because one of my life rules (and yes, I do have a list. Obsessive? You bet) is to laugh at things.

'Why?' you might ask, given some of the awful stuff that's going on in the world today. 'Surely that's a bit, you know, nasty?' But I don't mean to laugh at THOSE things.

I mean the little things. Everyday mishaps that might irritate you. If you find humour in small situations, your day will be better. Trust me on that.

Whilst in the local shop the other day, a customer said to me, 'Not enough people smile. Not enough people laugh.' He then proceeded to tell me something about a granny with her ass on fire, but I didn't hear all of it.

It still made me giggle sneakily though, and to be honest, sharing a joke with a random stranger isn't as much of a chore as it seems. More people should try it.

But one thing I absolutely despise in this world is the existence of boring, repetitive moaners. Sure, we all like to have a moan. Sometimes, it's just refreshing to let it all out. Though I'm talking REAL moaners here; ones who fail to appreciate just what they've got in life, and instead, prefer to constantly complain about nothing in particular like a broken old record.

You might know the sort I'm on about. People who find fault in everything they do. Can't do this for some reason; can't do THAT for another. They're sick. They're bored. The kids are driving them crazy. Traffic's always bad. Too many bills.

Too much housework. Have to go to the doctor's again. Mother is nagging. Nothing is ever right for them. The truth is, there are FAR too many people like this around.

It makes me sick.

Especially when they have nothing - yes, NOTHING - to genuinely complain about.

What's worse is that the majority of people like this who I've come across in my life are, in actual fact, people who have it all. I guess it's a bit of a cliche; people who don't know what they've got till it's gone, and/or are not really aware of exactly how much they have.

They have houses. They have secure jobs. They are healthy. They have stable relationships and children, living parents and the chance to do plenty of things, yet they simply choose to sit around and feel sorry for themselves.

Which makes me want to strangle them with an apron.

I guess I have a different outlook on life to some. Part of such outlook is due to a person I knew when I was a teenager. She was a family friend; stylish, funny, genuine and kind - and she had breast cancer.

One day, my family and I went to visit this friend in hospital. When I walked into the hospital room, I had expected, awfully, to see her looking upset, or sick, or not her usual self, owing to what she had recently gone through.

Oh, I was DEFINITELY mistaken. Upset? Far from it. She was laughing and joking as usual. And when a doctor walked by that she admitted she had the hots for, she asked, jokingly, yet at the same time oh-so-casual, 'Do you think he'd go out with a woman with one boob?' I couldn't believe she'd just said that.

After having cancer for all that time; after suffering, going through chemotherapy, and the horrible experience of having a breast removed, she was actually LAUGHING.

At HERSELF.

She could have been upset. But instead, she just turned the whole thing into one big joke.

And yes, it was funny. SHE made it funny.

Unfortunately, the cancer returned, and she died shortly afterwards. She was truly one of the nicest, most hilarious people you'd ever meet, but one thing will always stick with me and it has done so ever since - the fact that she had EVERY REASON to cry and complain, but she didn't.

Instead, she laughed at herself.

It taught me a big lesson.

So rather than mope about and moan when something hasn't gone my way, I joke about it, and think, 'Oh well! Try again.' I happily sit back and appreciate what I have because I do, in fact, have a LOT. I have no reason to feel sorry for myself or complain.

I never nag (ask my husband!), I never get upset over silly, unimportant matters, and most importantly, I make good use of the fact that I'm a currently healthy individual with plenty to do and plenty more to look forward to in life if I'm wise enough. If something goes wrong in my life - I fix it.

No worries. Unless I have one heck of a good reason to feel upset, I'm happy.

At the same time, I understand that there will never be 'world peace' and that terrible things will always, always happen. But hey, if you look at it from a different perspective, you might just feel lucky and appreciative for all the things you have. And no, I don't mean the material stuff.

Laugh at a bad situation. It won't hurt once in a while.

So there we have it. Am I mean? Probably. Am I a bitch? Maybe. But does absolutely everything have to be taken so seriously? Not particularly.

I mean, come ON - would YOU laugh at a granny with her ass on fire?

Thought so.