Dear Universe,

It was in London that I kept seeing the, “Keep Calm and Carry On” signs everywhere I went.

http://universeletters.com/2011/12/29/signs-signs-everywhere-signs/

And since I’ve been home I’ve seen the message carry over to this side of the Atlantic.

I even received a few “Keep Calm and Carry On” signs, journals and quotation books as gifts.  It’s a nice reminder to stay positive each day.

But these days, I’m noticing a new trend.

People are keeping the “keep calm,” but the carry on?  It’s sort of taken a backseat.  To what?  Well, to whatever.

The other day I passed a woman wearing a t-shirt that said, “Keep Calm and… Party.”  Seems a little contradictory if you ask me.

Then I spotted this sign in a window in New York City.  “Keep Calm and Decorate.”  Do people need to be reminded to keep calm while picking out curtains?  I don’t get it.

Other Keep Calmisms:

“Keep Calm and Tell a Beautiful Lie”   How about a beautiful, honest compliment?

“Keep Calm and Play the Ukulele”    Which one is the ukulele again?

“Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake”     As opposed to being in a full on panic?

As you can see, people can just keep calm and add whatever they think of next.

And then there are the other takes…

“Now Panic and Freak Out” 

“Screw Calm and Get Angry”

I mean everything has its time and place, but don’t these ruin the whole spirit of the positive message?

You can even create your own slogan: http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/

Over 400,000 people have so far!  “Keep Calm and Make Your Destiny” is one of the most popular ones but so is, “Take a Smurf and Paint People Blue.”

Another that caught my eye: “Lie Back and Think of England.”  Well, I didn’t need a t-shirt to tell me to do that.

I guess it doesn’t bother me so much, except that the original had so much importance for me and had so much meaning when it was first created.  I don’t want that to get lost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On

To be honest, I’m entertained by the new mottos and I always wonder what I’ll see next, but I’m not sure I can buy into them.  For now I’ll just Stick to the Original Message and Carry On.

Thanks for the creative reminders of some soothing words.

Much Gratitude,

A