Savvy Thinker » Joy and happiness http://savvythinker.com thinking about life, playing with makeup Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:15:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Finding happiness in the moments http://savvythinker.com/finding-happiness-in-the-moments/ http://savvythinker.com/finding-happiness-in-the-moments/#comments Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:16:53 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/02/28/finding-happiness-in-the-moments/

A friend sent me a card with these words on it. I've seen it attributed to either Emerson or ee cummings.

The earth laughs in flowers.

Now the card is front and center to my computer screen where I see it daily.

I wish I knew why it seems like negatives grab consciousness quicker and stay longer than happiness, which seems so fleeting. I try to reverse the emphasis by being conscious (and keeping lists) of unexpected happy moments. They feel especially like serendipitous gifts, if I'm having a low moment.

This is a reminder to me that joy is found in places and moments that we might not recognize if we don't consciously let it register. It reminds me to be childlike -- to notice the interesting bug or the flowers in someone's garden or the wildflowers that are profuse along certain roadways. These are moments of happiness mitigating the adult issues that we all face in some form or other. Nature is a gift, freely given.

It just tickles my fancy to think of the earth, laughing, in flowers. A kind of celestial hiccup. And there's another one. And another one. Just like happiness.

I tell a friend that we need to string together moments of healing and happiness, as if the moments were pearls. No one focuses on the knots in a strand of pearls, just the pearls. So too, the knotty issues of life should fade into the background of our happier moments.

I made a bracelet with small sized alphabet beads and crystals using this quote so that it would be before my consciousness as I go about my day. There are even little crystal flowers on it and a butterfly.

img_2106

I can always use more conscious happiness. How about you!

Karin

Originally posted 2009-06-01 12:10:17.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/finding-happiness-in-the-moments/feed/ 2 Most inspirational, Free hug campaign first YTAwards http://savvythinker.com/most-inspirational-free-hug-campaign-first-ytawards/ http://savvythinker.com/most-inspirational-free-hug-campaign-first-ytawards/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:47:29 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/03/27/most-inspirational-free-hug-campaign-first-ytawards/

A video calling for a free hugs campaign won for most inspirational in youtubes first winners.

I have a friend who is known for her bear hugs. If you need a hug, all you have to do is be in her presence.

Karin

Here's the youtube video that made it a sensation:

Here's Juan Mann's thank you:

Originally posted 2007-03-27 19:59:14.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/most-inspirational-free-hug-campaign-first-ytawards/feed/ 0 Happily ever after…and then some! http://savvythinker.com/happily-ever-afterand-then-some/ http://savvythinker.com/happily-ever-afterand-then-some/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:27:24 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/05/17/happily-ever-afterand-then-some/

What do you think about happily ever after? does it exist? does it exist only in fairy tales? do we make a lot of our happiness by at least looking for it, if it seems elusive? Often we don't have to look out from where we are to find happy moments.

Shrek 3 is coming out soon and many of us are looking forward to it. I read an article about the concept behind this series a couple of days ago. I suppose we'd call it a fairy tale for adults that can also be enjoyed by children. Clever concept anyway, and perhaps more empowering than thinking a white knight will sweep into our lives. Do men ever expect this -- a Cinderella to appear and sweep them off their feet -- or is this strictly a female genre?

It's what happens after the ever after that makes life interesting and human. That particular mix that each life holds of happiness and sorrow, excitement and ennui, work and play...the day to day stuff that makes up a life, none of which is mundane when seen as a thread of moments strung together that makes a life.

How is your ever after and then some?

Karin

Originally posted 2007-05-17 20:57:57.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/happily-ever-afterand-then-some/feed/ 0 Grace, Generosity, and Gratitude for Christmas http://savvythinker.com/grace-generosity-and-gratitude-for-christmas/ http://savvythinker.com/grace-generosity-and-gratitude-for-christmas/#comments Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:09:48 +0000 Keira http://savvythinker.com/?p=7987

This is from a guest writer today, Keira of Love Romance Passion.

Grace, Generosity, and Gratitude for Christmas -- the 3 Gs

The meaning of Christmas is ever growing and yet still incredibly timeless and practical. This year for me three words stood out above the rest. They are grace, generosity, and gratitude.

Grace – Everyone should want to experience a growth in grace this Christmas.

What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds. - Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, page 4, lines 3-5.

This is the time to be the most gracious, express even more goodwill, and to forgive unconditionally. Give up anger, animosity, and annoyance. Let grace run your day and you will be happier for it.

Generosity
This is the season of giving, and there should be a readiness to give and be generous on your part. What’s the use of giving, if there’s a bitterness or smallness about it? The Grinch started Christmas with a meanness of heart, described as a heart "two sizes too small," but ended with a largeness of heart (it expands three sizes). If you’re feeling pinched this holiday, work daily on expanding your heart with an overflowing of generosity. And remember, generosity comes in many forms and can be expressed in many ways. Don’t let preconceived notions of generosity stunt you.

Gratitude
As I was examining this word, I ran across another version of the word… overgratitude. Can you really communicate or convey gratitude over and above what is needed? I think not, because if there were a cap on gratitude, then there would be a cap on how much you appreciate something or someone, which implies there’s a time you wouldn’t be grateful for it or to the person. Ingratitude is easier to express, because you simply have to do nothing, but if you do nothing, you’re limiting yourself spiritually and emotionally. The best gift this year you could give anyone is the gift of gratitude. What are you grateful for, or to whom are you grateful? Share thankfulness, appreciation, and warmth of love. Be overabundant with it, and you will feel it in return. There is no shortage of loving gratitude.

How will you articulate grace, generosity, and gratitude this Christmas?

Keira

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/grace-generosity-and-gratitude-for-christmas/feed/ 1 Blades of Glory http://savvythinker.com/blades-of-glory/ http://savvythinker.com/blades-of-glory/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:50:19 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/04/14/blades-of-glory/

College Girl, a bunch of her guy friends and I went to see this when it first came out. It was hilarious and skewers everything from adoption (I didn't know this) (only for a few minutes, but tastelessly, involving being adopted only for his skating prowess, then disinherited as an adult and left at the side of the road) to incest and figure skating, with the obligatory bathroom scene(s) along the way.

It stays just this side of being too much.

It kept you wondering how they filmed it to look so real. (unseen wires)...

It did us all good to laugh so hard. It's a gift to be able to do this without crossing the line into raunch humor.

It might be something to enjoy on DVD.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2007-04-14 07:05:09.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/blades-of-glory/feed/ 0 Mystery cat takes regular bus to the shops http://savvythinker.com/mystery-cat-takes-regular-bus-to-the-shops/ http://savvythinker.com/mystery-cat-takes-regular-bus-to-the-shops/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:55:00 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/04/11/mystery-cat-takes-regular-bus-to-the-shops/

This is a cute story and just makes my day, plus the cat is one gorgeous cat! To see pictures of the cat, go here.

Bus drivers have nicknamed a white cat Macavity after it has started using the No 331 several mornings a week.

The feline, which has a purple collar, gets onto the busy Walsall to Wolverhampton bus at the same stop most mornings - he then jumps off at the next stop 400m down the road, near a fish and chip shop.

The cat was nicknamed Macavity after the mystery cat in T.S Elliot's poem. He gets on the bus in front of a row of 1950s semi-detached houses and jumps off at a row of shops down the road which include a fish and chip shop.

Driver Bill Khunkhun, 49, who first saw the cat jumping from the bus in January, said: "It is really odd, the first time I saw the cat jumping off the bus with a group of passengers. I hadn't seen it get on which was a bit confusing.

"The next day I pulled up on Churchill Road to let a couple of passengers on. As soon as I opened the doors the cat ran towards the bus, jumped on and ran under one of the seats, I don't think any of the passengers noticed.

"Because I had seen it jump off the day before I carried on driving and sure enough when I stopped just down the road he jumped off - I don't know why he would catch the bus but he seems to like it. I told some of the other drivers on this route and they have seen him too."

Since January, when the cat first caught the bus he has done it two or three times a week and always gets on and off at the same stops.

Passenger, Paul Brennan, 19, who catches the 331 to work, said: "I first noticed the cat a few weeks ago. At first I thought it had been accompanied by its owner but after the first stop it became quite clear he was on his own.

"He sat at the front of the bus, waited patiently for the next stop and then got off. It was was quite strange at first but now it just seems normal. I suppose he is the perfect passenger really - he sits quietly, minds his own business and then gets off."

Originally posted 2007-04-11 07:31:23.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/mystery-cat-takes-regular-bus-to-the-shops/feed/ 0 How I was bullied by the Life of Riley http://savvythinker.com/how-i-was-bullied-by-the-life-of-riley/ http://savvythinker.com/how-i-was-bullied-by-the-life-of-riley/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:39:50 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/06/30/how-i-was-bullied-by-the-life-of-riley/

Here's a story from the world's oldest blogger, of how she was bullied and how she solved it.

Olive is 107 and as feisty as my grandmother was. I think I'd like her! What a gal! (I miss my grandma!)

I was once told by my older daughter's school that bullying is just a natural part of junior high and high school. I think not! was basically what I said.

Now, of course, they take a no-bullying stance, but it was sure a long time coming. And I'm not sure they can solve what takes place after school.

Have you ever been bullied? how did you solve it? (Me, I left quickly the place where I should not have been alone. I never told my mother either!)

Karin

Originally posted 2007-06-30 19:59:57.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/how-i-was-bullied-by-the-life-of-riley/feed/ 0 The elusive nature of happiness, part 7 (end) http://savvythinker.com/the-elusive-nature-of-happiness-part-7-end/ http://savvythinker.com/the-elusive-nature-of-happiness-part-7-end/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:04:59 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/10/02/the-elusive-nature-of-happiness-part-7-end/

So what can you do to maximize happiness and minimize the opposite?

Some things seem like common sense (not revolutionary):

...the revolutionary idea that true happiness lies in building on our strengths, not rooting out our flaws. Liz Seymour

If I'm going through hard times, I try not to beat myself up over it. That just gives me two things to handle: the problem and my reaction to it. The problem is bad enough without feeling badly over how I might or might not think about it.

This analogy came to me: We use a hammer to pound something into the wall, not to beat ourselves over the head with it, which would only make us black and blue and not yield the results we'd like.

If we fault ourselves for the flaws we all have, we aren't using the hammer on the problem, but on ourselves. Ouch!

Martin Seligman's website authentichappiness.org is an interesting place to visit.

Here's some easy things you can do to increase your happiness, from the article by Liz Seymour:

1. Write a letter of gratitude to someone from your past who has been particularly kind to you, but who you've never properly thanked, and hand deliver it, if possible.
2. Every morning for a week, write down 3 good things that happened and explain what brought them about. [Make it a habit to do it at least in your thinking.]
3. Take the signature strengths questionnaire on the above site, then use one of your top 5 strengths in a different way every day for a week.

Sometimes I think these ideas are contrived, in the sense that if you have to consciously think about doing them, then they may be just on your to-do list, but not internalized enough to be anything but something else to stress over. So take the ideas and make them your own in a way that is a help, not a hindrance to making your days easier. Make it a habit to use your strengths every day, then to recognize that you have, don't beat yourself up for the things you are still unable to do or accomplish. There is another day and plenty of other opportunities. There is value in just being you.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-10-02 09:04:29.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/the-elusive-nature-of-happiness-part-7-end/feed/ 0 There’s never a dull moment with kids around… http://savvythinker.com/theres-never-a-dull-moment-with-kids-around/ http://savvythinker.com/theres-never-a-dull-moment-with-kids-around/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:35:19 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/03/20/theres-never-a-dull-moment-with-kids-around/

Raising a family is a meditation. Joseph Campbell

I could have used a few meditations yesterday, LOL.

My kids got into the car after school continuing the negativity that started in the car loop. It only takes us 5 minutes to get home, but it was clear to me that home we must go, not on any errands, even fun ones.

This is unusual for them now ... a combination of being too tired (the time change and college girl being home, hence more late nights) and being hungry (always) ...and little one needed a lot of love before she got out of the car. (I say one or all of these three things are behind most melt downs.) (So if you can feed them quick and love them before they need it, you can head some of this off at the pass.)

'course we talked about it...and this morning I suggested that perhaps I'd have to alternate who I drove home or they could both walk (and I'd pick them up somewhere along the route)...

When one of our (adopted) girls was little, she would whine before we hit the end of the driveway. Occasionally she does this now. Partly she couldn't stand being confined in a car seat. Partly, it bothered her on visceral levels...so we simply didn't do a whole lot that required driving. Funnily, she did really well on long trips. She'd settle in and be a regular little traveler.

But don't ask about flying. After the last flight I took her on, I promised her I'd never take her on a plane again. She'd have to be grown and take me. (She'd probably be OK now.)

I think as parents we need to be one step ahead of our kids, if possible. And one way to do this is to be in constant meditation/prayer.

Of course, that kind of drowns out the sounds from the back seat too.

Well, this is humorous, but it is also serious. I'm not sure you can ever be truly prepared. That's where the meditation comes in.

What tactics work for you? (I sometimes had one or both girls walk home from our corner because I tell them they aren't allowed to ride in my car if they are having major bickering.)

Karin

Originally posted 2007-03-20 07:16:06.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/theres-never-a-dull-moment-with-kids-around/feed/ 0 Seeing the present moment as a sacrament http://savvythinker.com/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/ http://savvythinker.com/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:41:22 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/09/06/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/

Maybe, I put blinkers on, but I can't remember any miserable times in my life. I see the present moment as a sacrament. It's all about sacrament -- eating, conversing, being with friends, telling a good joke and making people laugh. Sister Immaculata Knox

Seeing the human and divine coincidence in the particular, individual, mundane, even normal moments of our lives is a way of recognizing and appreciating the sacred in our days. Maybe if we connect the dots of these moments it is a help when we are going through rough waters.

Because you will forget your misery and remember it as waters that pass away [water under the bridge.] KJV Job 11:16 and commentary on NKJV

It is certainly something to hold onto and claim when things are tough. And when they are easy, it multiples the good in it to recognize it and to see God as the source of it.

Sometimes we go in the strength of our reserves. It's a truism then that we better have some. Every time we see the present moment as a sacrament, I think we are adding to our reserves, then we have something to draw upon when needed. Other things that build reserves are getting enough rest; taking care of ourselves, not putting ourselves last; making sure we eat at regular times; being with those we love and who love us; laughter; growing spiritually; a little inspiration; reading a good book; listening to a mentor...

One pathway to hope is to choose your memories very carefully....put a frame around them. So many hopeful things happen day in and day out, but we lose them if we don't stop for a moment, think about them, and consciously frame them. Arthur P Ciaramicoli

How do you build your reserves? Make it a priority.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-09-06 15:31:01.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/seeing-the-present-moment-as-a-sacrament/feed/ 0