I am a child of the nineties. I grew up during the
“grunge” era and have plenty of plaid shirts and baggy shorts to prove
it. I am now 29 with a stable career, a loving girlfriend, and a
handful of people that I would consider close friends. I am happy.
More than that, I have a deeper joy that cannot be attributed to any
single thing. So what’s the difference between happiness and joy? And
how does one attain either? What brings me happiness and what fills me
with joy? Ask ten people and you’ll get ten different answers. My
answer quotes one of my favorite bands from the nineties, Our Lady
Peace. “Happiness… is not a fish that you can catch.”
Daily Thankfulness Journal
It's so easy take things in life for granted. I am definitely guilty of this. That's why I'm starting a Thankfulness journal. Basically each day you write down five things you are grateful for, no matter how big or small. It is also a great way to improve your mood.
What I'm Grateful For:
- For My Family
- For My Pets
- For Having a House to Live In
- For Having a Job
- For The Rain Last Night
The Most Adorable Car I Have Ever Seen.
The Best Dinner I Ever Cooked
Guest Article Written By Wendy
The best dinner I ever cooked for myself was a delicious summer supper of Greek food. I researched the perfect recipes, bought the items, cooked everything myself and truly enjoyed every minute I spent eating the meal with my best friend and my boyfriend.
Make Time for a Daily Moment of Happiness
In today's busy world of appointments, errands, responsibilities, work, parenting and more, it's often the most basic of needs that is overlooked—happiness. Happiness is something innate in all of us, but it is nurtured by spending time doing the things that bring you joy. How do you nurture happiness? You make time for it. You chase it. You choose it. You embrace it.
Seeing my Dad Walk
Sent in By Animal flip flops.
One month on and I've moved back to be with my Dad as he works hard to recover. We went for a walk on the cliff tops overlooking the sea this morning. He walked further than usual and was smiling all the way. That to be was happiness right there. Juxtaposed against the fear and dread of only one month ago he's already come a heck of a way.
Changing the world, one person at a time
This information is from the about page on http://www.Max-Opp.com.
Changing the world, one-person-at-a-time with my writing makes me happy.
I know that I will never be a politician who influences the fate of the population of an entire country. I accept that I will never be a business magnate that influences the global population. But, I also know that every single day, in a very small way, my writing improves the life of children and adults.
It makes me happy when I get a letter from a parent telling me that her child has read The Monster on Top of the Bed (http://www.Monbed.com) and now falls asleep easily at night. It delights me when a child tells me that my book taught them that friendship banishes fear.
My writing gives allows children and adults to find peace in their hearts
Here is why that is one my goals:
LAO-TSE (a.k.a. Laozi, Laotze and Lao Tzu, Born 604 B.C.), the founder of Taoism, wrote this poem.
Peace In the Heart
By Lao Tzu
If there is to be peace in the world,
there must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
there must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
there must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
there must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
there must be peace in the heart.
Finding Happiness In Books. There. I Said It.
Books make me extremely happy. There. I said it. The smell of the pages, obsessing over the cover, reading about the author, and completely throwing myself into the story makes me happy. Reading is like finding a new friend. Your friends are within the covers, and once you discover their personalities, their interests, and their story, you are touched and you take away something new about yourself.
I have a small obsession with keeping books, and I mean lots of books. There. I’ve said it. They sit on my book shelf, many read and many, I confess, not read yet. I can’t seem to get rid of my favorite reads. I love sifting through the pages, reminiscing on the plot. You see, they bring back memories of what age I was when I read the novel. Suddenly, like a rush, I am outside sitting on the grass, near my house, with my book. I’m sitting by the pool or I’m chasing after my first pet bunny Patchy while trying to remember what page I was on.
I wish I could transfer myself into the pages and live in the story of the book sometimes. There. I said it. Why not? I would love to exist in a futuristic world, a mermaid’s den, a grassy hill, live in Ireland for the summer, or even live happily ever after. The good news is that when I am reading my enticing read, I can temporarily live in my dream land. I choose what each character looks like, wears, and I can choose to ignore the author’s descriptions of their physical attributes. It’s all in my imagination and I can live in my fairy tale land…
After reading The Hunger Games trilogy I felt a void. That’s how you know whether something truly touched you and whether you connected with the characters or not. Unlike Twilight, in my opinion, I feel that this character in The Hunger Games is a strong leader and a good book role model for our youth. She doesn’t become obsessed with a vampire while losing her identity, but instead she finds her own identity while striving to make a difference in her world and change it for the better. Now I’ve found a new book to temporarily feed my void: the book Matched by Ally Condle. Similar to The Hunger Games, this book takes you to the future and begs the question what would we do without free will and choices?
I wish I could be reading right now. Every day. All day. There. I said it. Reading makes me extremely happy. I hope it makes you happy too. If it doesn’t – go and find a book that will take you to another world and back!
A Bit of Happy from Cardiff
Although I wasn't born in Wales, my adopted home of Cardiff is by far my favorite city in the world. It's big enough that interesting things happen here, but not so big it's unknowable or impersonal. Being from a hot, dry, dusty farm in Australia, the lush, rainy greenness of the Welsh countryside always feels like a tremendous luxury.
I love Cardiff's neatly laid out parks and gardens, the masses of daffodils in early spring, and the two rivers I live between- the Taff and the Ely. Although English is Cardiff's primary language, it's one of the last cities in the world where it's possible to hear a living Celtic language spoken and history is valued and preserved here. There is a castle in the city center and two or three more within 10 miles, mountains to the north and salt water to the south. In short, it's a beautiful city.
And of course, it's a city full of people. I met my wonderful partner here and made a home with him, and our weekends and evenings are filled up by good friends.
Up in the loft of the old Victorian terrace I live in, there is a skylight set low down on one of the sloping roof sections. It opens up, and you can lean out the window and stick your head out. Leaning on the windowsill gives you a perfect view of quiet, urban Cardiff- my neighbors' gardens, the chimney stacks and slate roofs, and the bigger buildings of the city in the distance.
In the evenings, the city lights are easily visible, and each window in my view is a curtained square of light. On special occasions there are fireworks in Bute Park half a mile away, and they're always perfectly framed by the window in the roof.
To a casual observer it's not an amazing view but without fail, taking a couple of minutes to enjoy the view from the open loft window makes me happy. Winter or summer, day or night, a moment or two spent looking out over the city I love reminds me that there is nowhere else in the world I'd rather be.
Jess Spate runs a small SEO consultancy from Cardiff, South Wales.
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