Tag: Humor

COMING ATTRACTIONS…

Just an update on this fine blog here. Recently I decided to see if I could fly by falling off a ladder. The experiment was a terrible failure. I did receive some great parting gifts for my efforts which included a dislocated shoulder, torn ligaments in said shoulder and bruised ribs. I also received some very valuable lessons along the way. There are a lot of things I do on a daily basis I took for granted. Even taking a shower has been quite an adventure. I have also learned the art of patience. What used to take me 5 minutes can now take all day. In addition I have learned to be more comfortable asking people for help and receiving it graciously. Still one of the greatest gifts I have received is one of perspective. I was walking a small ways to a park down the street from my house just to get some fresh air. As I was doing so I was noting with a great deal of humor all of the new challenges this condition brought. Then I saw a gentleman in a wheel chair making his way down the trail in the park. His condition was not temporary and truly he had to make adjustments and develop patience that will last a lifetime. I knew my state was not all that bad, but I am not a patient healer, but this made me thankful for the fact my condition will improve. It also made me think how much worse my fall could’ve been. So it was a good lesson in that no matter how bad things seem to be going for you someone always has a bigger right to complain, and often does not. So appreciate what you have instead of morning what you lost.

Ok, all that being said, another thing that proves difficult is typing. So for the next week or so we are going to look back of the last year and revisit some of my favorite posts from this site. There may be additional commentary and for those of you who are new to this blog may share some things you might have missed. Before long we will be back with new and hopefully enlightening material for you! Until then, stay on the sunny side of the street even if it is just in your own mind!

BE STRONG MY FRIENDS…

A lot of talk in the ‘self-improvement’ field can tend to sound like there is something wrong with us.  Well bad news first, I don’t care who you are, we all have something wrong with us.  Funny thing is we can sometimes be the last to see it.  That is a subject for a different post.  Now for the good news, we all have many things that are great with us!  When people tell me they are going to try to “fix” this or that about themselves so they can start living a more fun and positive life.  My first thought is to commend them, but let’s face it thinking about our weaknesses and how to better them is really no fun at all.  Instead I have a better suggestion.  Focus on what we all do well.  Think about it, what do people compliment you on?  Are you a great cook?  Perhaps you could cook a meal for a friend and arrange to bring it over so they don’t have to worry about making dinner.  Perhaps you play a musical instrument?  You could plan to play at a senior center or veterans home?  Truth is we all have talents and things that we both enjoy and are good at.  Finding new ways to use our talents to bring joy to the world can quite often bring joy to our own lives!  Plus, as we develop our strengths it will give us the needed confidence to tackle those pesky little areas we need to work on.  Which may not look so important after all.  So find the light inside of you and share it with the world today!

CATCH A WAVE

Here is something I encourage everyone to try.  Smile and wave at 3 random strangers every day for a week.  If you are a bit nervous, you can try it while driving past them.  In fact, that may be one of the best times.  When we are on the road we see lots of hand gestures and not many are very positive.  So I say give them a smile and a wave.  Notice how it makes you feel as well. Who knows you just might make someones day. At the very worst, you’ll just leave them happy and a bit confused.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HAPPY

Since I started this site I have had a few people tell me, “I like what your doing, but I have no time to be happy. I have to pay the pills and make dinner for my kids. I can’t worry about making myself happy. I have to concentrate on what is important”.  That statement surpises me and yet it doesn’t.  A lot of the influences we hear tell us that to worry about ourselves and our own happiness is selfish.  We are taught to  ‘put others before ourselves’.  So why is being happy so important? Why should we spend so much time worrying about what makes us or others happy?  Well we could look at the scientific facts that have been mentioned in the media so often.  A positive attitude helps us live longer,  boost our immune system, heal from injury quicker.  Even if you have no interest in living a longer healthier life, although I am not sure who wouldn’t, happiness is still more important than most of us realize.  It reduces our stress levels and allows us better to face the challenges that always pop up at the most unexpected times.  How often we regret reacting to a mild irritation in a severe way just because our thoughts were already focused on some other trouble.  It leaves hurt feelings and turns another situation from bad to worse.  If we do our best to keep our thoughts focused on the joy that life offers us and adding more to our lives, then we shall see situations as they are.  For those of you that are familiar with the Law of attraction, which states like attracts like.  It should be apparent why being happy is so important.  If you are happy you attract more happiness into your life, if you are unhappy you will be more likely to be faced with negative situations again and again.

So if we are busy focused on our own happiness, what should we bother worrying about others happiness?  Well, recently that was shown to me in a dramatic and tragic way.  A wonderful co-worker of mine took his own life a few days ago.  When such an event happens we are always left with the same questions “how could I not know?”, and “What could I have done?”.  Truth is, most of the time there is nothing we could have done, and no way we would’ve known.  In this case by all accounts this gentleman was filled with good humor and had a real zest for life.  Which stresses the importance even more.  We never know what is going on in someones world.  So consider that when dealing with the cheery lady at the coffee shop, or the grumpy cashier at the grocery store.  We are never sure when someone may need that genuine compliment, or sign of gratitude from us.  How important can happiness be?  It can be a matter of life and death, for both ourselves and those we care about.