My lovely lady is a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, so I thought I would use this quote. If memory serves, it was uttered to Alice by the Mad Hatter. The truth of this statement holds up in today’s world just as much as it does in the fairytale by Lewis Carroll.
We are all entirely bonkers in our own unique way. Me, you, the lady at the grocery store. It is those who are comfortable with their madness that truly make a difference in the world. Far too many of us hide our truth because we are afraid of the opinions of others. Do not let that stop you.
So many people think I am bonkers for trying to bring a little bit of light to a world that often seems consumed in darkness. They think my optimistic outlook is delusional. They may be right. However, I would much rather live in a world of joyous illusion than one of somber realism.
I encourage all of you to embrace that part of you that makes you unique. The part some may find entirely bonkers. I cannot say it enough, what the world needs more ofis people brave enough to live in their truth.So be a little bonkers, all the great ones are.
I think this is one of the great secrets to happiness. Today, let us all look for what we can love in our life. A good portion of people constantly lament many things about their lives. They have to go to work every day. They have aches and pains in their bodies. Their caris acting up again.
If we took a step back and changed our perspective, life may feel a lot different. What if we lost that job? We were unable to find work? Suddenly, that job we dread going to would be a dream come true. Those aches and pains are the wishes of someone who has become paralyzed. What if we did not have a car and had to take transportation everywhere?
I see this a lot with some couples. They constantly complain about each other. I think of all the people I know who have lost their spouse and would give anything to be able to have them back, even for a day.
Gratitude and appreciation can allow us to love the life we live. Next time you are tempted to complain about something or someone, ask yourself what you have to be grateful for. It might take imagining what life would be without that person or thing. We have so much in our life to love if only we chose to look at our life that way.
Forgiveness is a gift you truly give yourself. Most of the time, the person you are upset with could care less if you forgive them. Harboring anger only steals your peace. Knowing this, why do people put off forgiving others? I believe there are two reasons. Let us take a look at these one at a time.
First reason people don’t forgive others is that somehow they equate that with the other person ‘winning’. The opposite is actually true. If you let the person continue to keep you in a state of hurt and anger, then that would be closer to ‘winning’. In actuality, the only winning is living a peaceful and rewarding life. That can only be accomplished through forgiveness. If someone is still renting space in your head or your heart, evict them!
The second reason people withhold forgiveness, is they assume forgiveness means they would have to reconnect with that person. This is certainly not true. There are people who sadly can be in our hearts, but not our life. If there is someone who has done you so wrong you want them neither in your heart or your life, than youmust forgive them. By holding on to anger, or some feeling of hurt, you are maintaining a connection.
Saw these 2 items next to each other on the store shelves the other day. Thought it a rather dangerous proposition. If you weren’t careful, this certainly could make a bad situation even worse. Then, I was reminded of a very interesting fact that caused me to look at this in an entirely different light. It also gave me the idea for today’s post.
I posted this on social media and one of my friends commented “Life is all about balance.” This is so true. Sometimes life doesn’t seem to be moving at all, and sometimes it is going by too quickly. It never seems to be right in the middle. If so, at least not for long.
This is actually a good thing. It means there is always an opportunity to work on improving our lives just that little bit more. Life is a great adventure. Just light the tightrope walkers at the circus, we need to make little adjustments to stay upright and keep moving forward. Even if you happen to fall down into the net, you climb back up to the tightrope with a little more experience, and hopefully a little more balance.
Truly, one of the greatest feelings is knowing someone is happy because of you. I certainly do my best to keep the beautiful love of my life happy. Margie deserves all the wonderful things I can come up with just for putting up with this crazy author.
Yet, everywhere I go I do my best to make people happy. My day job, the coffee shop, my mechanic. When I succeed, it always gives my heart a jolt of joy. The more people I give joy to,the more joy fills my heart as well.
How about you? Who have you made happy today? Who could you make happy? Feel free to share your story in the comments below.
Mr. Lee has given us some great thoughts to ponder in his lifetime. This might be one of the best. When we are defeated, that means we have given up. We have waved the white flag. There are times that all of us have felt this way. You have a day, week, or even longer, were you seem to have one thing after another go wrong. I have been there. I think we all have. If you stop and think about it, as long as we are willing to persevere, we are never defeated. Yes, we may be down and out on our luck, but we are not defeated so long as we are willing to get back up and try again.
Next time you feel like a problem has knocked you to the ground, try to keep this thought in mind. It might not be a bad idea to print it out and hang in on the bathroom mirror. Especially when you are having one of those runs of bad luck. Then you can confidently say to yourself, “This problem has knocked me down, but it has not defeated me as long as I am still trying.” There is honor in not giving up. If nobody else tell you, we are proud of you and the community at Secret2anamazinglife is proud of you.
Next time you are feeling defeated, just remember this quote from our good friend Bruce. Stand up straight and say to yourself, “Even though I am feeling defeated, I will not be defeated until I stop trying.” Refuse to let life’s challenges get the best of you! You got this!
Today is Friday. We are arriving at the weekend. Everyone has put in a great amount of effort. We all deserve to do a little good for ourselves. How can we accomplish that? By doing good for others in our life. Why is this the best option? Far from giving you some fancy, new age or altruistic answer, let us look at this from a practical angle. There is a reason why doing good for others is the best way to improve our own lot in life. Let us take a look at those reasons now.
When we do good things for others, we give ourselves the good feelings knowing that we have made another’s life better. We also have made that person’s life better, which is certainly good. Here is the end result of doing this time and time again. When we spend our life helping others, each time we get a jolt of good feelings. Every time we help someone else, we add a little joy to their lives. When you do this, people will remember you and the kind acts you have done for them. Suddenly, you will find your life filled with people who have their hearts filled with love and respect for you because you have done good for them.
To recap, you will feel good yourself. You will make others feel good. You will find yourself surrounded by people who hold you in high esteem for being a good soul. All of this will be accomplished by one simple act of kindness. The more you do this, the more powerful it will become. In what ways will you do good for someone today?
We would love to learn more about all of our fans here at Secret2anamazinglife.com. We are followed by so many amazing souls in over 200 countries. We, of course, have many followers in the United States, but in every corner of the globe as well. From our thousands of followers in India and South Africa, to new comers like Gambia and Maldives. We want to know how you enjoy our site. When do you read it? What do you enjoy about it?
We also would love getting to know a little bit more about you. Where do you live? Why do you enjoy reading Secret2anamazinglife.com? Any other fun bits of information you would enjoy sharing with us. We wish to not only be a source of information, but a community as well. By getting to know those in the community, we can only improve on the quality of the content we bring to you. If you do enjoy the site you are reading, we would be honored if you would consider sharing it with your community. Whether that is telling your family and friends, printing it out and putting it up at the office like our friend in Lebanon does, or sharing the link on your social media. You will be part of a community looking to inspire and leave the world a better place than when we found it.
Please do the honor of sharing a little bit about who you are, where you are from and what you enjoy about this site. We would love to know when you enjoy reading Secret2anamazinglife.com. We would love to hear from all of you!
How many of us pursue these goals? The quest for perfection in any category is a fool’s endeavor. We should always pursue becoming the best version of ourselves. That doesn’t mean we will be perfect. In fact, when we make mistakes, that gives us the greatest opportunity to learn about life and about ourselves. Being able to set boundaries and say the occasional ‘no’ will keep us mentally and physically healthy to be able to bring our best when we do say ‘yes’.
When you are pursuing awards, think in terms of ones that speak of your character. How about the award for being a true friend? There should be an award for being a loving spouse. A helpful coworker is always appreciated as well. These are awards worth pursuing. At present, it is a shame that none of them exist either. Make sure whatever you are pursuing will lead to the best for you and for your life.
Here is an inspirational story that occurred to me when I was not expecting it. This is one of the perks of being an author and blog writer, you are subconsciously on the lookout for inspiration. Margie, my mother and I were on our way to the Milwaukee Public Museum for a special behind the scenes event. We were all pretty excited because the museum will be moving in a few years and you may not have an opportunity to see many of the things that were on display that night. The only downside to going there is driving and parking downtown. Luckily for us, at night there is an attached parking garage that is not to full in the evenings. This is where the inspiration happened.
It is ironic the inspiration of the evening came before we viewed any of the 4 million objects the museum has, including this cool whale over a staircase. When we were entering the parking garage, we were greeted by a friendly young man we will call Chad. This was kind of a small miracle in itself as the people at a parking garage barely recognize your existence, much less are friendly. After exchanging some banter, he even gave me a fist bump and raised the gate to let us in. I recall saying to Margie and my mom, “Hey, I just got a fist bump from the parking guy.” We all had an appreciative chuckle and enjoyed our night at the museum. I am sure this gents friendly greeting made it that much easier.
When we left, the parking garage was a lot busier as everyone was leaving the even at the same time. As we made our way up to the gate to leave the parking structure, guess who was there? My new friend Chad. We exchanged more pleasant banter and he even explained a little about the economics of the parking garage. He was so friendly, I gave him a card for this website as I felt he would really appreciate it. Although all of this was enjoyable, what he said next is what inspired me to write this post. “Thanks, I have an issue with my brain and they tell me I only have a year and a half to live.” I did my best not to be too shocked by this revelation, but I was thrown for a loop.
Here are the points I walked away from this experience with. One, I was extremely grateful that I was motivated to exchange some pleasant back and forth with this young man. Many times we just go about our business and fail to appreciate the human element involved in it. Second, it amazed me how upbeat and friendly this gentleman was. He only had a little over a year of life left and was working in the cold in a parking garage, yet he made our night so much better through his friendly demeanor. He could have been like every other parking attendant I have dealt with, and barely acknowledged me at all. Instead, this young man shared some friendly conversation, helpful information and a great smile. We are going back in a couple of weeks for another event. I hope to see my friend Chad again.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 