I’ve not encountered one person who does not have problems. It’s a good reason to cut each other some slack and to let the small issues slide. Some of the people we will meet today have the strength to deal with their problems, others are overwhelmed by the smallest of challenges. A word of encouragement and prayer go a long way in making someone’s day a lot better. The more we can make life easier for each other, the brighter the day will be for all of us..
Happiness
It’s Time to Take a Time Out
Your good, you can juggle seven or eight things at a time. You’re cruising along doing 80 MPH (129 Km/h). Then somebody tosses a couple more things at you and you’re getting really stressed trying to keep all of the things your juggling from falling. TIME OUT. This is what they take in many professional sports when the tide suddenly turns against the team. They take a time out break to settle things down and get back tp doing what they were doing well. It’s the same thing in every day life. When it starts going crazy, take a TIME OUT, go for a five minute walk, deep breathe, jump in the shower. Do something that interrupts the craziness that entered your life. When you feel yourself settling down, examine all the things that you believe have to be done. Prioritize them. What’s the worse thing that can happen if you don’t do something? Above all cut yourself some slack, you don’t have to be a bulletproof adventure hero. Do what you can do and be at peace.
Want to Feel Happier?
I read an online article yesterday that was headlined, The Most Important Question To Ask Yourself if You Want to be Happy.” I wanted to know what that question was. I clicked on the link and it took me to the article. I was not interested in all the filler before the author got to the question, so I scanned the article looking for the question that was going to make me happier. I scrolled over paragraphs and past ads until I found it about half way through the article. The question the author suggested we ask ourselves before we begin an endeavor is, “Will this make me happy?” That’s simple enough. At first I thought it was simplistic, the more I thought about it, I realized it was profound. Today, for example, I’m off to the DMV to renew my license. My appointment is mid morning. I was thinking I could hustle to the gym, get my workout in and then slide into the DMV with at least 15 minutes to spare. I asked myself the following question, “Will getting your workout in make you happier?” My answer was, “It will stress me out.” I’ll give my body a day off today.” I am already feeling more relaxed. Try asking yourself the question or a variation of it, it may help you to feel happier or less stressed.
Changing of The Seasons ~ A Poem by Shel Silverstein
Changing of the Seasons
Shel Silverstein
Oh the changing of the seasons it’s a pretty thing to see
And though I find this balmy weather pleasin’
There’s the wind come from tomorrow and I hear it callin’ me
And I’m bound for the changing of the seasons
Oh it’s blowin’ in Chicago and it’s snowin’ up in Maine
And the Islands to the south are warm and sunny
And I’ve got to feel the earth shake and I gotta feel the rain
And I’ve got to know a taste of more than honey
So don’t ask me where I’m goin’ or how long I’m gonna be away
Don’t make me give you all the hollow reasons
I’ll think of you like summer and I might be back some day
When my heart miss the changing of the seasons
Oh it’s blowin’ in Chicago…
Oh it’s nothing that you said and it ain’t nothing that you done
And I wish I could explain you why I’m leavin’
But there’s some men need the winter and there’s some men need the sun
And there’s some men need the changing of the seasons
Yeah it’s blowin’ in Chicago…
Source: All Poetry
It’s Going to be a Great Day
It’s going to be a great day. I can feel it. There’s a great day vibe in the air. I’m going to grab hold of it and not let go. I’m not sure where it will take me, but I’m ready for an adventure. Who knows who I’ll meet today or what surprises are in store for me. Where will your day take you? Are you ready for the adventure? No need to pack anything. Take a happy heart, smile, and a mind open to all the possibilities that come your way. It is going to be a great day.
What Excites You Today?
What are you excited about today? What good news are you anticipating. If we race through life we miss out on so many things that could pump up our zest for living. Here’s an example, spring (la primavera in San Antonio) is busting out all around me. Red bud trees are in bloom. Tulips are popping up. The migratory birds have returned. And, the wild flowers will be showing up any day now. That’s enough to get your blood moving. What about coming home for work and seeing the people who love you. That’s a powerful anticipator. Poet Amy Lowell said it well in the first verse to her poem, Anticipation:
I have been temperate always,
But I am like to be very drunk
With your coming.
C’mon, let’s crank it up a bit and get excited about life.
Faith ~ A Poem by Nikola Vaptsarov
Faith
Nikola Vaptsarov
Here am I-breathing,
Working,
Living
And Writing my poetry
(My best to it giving).
Life and I glower
Across at each other,
and with it I struggle
with all my power
Life and I quarell,
But don’t draw the moral
That I despise it.
No, just the opposite!
Though I should perish,
Life with its brutal
Claws of steel
Still I would cherish,
Still I would cherish!
Suppose round my neck they tie fast
The rope
And they ask:
“Would you like one more hour to live?”
I would instantly cry:
“Untie!
Untie!
Come, quickly untie
The rope, you devils!”
For Life there is nothing
would not dare.
I would fly
A prototype plane in the sky,
I’d climbe in a roaring
Rocket, exploring
Alone
In space
Distant
Planets.
Still would I feel
A joyous thrill
Gazing
Up
At the blue sky.
Still would I feel
A joyous thrill
To be alive,
To go on living.
But look, suppose
You took-how much?-
A single grain
From this my faith,
Then would I rage,
I would rage from pain
Like a panther
Pierced to the heart.
For what of me
Would there remain?
After the teft
I’d be distraught.
To put it plainly
And more directly-
aftre the teft
I would be naught.
Maybe you wish
You could erase
My faith
In happy days,
My faith
That tomorrow
Life will be finer,
Life will be wiser?
Pray, how will you smash it?
With bullets?
No! That is useless!
Stop! It is not worth it!
My faith has strong armour
In my sturdy breast,
And bullets able to shatter
My faith
Do not exist,
Do not exist!
Healthy Tips: A Healthy Personality Finds Meaning in Life
Purpose & Meaning in Life. A healthy personality has a sense of direction, values, and goals that contribute to personal fulfillment. He/she finds meaning in daily experiences, even in difficult times. Example: A janitor who sees their job as more than a paycheck, finding joy in keeping a building clean for those who enter its space..
Daffodils ~ A Poem by William Wordsworth
Daffodils
William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Light ~ A Poem by Tagore
Light
Tagore
Light, my light, the world-filling light,
the eye-kissing light,
heart-sweetening light!
Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life;
the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love;
the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth.
The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light.
Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light.
The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling,
and it scatters gems in profusion.
Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling,
and gladness without measure.
The heaven’s river has drowned its banks
and the flood of joy is abroad.
