Tag Archives: Happiness

In the effort to define our lives and figure out what will make us happy, we as humans often walk many paths on our way …

Anyone who has struggled with mental illness knows it's not easy. It can also be very difficult to talk about because of the stigma and shaming that can often come with it. Most people don't understand what can happen or how their loved ones really feel. That is unless they have experienced it themselves. This is one reason why so many try to hide their affliction and even completely turn away from everyone they love. Obviously, that is not the best course of action for relief and true help. Here are 4 important actions when mental illness strikes.

When it comes to love relationships, change can be terrifying. How do you know you are making the right choices with the right person? What if things don't work out? Unfortunately, you can't ever 100% know the answers until you take the step you are contemplating. That said, there are some things you can do to create relationship fulfillment at every stage.

A nice smile is consistently voted as one of the most attractive features to have by both genders. A natural, bright smile signifies beauty, health, and youth. Getting and keeping that kind of smile takes some work and regular care. Here are some of the reasons why you should take care of your smile today!

I am not here to judge or decide whether anyone drinks too much. But what I do want to do is to bring a reminder …

One thing we can likely all relate to is that our beliefs about what is possible (our dreams) get stuck sometimes. What do they get stuck in or on? Well, my beliefs about myself and my potential have been, at times, stuck in the worst quicksand-ish, mucky mud, stench-filled mind traps you could ever imagine. These prison-like places have kept me from dreaming big at times. How about you? This place I've described, though only a fictional scene to paint a picture, can be just as dangerous to your future as if you were actually waist deep in a bog. Our minds have the capacity to make things real...all things, serving and non-serving. That said, Don't you think if you expanded your mind a little where your dreams are concerned, you just might see some amazing things happen for real? I challenge you. I challenge me.

What I mean is.... there are MANY things in life that we look at. We have looked at them so much, it becomes second nature to ignore them. For instance: The clouds... We know they are there most days so we do not take in the different shapes that could be talking to us. A dragon, an angel, a dog chasing a mouse. Yes, you read it correctly. A dog. Clouds don't care! Then you have the vast array of stars you may have glanced at a few weeks or months ago, but with all your business, you have been looking forward and not very often up. I looked up last night and found thousands and thousands of diamonds crying out for attention! I just stared in wonder at the beauty of them all. Big dipper, little dipper. Orion's belt. The North Star. We looked for them as kids. Have you looked at how big the moon is? With our naked eye, so many things are seen but not admired even though we may have admired them a lot.

As I sat out on my deck this morning, listening to the birds tweet and the breeze flow through my maple tree, I realized how perfect that moment was. I even felt distracted and annoyed by allowing my mind to think about writing this post. The moment was profound in the sense it gave me so much clarity about what it means to live in the now or present. I've been so caught up in trying to analyze the past and plan for the future that I literally have not lived my life in the moments that pass me like a speeding trucker on the highway. The good news is that I really know how to stop the cycle I've lived for so long and I want to share it with you.

I have been thinking about feelings. There are a myriad of feelings we can experience; they can be front and centre, off to the side, hiding in your peripheral vision or nicely bound somewhere down in that back cabin of your mind, secured with a large padlock. We can be engulfed to the point of drowning, we can have feelings borrowed from someone else, feelings dictated by our families and friends or feelings that we think we should be having; whatever the situation or timing in our lives.

I sat on the couch the other night, beside me was the constant pile of books to indulge in, but I didn’t think I was in the mood for reading. The TV was on, though nothing much was on it, and I had my staple cup of green tea. Deciding to have a squiz at one of the books anyway, I flicked a few pages, came across something I thought to be interesting and off I went.

Each of our lives start as blank canvas. You get to add the colors with the strokes of your brush through your actions and attitudes toward the things you do, feel and accomplish. Here is the way I decide which colors are going on my canvas: Anything positive, like joy, love, mercy, grace, hope, giving, and helping others are my pastels and bright colors. Anger and bitterness, hate, selfishness, and deceit are the dark, foreboding colors that don't allow for a beautiful portrait.

I had an epiphany the other day, and I have been unable to shake it, so I thought I might share it with you.

I have this screen saver on my computer that displays various color ribbons flying about. The first time it appeared I was ecstatic! You see, for years I've visualized very similar colorful ribbons whenever I prayed, meditated, or visualized something I wanted to manifest into my life. The ribbons represent to me all of my emotions, compassion, healing, wishes, and dreams going out into the universe to gather and execute all that needs to happen to make my desires come to pass.

You know that horrible feeling you get when your car slides into a muddy ditch or snow mound? Desperate. Helpless. Stuck. This is something that usually happens to everyone...at least once in their life. It usually takes a little help to get unstuck. Well, the muddy or icy hell hole you drove into is really just a metaphor for what could be happening in your life. Women are especially vulnerable to the "ditches" and "snow mounds" that seem to pull us in from time-to-time. Why does this life-hindering thing happen? Though vehicular mishaps usually just sort of happen, life traps grip us as a result of our own thoughts, beliefs, and actions.

Do you ever sit in a inoperable slump, waiting for your foul mood to pass, or for something good to happen to change things? I have. And, while in a state of self-pity and emotional compromise, my creativity has been stifled. Yes, nil, zip, zilch...it was in those times when I tended to focus on what I didn't want, instead of what I did. It was like a steel trap, in the sense that I struggled to escape. Well, at least for those moments.