Moving forward
Sometimes you need a little push
to go down the big slide.
-Cynthia Copeland Lewis
from “Really Important Stuff my Kids have Taught Me.”
I had a fantastic day today. I just felt happy - happier than usual - all day long. So this evening I was reflecting back on my day, wondering what was different. (Because, of course, I want to repeat the process and have more days of feeling great like this!)
I realized the difference was that I took action, first thing in the morning, and completed this major task that had been hanging over me for the last six or seven weeks. It was something I needed to do and had procrastinated about, because I knew it would be hard and take a few hours and I was worried that I might not do it right.
But I chunked it. I broke it down into pieces so it wouldn’t be so threatening. I did part of the task yesterday. Then I was amazed at how little time it took me to finish-off this morning. Voila - it was done!
Wheeeeee! So I put on some music and did a little dance. And spent the rest of the day very happy.
I should have pushed myself down that slide WEEKS ago.
Two books I want to recommend. First, “Really Important Stuff my Kids have Taught Me” by Cynthia Copeland Lewis. It’s a fat little book and lots of fun. It reminds us not to take life too seriously.
The second is “Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time” by Brian Tracy. I love this book, even if I don’t always follow the good advice if offers. But when I do, I am always happier for it. Brian, you are my hero!
Make a city
Here’s another fun web link: City Creator. It uses digital rubber stamps, sort of. As a kid I would have said this is “Neat-o”. (My kids tell me that’s no longer a word you can use if you want to be cool.)
When I doodle or play with programs like this - even for a short burst of time - it’s relaxing.
How to draw
Here’s a great site I just discovered. Joy gives free drawing lessons at http://www.joysikorski.com/.
Love deeply
To love deeply in one direction
makes us more loving
in all others.
- Madame Swetchine
Joyfulness
Joyfulness keeps the heart and face young.
A good laugh makes us better friends
with ourselves and everybody around us.
-Orison Swett Marden
Your home is joy
The law of life is clear and timeless;
You exist forever
and your home is joy.
- George Heliou
Conscious creation
Thoughts create your reality.
What did you create today?
- George Heliou
I used to let things bother me. Often. I’m not saying I don’t worry or feel annoyance anymore, but it used to be a daily occurrence. And I used to cling to my anger. I used to go over and over things in my mind - negative mind chatter. I’d have these imaginary conversations with the people who were thorns in my side, and I’d be putting forward my case for being right. Always trying to justify my actions, my thoughts, my feelings. Inside my head.
To what avail?
If I catch myself doing the negative mind chatter these days, I tell myself to snap out of it. “Snap out of it! This isn’t productive!”
If I have a grievance with someone that I can’t shake out of my own mind, I meet with them to discuss it. That is usually sufficient to clear the negativity away. True, I feel nervous leading up to the meeting. But when it is done and behind us, we can both move ahead. I feel positive and happy again. It is good to take action, rather than sit back and stew.
Go-Make-Art
This little picture is called a thumbnail. Stacey from Go-Make-Art asked to use some of the art posted here on my blog. She made these cute little squares out of it and pasted them around different pages in the Go-Make-Art site.
I had a look at the site for the first time yesterday - oh wow, is it ever wonderful! I can’t believe she linked my humble blog to her magnificent site, but there I am in the navigation bar: Happiness-Studio. And sprinkled around are these cool little thumbnails . . . and every once in awhile I open a page to reveal some snitchy-snatches of my own art - my babies!
It is like walking past a mirror and catching a glimpse of yourself out of the corner of your eye and thinking, “Oh! I recognize her!” and then realizing it is actually a mirror and that person is actually you.
Can you relate?
