happiness
Happiness, defined; things that help you find happiness, keep it, and share it with others.
Singing Saved My Soul
When did you start singing? That's probably the question I hear the most and the answer is I've been singing my entire life, which isn't really that uncommon, because I think it is human nature to sing & dance & express ourselves, but singing saved my life in more ways than I can explain plainly.
By Celeste Barbier5 years ago in Motivation
Good Writing Is Beautiful
I edit other people’s writing through my LLC, Vision Heirs Publishing and Consulting. I love editing because I love well-written sentences ... well-written pieces of work. I will often describe a well-written page as beautiful because it literally is beautiful to me. On the other hand, when I am reading a book or article, my eye tends to go to any errors in the writing, and it disturbs me. A little strange? I guess. But maybe not for a person who genuinely loves good writing.
By Nedra Epps5 years ago in Motivation
The Craft of Creating.
There’s something about being creative that silences the world around me and brings me inner peace. I think it’s because being creative forces me to shut out all of the outside noise and just listen to my inner thoughts and ideas. I finally get to listen to ME. Our days are filled with so many “other” voices: bosses, friends, family, kids, media etc… When I finally get the chance to sit down with myself and create something, it's like hitting the road for the first day of vacation. There’s an open road in front of me, no responsibilities or obligations, just time and opportunities that seem endless. I’m finally in the driver's seat determining directions, and with every decision comes a new adventure, new scenery and new destinations. It doesn’t really matter what I’m creating, as long as I’m the one designing, fashioning, making or devising…it’s then the world is silent and my soul gets the hush it needs.
By Natalie Stover5 years ago in Motivation
A Choice
I had a choice to make in college: teach music or teach English. Both content areas resonated deep in my soul, made obvious by the elective classes I was taking at the time. My family has a musical background, from my grandmother who sang in a Latin band in Tampa named Conjunto Alegre in the 1940s. As a nurse’s aide, she also sang for her patients because she felt music would improve spirit as well as their health. My father played a Lowrey organ that accompanied his singing, and my mother listened to records as I was growing up. Both my brothers play guitar and sing in bands as well. I have played flute since 6th grade and still do; I discovered I can sing as well and play handbells. Music transcends cultures and time, and I enjoy music in different languages, genres, and time periods. My playlists vary widely depending on what I want to do – continue a sad streak, bring me out of one, build energy to accomplish a physical task, or just simply to relax. This includes Gregorian chants, jazz, country, urban pop, industrial, rock, liturgies in Latin, and neoclassical that show up on my lists. Music from the Mideast, Greece, Mexico, Cuba, Germany, Africa, Sweden – it’s an eclectic mix.
By Barb Dukeman5 years ago in Motivation
Disenchanted
I never imagined, as younger version of myself or as a teenager, that I'd be this unhappy in life. There are several substitutes for the word unhappy; some closer than others. Disgruntled, disenchanted, disengaged, displeased, they all mean roughly the same thing; a discontent for something, someone, someplace. For me, it didn't come along because I wanted to be unhappy, it came along because circumstances changed. Even though they've smoothed back out and have changed several times since, my attitude toward things has not.
By Cassie Willingham5 years ago in Motivation
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! or Not
When my cousin wanted me to read a book to her my mind immediately went to Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Dr. Seuss told many stories that I listened to as a child. I will admit that Oh, the Places You’ll Go! was never my favorite. At the age of six just like her I was sitting in a pretty pink chair begging for a story to be told. I had a strong feeling that I would be able to conjure the world. When the story talked of being the best I could relate. When it spoke of the truth about the way life would go, I plugged my ears and said no. When I wanted something, I made sure I got it. There was no waiting room I would wait in or competition that I could not win. That is why I closed the book and moved on without a second thought. There was a cat in an interesting hat that was more demanding of my attention at the time.
By Raeanne Spoom5 years ago in Motivation
My Peace
Over the years I have experimented in many activities to escape the brute reality of everyday life. What I have come to find is that anything that helps ease your mind and bring you back to a comfortable mental and physical stand point is great. Meditation was a very interesting and for a while it was something I would look forward to doing. Then it became harder and harder for me to gain the mental stimulation from meditation I had in the beginning. Needless to say meditation just is not something I do frequently anymore. I applaud the people who do. Next came the guitar. I may be wrong but I feel as if everyone at some point in their life sees someone else play a musical instrument and thinks "man it sure would be cool if I could do that". That thought sure crossed my mind. I found a cheap guitar off of Amazon and thought "eh lets give it a shot". Through countless hours on youtube learning chords and strumming patterns and moving in to songs that I like, I became bored with it. Now my amateur skill has turned into a party trick and not the mental get away I was searching for.
By John Wright5 years ago in Motivation
My Freedom in Nature
Working hard and keeping a clear path toward a routine is very exhausting, I move around every day making sure my daily chores are complete, yet the day ends and there are several things I have not finished. It is a typical morning, get up go to work at a job that is good but draining, come home and complete the house chores, spend the last hours of daylight between cleaning and cooking, then late at night go to bed and try to relax and unwind before passing out, but since my day was spent on everyone else’s needs my brain decides that now is the time to figure out if I am ever going to write that book or begin my career as a copywriter, and before I know it’s 2 in the morning; I am off tomorrow but must get up at 4:30 to drop off kids at work, then run errands and attempt to finally rearrange the kitchen to fit everything into a nice organized setting. There’s also laundry, and cleaning, again my mind is running off to find what makes me happy, it’s late, get some sleep I tell myself...
By Claudia Rodriguez5 years ago in Motivation
Identity Crisis
There's been many days where I've felt the furthest thing from human that I know. I wake up telling myself, today will be different or I'll feel better after this nap. That I'll feel "normal" once I "wake-up". I'm not even sure why I tell myself those things anymore. By the end of the day I'm back to the same spot as I was the day before. Trying to regain control of a life spiraling to no end. Wondering, where do I go from here. Nothing seems real, and yet nothing surprises me anymore. I've seen it all before, yet I know nothing. I feel like I'm stuck in time reliving the same sad song over and over again, just to hit a high note on a good day to keep me pushing one more week. One more mile, one more minute. Just one more day it seems.
By John Do'h5 years ago in Motivation
