happiness
Happiness, defined; things that help you find happiness, keep it, and share it with others.
Intentionally Random
I still marvel at the wisdom of my mother who trained my siblings and me in the simple life lessons of love, respect, serving others, and fairness. She craftily doled out one of those lessons as my brothers and I stood in the kitchen waiting for a special treat. She removed a freshly baked pan of brownies from the oven and with excitement, we each prepared to perform the task that had been assigned to us. My oldest brother, who was 10 at the time, was assigned the task of “cutter.” My job was to get the serving dishes, my younger brother was tasked with counting out four napkins, and my baby brother had what seemed to be an impossible task for him – sit down and be still. When the brownies were cool enough to handle, my mother put one big piece of brownie on a plate and left us to perform our assigned duties. As the cutter, it was my brother’s task to cut the brownie into four pieces and serve each of us. He sliced three small pieces and put the biggest piece on his plate. Hearing the uproar of injustice that ensued, my mother returned to the kitchen with a life lesson that stuck with me. Placing a new chunk of the still warm brownie on another plate she gave specific instructions to my brother as he prepared, once again, to cut and serve.
By Charmaine Roots Castillo5 years ago in Motivation
The Greyter Good
Kermit the Frog coined the phrase, “It ain’t easy being green.” I hear you, Kermit. It ain’t easy being grey. In a society designed to pick sides (in a society designed to make you out to be “weak,” “fleeting,” or a “fairweather fan” if you dare to see the both/and), what others deem good can appear relative.
By Katie Dorn5 years ago in Motivation
To Hell with Enough
I was mud wrestling with an article I hoped to post. No doubt about it: I was stuck. I had conveyed what I wanted to say, the mechanics were neatly edited, the spelling passed the damn-autocorrect-homonym test. I scrolled down to my last paragraph, hoping that it was enough of a coda – enough of a message – enough of something/anything that would be good enough . . . all so I could click the “Submit” button and bid farewell to that unruly noodle of a thought wriggling inside my writing brain.
By Kennedy Farr5 years ago in Motivation
Fresh Start:
Fresh makes me think of the ripe, deep pink, watermelon that I just cut into on a summer day as the juices drip off the blade of my knife creating a sticky coating on my countertop. Fresh is what I think about when the spring air has awoken from hibernation to overcome the beast and the beauty of the winter. Fresh, tells a story of new, unbothered, and untainted. With every new year, I beg for a fresh start. A way of waking up one day to place my feet firmly on the floor and like a snake, shed the skin I am in. I imagine that every particulate of dead and dry skin holds a thousand emotions, memories and bits of all that is misunderstood about me. I hope that a fresh start will mean that, when I open my eyes to face the morning, my brain will no longer be “different,” and therefore easier to understand.
By Caralee Core5 years ago in Motivation
To My Dearest
I know you yearn for a fresh start. But I also know you want to scrap everything and begin again when something doesn’t go your way. You fight so hard and so long on projects. Then it feels like you snap and all you want to do is to disappear. And sometimes, you do.
By Maggie Elizabeth 5 years ago in Motivation
Random Acts of Kindness
I was driving down the street to make my weekly grocery run contemplating how I'm going to make $160 dollars in food stamps last me all month. I had recently lost my job because my employer demanded that I work while sick and contagious. This was at a restaurant so I declined. I was trying to make ends meet until I found another job and decided I would apply for food stamps, which I never thought I would have to do. As I'm walking up to the door of the store a lady approaches me and asked if I could spare any change. I started digging to see if I had any and managed to find 2 quarters. She said "please anything, I've have been out here all day". At that point I looked at her and could see the pain and truth in her eyes. I truly believe other people walked by and ignored because she wasn't dressed to well, and her hair was a mess. She said "I have been out here all day and only managed to come up with 5 dollars. I have 7 kids at home that I need to feed." After hearing this my problems seemed so minor. I was trying to figure out how to just keep myself feed, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like to try and keep 7 kids plus myself feed. I remembered I had 7 dollars in cash on me so I decided to give her that. I explained that was all I had an I wished I could give her more. She thanked me and we parted ways. By the third week of my budget I had finally found a job but I wouldn't get my first check for another 2 weeks. I had my aunt, my roommate and her two kids with me on my next trip to the store. We split ways and proceeded to shop. We all met back up and went to go check out together. This is about 10 o'clock at night and there is only one lane open to check out on the far right of the store. We turn the corner and our favorite cashier is working. Who without fault manages to mess something up every single time we use her register. My aunt and roommate check out first and get through the line no problem. I'm thinking to myself this might be a good night. The cashier begins to check me out and I told her I would be paying with food stamps and whatever is left I would use debit card. She said ok and asked me how much was left on the card. I told her 50. So the nice lady begins to enter the amount and tells me the balance. Now I'm standing there questioning what I got as she tells me the balance. I told her I would not have enough and that I would have to put some things back. She took a deep breathe and we both looked back at the line of about 5 more people. My roommates kids are crying and ready to go. I start going through the things to put back as the cashier is waiting for the manager to come to help her with a void. At this point I'm embarrassed, not only am I paying with food stamps but now I cant afford everything to last me two weeks. It had been a good amount of time and the lady's behind me started to get impatient. One of them spoke up and said "I'm in a hurry and have to go, can you just add her balance to mine and I will pay for it." I apologized for holding the line and she said "no worries", paid and left. The manager finally arrived at this point and after explaining what just happened figured out that the cashier had typed in only .50 cents. This was a 70 dollar purchase. Now I would be able to make it for the next 2 weeks. Do good and good will follow.
By Michelle McNabb5 years ago in Motivation
It Pays to do the Right Thing
A thick fog cascades over the distance one night in Chicago. The streets are vibrant with activity despite the unwelcoming fog. Lucas a divorced ex-cop now cab driver had been driving diligently all day and night for the past two weeks. Due to his recent divorce and being fired by the police department for reporting his partner for taking bribes from criminals he had been working overtime to get caught up on bills. He had driven at least fifty different people this day alone and was beginning to feel exhausted. He knew he was a little short of his goal today but he didn’t want to risk getting in a car accident from being too tired so he decided he should head home. Just as he was about to turn off his taxi light he heard a knock on his window.
By Moses Moseley5 years ago in Motivation
We Stayed Alive, More than Staying Strong.
Life gives us a lot of options. For some of us it does not give us that many options even if it seems so. Being an international student in the US has its ups and downs, I use this lingo in every sense of the word. There are ups when you find friends or acquaintances of like minds, it feels goods. People from similar cultures and those who understand what you are going through can be a breath of fresh air, literally. I had come here in 2016 to study for a master’s degree, I ended studying for 2. Funny how that sounds, it is not funny because I ended up in debt and not with my dream job. Funny but extremely sad. As 2020 March came along, the pandemic had other plans for us international students, I never thought that such an unexpected situation would affect the world the way it did. Being someone from the persevering culture, I persevered while encouraging others like me to keep the faith and hope for some good news. Most of us were stranded, from not knowing how to take the next step to being stuck in one place unable to move, and when I mean stuck, I mean stuck. No travelling, no work, no money, no shelter, no food, etc. most of all, no human connection because we could not even go home to family.
By Chika5 years ago in Motivation
Found my peace
I wake up again and my head still aches from the night before. My body is just as tired. ’It's a new day’, my neighbour yells to the whole neighbour. She was so excited. I yearned to have the joy and happiness she felt. I suddenly got out of my bed and looked across the window to see all the empty streets. Everywhere was filled with silence apart from my head. I was never peaceful and always had thoughts rooming around in my head. I went and showered and thought a cool shower could wash away the sadness but it only made it worse. I started crying in the shower and my tears washed my whole body. My tears could have filled a whole ocean and more, they felt so deep and never ending. Suddenly I stopped crying and started talking to the inner voice in me. She lived in my mind and knew all my fears and tears. I couldn't even hide my secrets from her. I talked to her until I realized it was toxic for me to be around her because she always made me hate myself. As I got dressed, she spoke again and mentioned how that cloth wouldn’t look good on me and when I ate, she controlled how much I ate.
By im_selu5 years ago in Motivation
