happiness
Happiness, defined; things that help you find happiness, keep it, and share it with others.
The Many Reasons Why I Am Thankful
I AM THANKFUL FOR MY CHILDREN My children are the reasons why my life is worth living. They give me the strength that I need to push forward and make it through the day. I am thankful for the many kisses and hugs that they give and the many times that they tell me they love me. My children are my everything and if it weren't for them, I don't know where I would be. I am thankful that I've been blessed to be the mom of such wonderful children.
By Lanique Ruffin5 years ago in Motivation
Thankful Thoughts
This pandemic has, amongst the darkness provided a light; a break; a pause in the chaos. It has given us all a moment in time to think. How often do we really just stop to think? I have come to the conclusion that it is not as often as we would like to believe.
By Jess Averbeck5 years ago in Motivation
A blessing in disguise
I’m not sure if this year has gone for you like it has for so many I know. Covid hits, Kobe dies, everything goes on lockdown, jobs are lost, lives are lost, hope is lost. For a large part of the year it felt this way to me. After having my first child in late February, and immediately facing a disappearing partner, covid fears and restrictions, post-partum, and sleep deprivation, I was pretty sure I was headed into the book of revelations. This is where it ends. It literally could not get worse for me and mine, or so I thought.
By Krista Phillips5 years ago in Motivation
Why Do We Do It?
What job do you want to do when you grow up? How often were we asked that question throughout our childhood? From a young age, we were brought up and educated to believe that once you left you left secondary school, you would then progress to university, and then once you earned a degree, you would find a job. Life was always painted out to be perfect, mapped out beautifully that we would find the job of our dreams, we would buy our own house, we would get married, we would have a family, and we would live happily ever after. A few years into adulthood, we soon realize that life is nothing at all like how our parents and teachers hinted it would be. It's bad enough that we suffer through relationship break ups, and we seriously struggle to make a life for ourselves financially, in our early adulthood, but the worst part to it all is, the job we have is far from enjoyable and satisfying, as we were educated to believe it would be. So here we are, finding ourselves trudging off to this crappy job that we hate, five days of the week, with only the weekend left to enjoy. Then, as the years pass by, we do find that partner we end up marrying, before starting a family with them, and all of a sudden, the weekends we once enjoyed going out with our friends, becomes about sitting at home changing dirty nappies, listening to temper tantrums, and attending children's birthday parties. Don't get me wrong, raising a family is one of the greatest blessings in life, and spending time with them forms some of the most wonderful memories, but it's a far cry from the freedom we once had in our late teens, and early twenties, going out clubbing with our friends, and leaving the worries of the world behind us, to drown in the alcohol. It's certainly a change in lifestyle, but it's not the weekend that's our issue, as we still enjoy that time with our family, it's our life during the week that sucks!
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Thankful thoughts
As the year begins to wind down and the time rolls around where it is time for everyone to recall what they're thankful for, I thought I'd share with you everything that I am thankful for as well. Though there are many things that I have to be thankful for at this point in my life I'll only tell you the top three. Welcome to my thankful thoughts.
By Eliza Crawford5 years ago in Motivation
The Practice of Thankfulness
There’s something about home. There’s something about family. There’s something about reclining at a table, unbuttoning your jeans (or wearing a dress for that matter), slouching in your chair, and belly laughing with loved ones, all the while doubling over in pain, because your stomach and your heart are so full.
By Rachelle Hall5 years ago in Motivation
Happiness
I don’t think happiness should be a word that can be universally defined. Confined to the limits of a concept that a group of minds decided some time was their idea of joy. I don’t particularly enjoy writing about something I don’t fully understand but I can try. Happiness to me is understanding and acceptance. It is not dependent on circumstance or the presence of anything or a particular person. It is knowing that no matter how bad things seem they could always worsen, and not permitting this thought to burden or add to one’s disconcertion, but rather allowing the assertion of this knowledge to not make one nervous, but hopeful instead. I may not have a 5 course meal but I’m happy with bread. In my past happiness meant looking ahead. The dread that diurnally filled me eternally killed me from the inside out. When I was told I would amount to the head count of an empty room. That my poems were paramount to a bristleless broom. Useless. Happiness to me is avoiding the excuses that might enter my thinking. Fending off the urge that compels me to stop and not diverge into the never ending labyrinth and stroll amidst the hyacinths without the slightest inkling or clue of what to say or what to do. It is the ability to make into reality not the one I have meticulously planned but the one that is currently unfolding, that is present, that is now. Knowing it will not always be pleasant, but, rest assured, some way, somehow, without a doubt we will emerge the victors in this bout that we call life. Regardless of our pains, anguishes, sorrows, or our worries, griefs, and strife, we will rise from the black of the ashes of tragic mishappens in glorious fashion and shine brighter than ever before. Because when life crashes around us we do not seek to restore what we already had, we do not attempt to make good from the bad, we leave good in the past, and in peace may it rest, and from it’s broken pieces we form better and best. Happiness to me is the free spirit within that longs for the warmth of the sun and the chill of the breeze. For the bliss of the song that the rain sings as it falls through the leaves of the trees. For the gentle undulations you feel as our Earth Mother breathes beneath our feet. Happiness to me is driving hours on end and suspending all of life's trivial tasks and not looking back as you search for the perfect river to leap into allowing the energy of life to seep into your soul. Happiness to me is knowing that the lonely coyote never grows old, just more wise and more slow. Happiness to me is the ability to exude the energy of a rose. Head high and receptive to both sunlight and rain with thorns to guard their heart from unneeded pain. Kind and care free with the unique ability to bond with others through unusual ties. It is the uncommon capacity to always find a way to make others smile. Happiness to me is not giving up on your dreams. Allowing your talent and influence to better this world. Leaving your mark and making sure that you’re heard. Happiness to me is staying focused and driven, living intentionally so that potentially all of your goals come to fruition. Happiness to me is trust in intuition. The head and the heart may lie but the spirit sees through a different eye and can discern which paths on this adventure are worth the venture and time. Happiness to me is creativity and art. In this crazy world of ours it is our escape and our deliverance. No wonder then the word art is an antonym for ignorance. My happiness is in large part influenced by the people around me. So to those who surround me thank you for bringing me joy. Happiness is the essence of a heart that is pure. It is life. It is joy. It is love. It is light. Happiness to me is a choice, not a right. And I choose to write. When I seek to be happy that’s what I do. So the question, I guess, is: what is happiness to you?
By Youri Joseph5 years ago in Motivation
Thankful for It All
To be thankful is to be grateful for something. You do this to acknowledge value in a person, place, or thing that could very well not be there the next day for whatever reason. Everything deserves some appreciation sometimes. In a time where depression, disconnection, illness, death, isolation, unemployment, confrontation, and silence are dominant. You may struggle to find things to be thankful for. Maybe your routine was something that you clung to for purpose in your days, or a reason to smile. You are possibly craving connection, touch, and attention or just a simple daily conversation to bring variety into your new schedule.
By Jessica Mullen5 years ago in Motivation
Every Day Above Ground is a Good Day
'Tis the season to be grateful. This year, it isn't easy. It seems as if the forces of nature are aligned against us: the forests ignite, the virus consumes, the hurricanes level the landscape. In some places, it's already beginning to snow. Couple that with financial uncertainty and a presidential race that has sharply divided our nation into "us" and "them," we have the makings of a season not of gratitude but of existential dread.
By Denise Shelton5 years ago in Motivation
I am thankful.
I am thankful for my friends. You have helped me in so many ways, by giving me the love and moral support I needed whenever I felt alone. You have seen me at my weakest and worst, and decided to stay by my side and guide me through it all. You remind me everyday to be humble, even when I am finally winning. You encourage me to do things I never thought I would have done by myself. You pick me up when I’m down and teach me how to build my strength back up. You have always pushed me to be a better person and created a way for me to regain the confidence in myself that I sometimes feel like I’ve lost. You have shown me what a true family can be and what it means to be a part of it, which is exactly what you are to me, my family.
By Hannah Dupre5 years ago in Motivation
