Feel Good Friday: Magic

This story was posted on Facebook in November, but it only came to my attention this week. This kid is full of magic and so much of what the world needs more of.

Feel Good Friday: An Irish Blessing

Feel Good Friday: Choose the light

More times than I can count over the course of the last 14 years--my parenting years--I have heard words coming out of my mouth, directed at one kid or another, meant to correct inappropriate behavior and develop deeper character. And, sometimes, I'm quite shocked that the words I'm saying might be better directed inward than outward. Being a parent makes me acutely aware of my own character flaws and shortcomings. I see my hypocrisies and failings as if under a magnifying glass. And, so often, when I am correcting one of the kids, my words ricochet and strike me right in the heart, and I realize something in me needs to change, particularly if I want to see that change in one of them.

This happened today. I was reminding one of my dear offspring that every moment we have a choice about the kind of person we are going to be. Are we going to be rude or kind? Happy or sad? Engaged or disengaged? Respectful or disrespectful? Positive or negative? Helpers or hurters? Workers or slackers? We can't control everything that happens in life, but we can control how we respond. We always have a choice. 

The truth is, I have been pretty depressed since our RTW trip ended. I have been resentful of my stationary situation and have flatly refused (both subconsciously and consciously) to be happy in this place. Of course I've had moments of happiness and things certainly haven't been all bad. But, in my heart, I know I haven't really been trying that hard to make the choice to be happy. 

And, today, as I spoke to my child about choices, some lightbulb suddenly reignited inside my brain, and I realized that I can change my choice. That, in fact, I must change my choice, because I do not want to go through my days unhappy. I can and will choose to change my inner dialogue. I can and will choose happiness, regardless of my situation.

"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on." --J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

As for me, in this rare and beautiful moment of clarity, I will choose the light.

(For more of my ramblings on choosing happiness, check out this post.)

Feel Good Friday: More Alike Than Different

I'm sure you've seen these adorable little guys all over social media the last couple of days, but this is, by far, my favorite news story of the week. We're all more alike than you think. Let's all try to spend a bit more time looking for the similarities and forgetting about the differences.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3285068/jax-reddy-haircut/

Feel Good Friday: I believe in you

"They'll say you're too little...that you're from nowhere, that you shouldn't dream big. But I believe in you. I think you'll do something great."

~ Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See

Feel Good Friday: The less exhausting path

"Oh, but my treasure, it is so much less exhausting. You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things."         

~M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans

Feel Good Friday: Favorite Things

Nothing puts a smile on my face like spending time with my favorite things!

Feel Good Friday: Truth in advertising

It's Saturday, but whatever. This is my favorite ad of the year, and a good chuckle seems like a good way to end 2016. Happy New Year! May your 2017 be full of things that make you happy and fill your life with peace.

Feel Good Friday: Doing Good

attributed to Jana Stanfield

Feel Good Friday: How panda zookeepers and moms of toddlers are the same

Feel Good Friday, uh Sunday: See the greatness

Do you see it? The greatness that is in you? 

Look closer. It's there. I know it is. 

You may not have found it yet, but keep looking. Don't settle. Don't make excuses. You can be better than you were, and even better than you are. You are a life filled with potential. See the greatness, and rise to it. I believe in you. 

Feel Good Friday: Beauty from Ashes

On October 30, 2015, my sister's home was destroyed by a tornado, while she and two of her kids hunkered down inside. Thankfully, they walked away from the event with only a few minor scrapes and bruises. Their community turned out in droves to support her and her family (you can read about that here), which was a blessing in and of itself. But last weekend, exactly a year later, they got to move into their dream home, designed by them and built from the ground up on the same slab the other house was removed from. It is not the way they would have chosen to get their dream house. But they readily acknowledge that the beautiful place they have now would not have been possible without the trial of that storm. Sometimes, friends, the struggle is the very vehicle of the beautiful life we long for, and we must force our eyes to look past the storm and try to find the rainbow.

October 30, 2015

October 30, 2016

Feel Good Friday: Best Political Ad Ever

Feel Good Friday: On a Saturday

What are you waiting for?!

Feel Good Friday: My Happy List

Ten Things I'm Happy About Today

1. Beautiful weather

2. Homemade chicken salad

3. On Guard oil in the diffuser

4. Kids who can entertain themselves

5. A cool science experiment

6. The opportunity to homeschool my kids

7. My wooden utensil collection

8. Date Night

9. Pumpkin Spice Martinis

10. A text from my SIL saying she's coming for a visit

{The truth is, today didn't really feel like the happiest of days. And, I was discouraged because I couldn't come up with a single meaningful thing to post for Feel Good Friday, which kind of felt like a failure and only served to make me feel worse. But then, I realized that the whole point of this weekly segment is to create happiness and positivity. So, I decided that I would take a break from thinking about all the things that could make me unhappy and focus only on the things that could make me HAPPY instead. I'll admit, it took some time to get started on my list. It took even more time to finish the list. It was an exercise in mindfulness, and I was forced to deliberately sift through the data in my brain, passing up the negative thoughts and picking out the positive ones. It wasn't exactly easy, but I'm really glad I did it. I wish I would have taken the time to make the list earlier in the day because I can now see how much I have to be happy about. Negative thoughts tend to build on one another inside my head and can quickly snowball out of control. Making a happy list (in writing!) takes away the momentum of the melancholy and allows my brain to reset. In my opinion, the harder it is to make the list, the more important it is to do it. Do you have a happy list? I would love for you share, if you're willing, because I think we could both benefit from it.} 

Feel Good Friday: The Boss of Me

http://dailyburn.com/life/lifestyle/instagram-positive-affirmations/

Feel Good Friday: Mirror Talk

This is a good pep talk to give yourself in the mirror and to repeat as often as necessary until it sinks in.

Feel Good Friday: Spreading love the old-fashioned way

My youngest child is so full of love, he just can't help but share it. He is a giver, and he always thinks of others. And, lately, with the development of his writing skills, his love has taken written form. Every other day or so, he comes to me with a pencil and a piece of paper and tells me he needs to write a letter to someone he cares about. He often starts with "I love you." He writes from his heart (while I help with spelling and punctuation) and draws a thoughtful picture to go along with his words. He eagerly takes his letters to the mailbox, never expecting anything in return. He is a true spreader of love and joy, and I want to be like him.

Even if we aren't all writers, perhaps we would all do well to think about starting with "I love you."

Happiness on both ends of the mailbox!

Feel Good Friday: The Most Important Thing

Feel Good Friday

The world seems so dark and crazy and broken and negative. It seems we are constantly inundated with bad news. I admit, I have a sensitivity to negativity and a tendency to lean that direction with the slightest provocation. Sometimes my brain takes in all the little (and occasionally big) bits of negativity and churns it around until it becomes difficult to believe there is any good left in the world at all. Bad news hit our family in personal ways this week, and after days of feeling the weight of grief and anger, I remembered Mahatma Gandhi's words: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." And that got me thinking: If the world is dark, I can be light. If the world is crazy, I can be sane. If the world is broken, I can be whole. If the world is negative, I can be positive. I don't have to be part of the problem. I can be part of the solution. As I have been at a little bit of a loss for words lately and in need of some direction for the blog, I have decided to spread positive vibes in a new weekly feature, Feel Good Friday, where I will share things I find to be positive, uplifting, inspiring, happy, and/or beautiful. Can it change the world? Probably not. But, according to Norman Vincent Peale, if you "change your thoughts, you change your world," and changing just my world seems like a good place to start. If anything I post helps change yours, all the better.