Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

"It's a heck of a start, being able to recognize what makes you happy."

-Lucille Ball


Over the last year my son has be increasingly obsessed with stuff. He always wants to get stuff, anything: toys, mail, candy, etc. He will explain to you in great detail how happy it makes him to be on the receiving end of gifts. He likes to get stuff to give stuff away. And it worries me.

It worries me because he is not happy without it. It worries me that when he is not happy, he doesn't know why. It worries me because I was the same way when I was his age, though mine was not the getting stuff, it was just a general unhappiness.

I've spent years and years trying to fill that void where happiness should be. I went through my teen years feeling hopeless and terrible unhappy, I had The Void. I've tried filling it with food, drinks, relationships, you name it, I tried it. None of it every worked, I'd get a temporary relieve from The Void, but over time The Void always came back. All I was doing was avoiding the what and why of happiness.

There is no certainty that you or I will ever find what truly makes us happy, but a little inner searching can help you distinguish why we do what we do.

Does money make me happy? No. Some people really love money, I don't. It pisses me off. I have to dedicate so much of my time to earning it, managing it and spending it, that it takes away from all the stuff I really want to be doing. I want it, lots of it, just so that I can go about my daily life without the money questions lingering in the back of my mind.

Does food make me happy? Kinda. Food is an odd sort of fellow. I love the fact that you can take all these seemingly unrelated items and create a fabulous experience of the senses. I like the fact that several times a day I can pull off a creation. The question is does food itself make me happy or is it the joy I get from the experience of working with it? I'll have to think about that question for a few more years.

I can go on and on with habits that are both good and bad and the 'Does it make me happy?' question. What I do know is I have a list of things that I know I get a kick out of: I like experiencing new things, I like creating things and I love learning something new. If I am doing any of those things, I fell happy and fulfilled, at least for a little while.

We all are different and our ability to acquire happiness is as varying as our personalities. You just have to ask yourself if what you are doing is making you happy. Long term success is based on how happy and content you are with your daily actions. If you continue to do things that go against your happiness, you will stop doing them or turn into a bitter and often angry person.

So, lighten up. Let some joy in. Who cares if you are 55 and still finger painting and playing with dolls. If it makes you happy, then do it!



Have a Blessed Day,


Brandy
CelticBlessings4U@Gmail.com
http://www.womenswealthandwellness.com/celticblessings
http://www.twitter.com/brandysbiz

Back From Vacation.

To love what you do and feel that it matters- how could anything be more fun?

-Katharin Graham

I am refreshed and back from vacation. I know I've said on here how important it is to not only spend quality time with your family, but quality time with yourself. I had such an amazing 8 days off. 4 of which were spent with my best friend and 4 days with my son. I just had a blast. No worries in the world.


There's a lot of you out there that can't possibly take a multiple day vacation, so today I'm dedicating to the mini-vacation and stay-cations. It is so important to your soul and well being to have fun, that I think everyone should attend a class on enjoying life. I'm going to share some great ways that we have made a fun injection into our over-worked, stressed-out lives.


First close your eyes and think of a time where you were so happy your face hurt, or maybe you laughed until you cried. When I did this I thought of many years ago when my best friend and I went camping together with some friends and how terribly much fun we had. I called her up that same day and told her we HAD to do that again. So we set up a time and nothing, NOTHING, got in our way of going.


There was also a time when we were sitting around talking about how much fun we used to have on Saturday mornings. We would wake up before our parents and build a little fort in the living room, eat Captain Crunch and watch Gummy Bears, Smurfs and He-Man. We got a good laugh out of reminiscing about our childhood, but it got me to thinking. So I went down to the library, found Smurfs, Fraggle Rock and (as much as I hate to confess) I already had He-Man on tape. So I woke up really early, made chocolate chip pancakes, woke up my son and made a fort in the living room with our old sheets. We giggled and watched my old time favorite cartoons. Talk about a boost to the week. I giggled about that for a month.


A stay-cation is another great way of getting your family together. It can be one day or a weekend. Google recreation in your local area and pick a few things that your family can do together. A few months ago I had an appointment in Anacortes, it's only an hour away, but I packed us all up. When the appointment was done, we scooted over to the Deception Pass Bridge and out to Oak Harbor. It wasn't much, just a little hiking and walking along the beach. But taking time out of your busy schedule for the ones you love makes the biggest difference.


We all want more money, time and nicer things, it's only natural. The most valuable thing we have is Time and we absolutely must share it with others. Spend it wisely and splurge it on those you love, it turns out for the best in the end.



Have a Blessed Day,


Brandy Deming
CelticBlessings4U@Gmail.com
http://www.womenswealthandwellness.com/celticblessings
http://www.twitter.com/brandysbiz

Shooda, Cooda, Wooda Sisters

Acceptance doesn't mean that you have to agree with something and like how it is. Acceptance simply means that you accept how it is and make peace with it.

-Mike Robbins

I'm not exactly sure when I heard the story, but it has stuck with me for years and held true... DON'T SPEND TIME WITH THE SHOODA, COODA, WOODA SISTERS!!

The Shooda sister always should have done something. I should have left five minutes earlier, I wouldn't have gotten stuck in traffic [you may have missed traffic but you may have ended up in the accident also]. .I should have called Mary first, then she wouldn't have signed up with Ken. [when we don't want to do something, and it turned out to be the right thing, we can be too hard on ourselves] I should get up earlier to get a head start on the day [don't just say you're going to do something, do it] Shooda constantly focuses in on what she 'should have' done instead of what she can and is doing. She is poor company.

The Cooda sister always could have done something. I could have taken I-90 and saved myself the hour wait [but you didn't and waisted an hour whining about it]. I could have done a better report, then I would have that raise [but you sped through yours to get of work an hour early to see your kids play]. I could have made that call, but I didn't want to get stuck on the phone while I was making dinner [excuses!] . Cooda constantly focuses on what she 'could have' done making excuses and beating herself up about her priorities. Being in her company makes you feel guilty.

The Wooda sister always would have done something, her stars never quite align right. I would have taken I-5, but it looked too crowded. [looks can be deceiving] I would have stayed late to finish it, but I didn't think the boss would be in early. [it's only cheating if you get caught?] I would have called Suzy, if I had known that she was looking for a home based business [never know until you ask]. Wooda constantly sees a better way that she 'would have' done something if something else wasn't there, if something else wasn't going on, if there was something she would have known. Too much hanging with Wooda and you may be upset or depressed, but at least it won't ever be your fault.

We have all spent at least a little bit of time (some of us a lot of time) with one or all three of the sisters. We need to not beat ourselves up, make excuses for or deflect the reasons why we make the choices we make. If something is not working, take a closer look at what you did, and do it better next time.

Accept that what has happened, happened. Accept that you had a part (big or small) in the events that happened. Identify what created the good results (or the bad). Learn from them, repeat the good, change the bad. AND MOVE FORWARD!

Only dedicate a small part of your day to this, maybe 15-30 minutes at the end of your day. Focus on the good things that happened, not the bad. And know that tomorrow you'll add another tool to your mental toolbox for positive results!

Have a Blessed Day,

Brandy Deming

CelticBlessings4U@Gmail.com

http://www.womenswealthandwellness.com/celticblessings

http://www.twitter.com/brandysbiz

Love of Life

"Isn't this fun?"

-Kody Bateman

Life is a beautiful, magical, wonderful thing. Trees, flowers, animals, sunrises, sunsets, storms, snow, rain, all take my breath away. Seeing a baby, watching a child grow, seeing a true act of compassion between people, just amazing. Have you ever seen a kid walking down the street and start, "oh, Mommy a dog, Mommy its a dog, look Mommy its a dog!" Mom goes "That's nice honey, its a dog" and never looks, no enthusiasm, no excitement... another one I hear a lot is, "What I would give for energy like that, even just a drop of it!" It isn't that children have some endless fountain of energy (though it may seem like it) or that there is something unique about that particular dog. It's excitement. The joy of being in the world. Wanting to run so fast it almost feels like flying. And, unfortunately, most of us loose this.

So today is all about recapturing a little of that fountain of youth. Look at something with new eyes, be curious, roll in the grass. Find a friend to go the park with and play tag. Roll in the grass with your dog. Have fun. That's what this is all about... enjoying life and having fun.

Have a Blessed Day,

Brandy
http://sendoutcards.com/celticblessings