Wednesday, March 21, 2007

you know how you KNOW i was peeved???

I had 3 typos in one sentence!! Usually I run spell check...Oh well.. another day, another opportunity!! I think I"ll recreate that post on Meesh's bday since it was all about her anyway!! But check out the picture, it's a clue that Joseph couldn't remember what it even was!! Reminds me of the time he "met" his preschool teacher, and she's like "JOSEPH!!" and he didn't remember her at all. Guess he got Paul's memory!!









A spark buddy of mine did a talk the other day on The Seven Characteristics of Highly Happy people
Seemed like a good way to start spring, examining those characteristics!! New season, brimming with life and sunshine (they PROMISE!!)...

Optimistic - look on the bright side
The people were realistic and did see things as they were, but they were positive in their outlook on life and kept that up, even in the worst of times.
~~I never really thought of myself as optimistic, but people keep saying it, so I must be. I can't really live with sadness very long, or dark thoughts, or defeatist attitude. Just too depressing. After a while, I just gut it out and retrain my mind AGAIN. There's always a blessing to be found!!

Grateful - thankful for blessings and the good things in life
These people focused on these instead of on the negative, and always looked for something to be thankful for.
~~Given my last sentence, I'd say I do this usually. Honestly, I think the area I have the hardest time with is in my marriage. I remember my counselor talking about "attitude of gratitude," and that gratitude is a habit as much as grumbling. I do NOT want to be a grumbler. I always am disappointed in myself when that's what I choose to speak instead of life. So, onward to continue cultivating the habit of gratitude...and I think in March and April, I'm going to specifically cultivate in for my marriage.

Spiritual - relationship with God or some kind of spiritual focus
~~I"m a Christian...and thankfully so. I do not know WHAT I'd be like without the prevailing and powerful influence of God in my life. Well...I do know. I'd be sarcastic, angry, judgmental. I'd be mean and harsh and unforgiving. I'd be miserable in my own skin, defeated by life's challenges and losses. I'd be mourning my father's death without hope. And, I've learned that in ALL things I can do it with Christ...I was talking to Judy the other day and she was telling me how she's been running!! (I AM SOOOOOO Proud of her!!) and she does it with praise music and scripture because she KNOWS she couldn't do it without the power of God.
The point is that the happiest people have some kind of deep sense of the spiritual in their lives.

Friends And Family - good, stable relationships with family and/or friends.
The happiest people have some sort of support network, whether it be family or friends. I'm thankful to have both! I definitely have been blessed with amazing friends who challenge me, laugh with me, pray with me...do nothing with me. Yep. It's good to be me!! And my family, well, that's more of a mix, but you know, I would not give any of it up. My history, such as it is, is only held with the hands of my siblings. We have no memorabilia, house we grew up in, we have memories, and stories retold. That's it. I learned to fight, forgive, play, converse, be still and be scared. I learned to pack effectively and unpack quickly. I learned that I could make friends over and over again, and in the end, it's my sibs that I chose. I learned there's a big world out there, because my sister and brother saw it. I am happy to have that history, scars and all. So I have the history, and sometimes present, with my family...and I have encouragement, hope and laughter with my friends. I don't know if many adults count their nieces as part of that...but I KNOW that my life is abundantly blessed for the history with them AND today with them...from painting rooms funky colors to the wonder of seeing them grow up into amazing people, to inside jokes and Portillo's and dippin dots...chats and cut off voicemails. Yep. It's all good!!

Helpful - do things for others, even if it's above and beyond that ol' call of duty.
I know people who have this in spades in their life...I just don't feel like I"m one of them!! I think I need to shift my focus is off of me, and more toward others. Reach out to someone in need and help her out, IF I"m able. I'm not as good with this as I'd like...something to grow on!!

Goals - something to reach for and to work towards.
I"M SUPER GOOD AT THIS!! I am one of the most goal driven people I know...and put some money or competition on it,and OFFFFFF I go!! BET ME I can't do something, and I'll do it just to show you I can (hey!! This is about happy people, not mature people. You'll have to read a different blog to find maturity!!)
work related--build my business (one client is great, but really, I think I can handle more)
relationship related--from stalking Dana (I think I"m doing it well,too!!) to calling weekly or whatever, I really do set goals with relationships and act on them.
craft related--scrapbooking, cards, project. I have goals and work toward them each year
health improvement--my goal for this is daily, monthly. But really it's life long. I want to be that fun grandma and GAG. I want to be able to do things other old ladies who wear red and purple can't. I want to LOOOOK way younger than my age. I have, however, given up sky diving thought since I saw George Bush's face when he did it for his 70th. N-O. That at Leonardo DiCaprio almost dying doing it...N-O part two!!

Savor Life - take every opportunity to enjoy yourself!
In "Dead Poets Society," Robin Williams character had a line - "Suck the marrow out of life." I guess Matthew Kelly "borrowed" it from him. But ever since I heard that, that's what I want to do!! We each need to find something that we enjoy and go for it. God created us to have all of these things on this list in our lives, and this last one is like a special gift to us. He wants us to enjoy ourselves and that's why He created us with emotions and the desire to have fun and pleasure. Making the most of things is more than just merely having fun.
To savor means to:
To taste or smell, especially with pleasure: savored each morsel of the feast.
To appreciate fully; enjoy or relish: I want to savor this great moment of accomplishment.
To savor life means to feel it FULLY...no deaden our emotions or senses with complacency or self-protection. I probably cry more than most people...sometimes savoring life hurts deeply. But I laugh more too (I think). I breathe deep the smell of rain and spring (no skunks or blacktop though!!). I GO out in the rain, to feel the warmth of it soak into my pores. I adore being in a hot shower, and even the initial cold snap of winter (after that it gets old!! and my asthma doesn't like it). I cry at movies, books and even some commercials. I love the taste of Portillo's chili dogs for the 2.5 seconds it takes me to eat one. I hope you choose to savor life.

These are, with one exception, all things YOU can do in your life. And life is better for it.

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