(I know, I know - what a touchy-feely thing to say! But I promise not to hold your hand and sing kumbaya!)
I think it's just the whole 'new year' thing. You start to think about your life, and what you're happy with and what you're not, and after several split-personality discussions with myself I've arrived at the following:
1) Tammy, are you happy with such and such?
2) If you are, great. Now try and remember that, and be happy.
3) If you're not, can you change it?
4) If you can, do.
5) If you can't, or if you believe that now isn't the right time to change it, then you can either
a) keep being unhappy, or
b) you can chose to be happy
And I guess it's the 'be happy' and the 'chose to be happy' that's had me thinking. I'm not a particularly unhappy person or anything, but I'd like to do more to be consciously happy - because life is so much better when you are!
Several years ago, right before I went away overseas, mum gave me a little card with a picture of a flower, and the words 'bloom where you're planted'. I liked it. That idea that you may not always have control over where you are or what's going on, but you always have control over what you do with it, and you can almost always decide to 'bloom' regardless of where you're planted.
And I've realized that reminding myself that I really do enjoy a lot of the wonderful things in my life, and then finding ways to be grateful for all of the wonderful things in my life and the wonderful things that are all around me, is definitely a great place to start. And then smiling and laughing, and loosening up, and making time for people and not just things. And then smiling and laughing some more.
So, just a little thought today really. How's your 2013 looking? And what things are you doing to be happy?
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.
By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world.”
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“Like swimming, riding, writing, or playing golf, happiness can be learned.”
— Boris Sokoloff
xo Tammy
I love 'bloom where you're planted' that is great! Lovely post :)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother liked the Serenity Prayer:
ReplyDelete'God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.'
The original poem, written by Reinhold Niebuhr and used by AA, reads:
'God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.'
I was reading a talk last night by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in which he writes:
'Another regret of those who knew they were dying may be somewhat surprising. They wished they had let themselves be happier.'
He points out that we do not need to hear the last note of a composition before we can enjoy a piece of music. (I thought you would appreciate that thought :) The talk is here in full:
http://www.lds.org.au/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng
Thank you Tammy! :)
xoxo
Love this too - ties in with that cute new Kikki-K happiness range I was emailing you about lol :) Love the 'Bloom where you're planted' thing - perfect! xo
ReplyDeletePS: I know one of the things that makes you happiest is hanging out with me, so we should definitely do more of that! :)
I also love the 'bloom where you're planted' thing :) and I always like to try and remind myself that happiness is a choice. Sometimes it's easy to fall into the habit though of thinking that its not our own choices but outside circumstances determine it for us.
ReplyDelete