Musings Archives - Page 5 of 6

December 6, 2020December 6, 2020

The Happiness Factor

Well today I am feeling a little down. It happens. Sometimes I go for a couple of weeks and then my mood shifts once again. I have these little pity parties. I bet you do the same thing. The holidays are a hard time for some folks, and for some it is just the day to day stuff that brings us down.

I am feeling down right now because I really just want to retire. Yep, I am sick of the grind, not that I have to work really hard, but it is the monotony of the the day. It is going and doing the same old thing. It is not getting to do the things I really want to do. It is the years whizzing by. I am almost seventy and I know that my time is limited. You would think by this point I would be free to do what I want. Nope. Bad planning on my part. Didn’t save enough money, so I need to keep working.

Take it from me you youngsters and prepare for the time when you want to retire. Save and plan. I did not and now I am stuck working when I wish I was free.

I wrote a book, you can see it on my Market Ste page. I thought that it was going to be my ride out the retirement door. No such luck. I have tried a slew of ways to get my book out to the world, but the world isn’t listening.

I am working on another book because it too is pushing it’s way out of inside of me. I hope to have it out there by spring. This may be another chance at freedom.

Life gives us many little gifts to bring us joy!

So, while I am feeling down in the dumps I also realize that I should not let anything take my happiness away. I saw this mantra on Facebook and it hit home with me.

When we get upset, down in the dumps, or angry with someone we are giving away our happiness. Now I know that sounds like a boat load of crap, but it is true. We can control how we are feeling by first recognizing the feeling then saying to ourselves ” I will not let this/them/you take my happiness away.

I know this is simple, but it really is that simple. When you find yourself pissed off say out loud to yourself, ” I am not letting you take my happiness away” say it several times and really mean it. Our days are too precious to give away. Do not let others control how you feel. Spend the day feeling happiness for that day. We are so lucky to have it.

I am not trying to take away your right to get mad about crap. People and things piss us off. It is part of life. It is real. But we can change the effect it has on us by not letting others make us feel bad. By taking back our happiness we free ourselves to feel better.

When we stay mad we are choosing that feeling. Taking back our happiness is a choice as well. We can feel better if we use this mantra. I have used it many times and it works. I have used it since starting this piece and I am already feeling a little better.

Don’t give away your happiness. Tell yourself that you will not let someone or something take it away. Look at what is good around you. Let your happiness flow, and for today have a great day, you and I deserve it.

November 9, 2020November 9, 2020

Peace And Quiet

I am not sure how you feel, but for me, it is time for some peace and quiet. I am so ready for all of this political crap to stop. I just want our leaders to move forward and lead this country. It is time to shut up and do the work.

All I can say is we have made history in so many ways. Some I am not too proud of. This country use to be admired, now we are a laughing stock to other countries. It breaks my heart.

For years now we have not had a good candidate for presidency. Bits and pieces of what, of who. I can not believe that our political parties waited until the last minute to start throwing out names and people to lead our country, OUR country.

I think what needs to happen now is that the parties that want to run next term start grooming someone in their party who has the skills and ideals that would represent this country exceeding well. Start teaching, training, encouraging and supporting some young politician somewhere how to be a great leader. Show them what this country stands for, and help them to succeed. Don’t wait until the last moment and grasp at straws!

I don’t know how the news industry will survive, but I would like to see someone, somewhere start a network that will only tell the real truth, not their truth, not the truth that they want to fool us into believing, but the real truth about what is happening in the world. I grew up believing that is how it was done. How foolish of me.

If I could thank president Trump for one thing, it is for opening my eyes to all the lies and half truths that the media has pushed my way. He has shown me how they distort the news with partial stories, fake pictures, and outright lies about life in general. How they exclude the truth when it does not fit their agenda. How they can pick and choose only what they want to show us, or completely shut down someone in the middle of their speech. A president no less. It is all about the all mighty dollar, and the power that comes with it when they have lots, not necessarily what is really going on in this country and it’s leaders.

Another thing that president Trump accomplished is to bring people into the world of politics that maybe weren’t there before. He has opened our eyes to the fact that WE NEED be involved in what is occurring, and challenge what is being shoved down our throats. And he has taught us to expect more from our leaders. Thank you president Trump.

I hope Joe Biden is sincere when he says ” it is time for this country to heal.” we so need that to happen. Let the men and women ELECTED by the people, FOR the people come together on our behalf, not theirs, to return this country and it’s people to a place where pride can shine through, and we can move toward a country that takes care of all it’s people. All the people. All the races. All the colors. All the levels of income. ALL OF THE PEOPLE so help us God. Let’s be ” One Nation Under God, Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for ALL.” Have a great day today, you and I deserve it!!

Their music is so beautiful. This music brought tears to my eyes. Thank you Hauser!! Look at his other great videos on You Tube.

August 15, 2020January 3, 2021

Love That Doggy.

Love between a pet owner and it’s pooch is such a wonderful bond. Of course the bond between people is fabulous, but it is tenuous, sometimes shaky, sometimes unstable. With pets it is just straight out love. No conditions, no holding back, no judgements, just great big bundles of affection.

I say this because I am dog sitting my grand dog. He is a beautiful pit bull that is always so happy to see me. He loves to come to grammy’s house and hang out. We play tug of war, go for long walks, eat lots of treats, and sleep together. I know it sounds icky, but we love to snuggle.

Now for people who don’t have pets I say you are missing out on a great source of happiness. Dogs just think we are their whole world, and they love us for sharing it. As I am writing this, Hudson, that’s my grand dog baby, comes in every now and then to stick his cold nose under my arm to give me a nudge of affection. No needs, just wants to say hi.

He is a beauty. I know that people think that pit bulls are evil, terrible beings, but they are wrong. Raised with love and kindness, they are the best.

Tessie, that’s my dog is willing to share me with Hudson, but only on her terms. It takes a few hours for her to accept him and let him in to play and cuddle. Once we pass that phase they play happily together, looking my way to be sure all is well while they slobber all over the place chewing on doggy toys.

It is a great way to soothe the heart when you look into those eyes and know that there is true love shining through.

My goal in all of this madness is to give you another way to look at the world around you. What is in the news is awful. That is not all that is happening, but they want us to think it is. I say turn off your television, let the liars lie, and find a little happiness in the things around you. Sometimes we have to stop and look for a moment, but I am sure it is there.

Pets are a wonderful release, having a moment with a child and laughing at something silly is great, walking through nature and being amazed at all the glorious things in front of you can be wonderful too.

I have a bunny that comes to my house. She sits out in the backyard and stays put when I show up. I think there is a bond there between us. I always throw her a slice of bread which she loves, and we sit quietly in our little spots sharing a moment in time.

Find a refuge somewhere with someone or a pet and embrace the peace around you. It is a great way to start and end your day. Don’t let the day to day crap spoil your good mood. And as I always say, have a great day today. You and I deserve it.

August 2, 2020January 3, 2021

Inspiration.

We all need something to sling us into the future and get us off our butts. Right! We need to become active in creating the life we want. Not just sitting around whining about the past. How do we do this you might ask?

Well, it is the people we let into our lives. Yep! The very folks that hang with us can bring us down or lift us up. Even the music we listen to, and the movies we watch, influence our way of thinking. We just aren’t paying attention, but we should.

All day, everyday we absorb the energy around us. The happiness that may be given off by someone or the anger that another is spewing has an effect on how we are feeling. It influences how we react to the world around us.

Don’t believe me take a moment and look at some happy pictures on the internet. You pick the genre, but spend a few minutes looking at puppies, or babies, or things in nature. Look at what brings a little joy to your heart. I promise if you do this it will lift your mood.

Now, I am not challenging you to let the feelings in as a contest to prove that you won’t. I am saying open yourself to the feelings that might flow in. We have to open ourselves up to the good experiences in life. There is much that surrounds us that can lead us back on track to feeling good. To finding a purpose in life.

I love Ed Sheeran. I am almost seventy years old and I just love his music. I wonder how such a young man can create such powerful love songs. One of my favorite ” youtube” videos is Ed Sheeran singing with the great opera star Bocelli. If you want to hear something beautiful watch that video. The amazing part of the video is that two unique, talented individuals generations apart came together to bring us something beautiful. What a blessing!

Both of these great musicians have come far in their music journey crashing through many obstacles along the way that only made them stronger. We too must find the things that will make us stronger. Things that have the power to move us forward when our life has stalled.

My life has stalled many times. I have been creative, but lack the will or determination to follow through. I let self doubt get in my way. I took the easy out, the security of an eight to five.

Something I have learned along the way is that all great people, big and small, have one thing in common. Determination. They did not quit. They did not let the hurdles placed in front of them deter them from what they wanted to do. What they wanted to create. The rest of us, me included, let self doubt and fear create a wall.

So, the first thing we must do is bring things into our life that will lead in the direction we really want to go. Read books, listen to moving music, bring good people into our life. You wouldn’t want a bad tennis player to teach you how to play tennis. Why let a bad life coach teach you how to live a shitty life. Did you know our friends are our life coaches?

Long ago I had a dear friend. Together we had a dream. Sadly life got in our way or we let it, I don’t know which it was, but we put away our dream and went our separate ways.

Later I found out that this dear person who had been a part of my life for several years died from breast cancer. It was the demon that actually challenged both of us at different times in our lives. I fortunately won my battle, she did not. Cancer does that, it takes away, and it leaves behind some of the wounded.

I have included a little clip at the bottom of the this page that is from a meditation tape we made together years ago. It is called ” Chakra Lights Meditation.” Stress management was and is a big topic. We taught a variety of classes on stress and mediation. We had a dream. I am going to revive that dream and offer this great meditation to all of you in the near future.

The part I included is the beginning relaxation section. Something most of us do not do enough of. And I don’t mean sitting down in front of a television or blurring out on the internet. I mean really relaxing and letting go of the tension that has built up throughout your day. Taking a moment to let go is the beginning to feeling better. To moving in the right direction.

A major step in making life changes is to let go of the garbage floating around us. There are many things that just don’t matter. Sometimes just taking a minute to breathe will help us refocus and get about our day. I hope this little segment will help. Have a great day today.

July 25, 2020September 11, 2020

Mindfulness

Do you know what you had to eat for breakfast today? Or did you even eat? Do you remember the flavors, the texture of the food, or did you just wolf it down as most of us do.
Often we go through our day and miss most of the moments that have passed us by. Something as simple as driving to work and we may not even remember the journey.

Mindfulness is the act of being present in the moment. Noting what is around you. I have heard people say they never noticed this or that on there routine journey home. It is like we go into a zone of nothingness. When this happens we miss so much.

Perhaps we are focusing on yesterday. I read that 40% of our time is spent in the past. Reliving events that occurred long ago. Often these are not the happy moments you would think we would focus on, but the bad, what we did, and what someone did to us.

We spend 40% of our time in the future worrying about what might be. We fret, worry, and imagine some pretty awful things. There might be a few who live in a state of ecstasy, but most of us lean toward the bad things that might happen .

And we only spend 20% of our time in the here and now. Can you believe it? For most of our day we are not even here.

My challenge to you is to become more mindful. Pay attention. I mean really pay attention to what is occurring right now. Look at the people in your life, look at the world around you, your pets, your family. Get lost in today.

I was browsing through some old photographs of my granddaughters and I was lost in the beauty of their faces, the joy that was there, the fun they were having. I mean it was such a sweet treat and I felt so good afterward. It really lifted my mood.

And lifting your mood is something that you can do as well. Get lost in today’s moments. Look at something around you like that feather at the top or the web picture. Our dog Zoey was a beauty. There is so much rich detail in the day to day things we encounter. Think of all the things it took to give us this moment. And let it all sink in.

So when your mind is wandering, look at where it is and bring it back to this day. After all that is really all we have. And as I always say have a great day today. You and I deserve it.