I started this up on the board before it was hi-jacked and thought I would re-post, feel free to discuss the various quotes and to add happy messages of your own.
A few months ago I started a Happy Class (on the net), and I signed up for a ‘daily dose of happiness’. Some of the quotes really make sense and make you think about your life and how you might be able to improve upon your own happiness without changing, just looking at things and circumstances differently I guess.
Anyway, I wanted to share some of the quotes that I think are worth reading over. These I kept in case I needed to be reminded again…
PATIENCE
Only humans are impatient. Seeds do not attempt to turn into trees in winter.
Eagles don't try to soar during rainstorms. And Mayflowers do not blossom in
August.
Developing patience - your ability to wait for the right moment in your life
cycle to accomplish a particular task or goal - is all important to develop
excellent timing and great success.
LOVE
Do you love somebody? A husband? A wife? A child? A parent? A friend?
Get a pen and a paper. Don't worry, I'll wait.
…
…
Back already? Good. Now write this down.
"I love you."
You know what to do with it.
REGRETS
Once the past is gone, it cannot be recaptured. Worrying about it will not
help. Being sad won't help. Remaining angry won't change the past. These
reactions might change your future, making you worried or sad or angry, but they
won't right a wrong that has already happened.
No washing machine has ever returned a lost sock, but you still need to wash
tomorrow's clothes.
COMPETITION
Feeling competitive? Compete with yourself first.
What was your bowling score last time? Beat it by ten. What is your average?
Beat it by ten?
Why compete with someone else? Nobody is the same as you. Nobody has the same
build. Nobody has your unique perspective. Nobody has identical brain
connections. Of course you can bowl (run, jump, read, cook, knit, motivate,
whatever) better than some other people...and they can do many things better
than you.
Bettering your own best score is much more satisfying. That is true
achievement, because you are competing against someone with identical strengths
and weaknesses. And if you better your score, you get the satisfaction that
next time you'll be competing against someone with better strengths and less
weakness.
FEAR
Are you timid about something? Are you afraid to do something you want to do?
Little Sister took her first steps, three of them. Then she tried a couple more
times, and stopped. That was enough for a while.
No worry. Sooner or later she will take a few more steps and before we know it
she will be running circles around the house.
It's OK to be timid. Just don't let it stop you from pursuing your dreams.
AUTHENTICITY
What colour is a grape? Well, on the table we have green grapes that are often
called white, and purplish grapes that are called red.
But what colour are they?
They are both a very pale green...inside. Given the choice between the skin and
the inside of the grape, I would rather eat the pale green inside. What colour
is a grape? Pale green.
What colour are you?
* * * * *
BTW, why is orange cheese called yellow, and yellow cheese called white?
LOVE
Whom do you love?
Do you love your spouse? Your children? Your parents? Your neighbours?
You love everybody you put ahead of yourself, everybody you sacrifice for.
There are great big loves, like giving your life for someone, or even a kidney.
There are smaller loves, like letting somebody go in line ahead of you. Or like
letting someone take the last chocolate covered cashew. Even if you don't know
the person, it is love.
Every love counts.
How can you love a little more?
FRIENDSHIP
How to be a friend:
Listen.
Listen.
Listen.
Listen.
Be honest. Give you true opinion...gently. Then back off.
Listen
Listen.
Listen.
RISK
Our pastor recounted a tale from his childhood of how the children would go down
to the harbour in the spring to hop on the floating ice sheets. One day, he saw
a child in another group slip and fall into the water. The child did not
survive. For a couple weeks, nobody hopped on ice. But, then they started
again.
It can't happen to me.
Funny how quickly we can embolden ourselves against obvious risks, when shyness
and unfounded fears can grip us for a lifetime.
It can happen to you. But the consequences of shyness and unfounded fear are
usually worse than whatever the fear is about.
Don't take the wrong risks.
HAPPINESS
"Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is
the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and
gratitude."
Denis Waitley is saying essentially what my signature below says.
Will you live every minute today with love, grace, and gratitude?
YOUR LIFE STORY
Ever flip on the biography channel and marvel at the great lives of history?
Every one of us lives a great life. As humans, we have unique super-powers that
most creature do not have.
We can control so many aspects of our own lives if we choose to.
We can think great thoughts if we choose to.
We can know God if we choose to.
We can choose to make the world a better place.
We can love deeply every person we choose to.
We can rise above our situations, if we choose to.
Imagine the story of your life on the biography channel. Now think...what do
you choose to do?
CONTROL
Sometimes life throws some black ice in your path, and you can find yourself
spinning out of control. Here's what my wife did when our car hit black ice.
1. She tried her best to steer.
2. When control was clearly out of the question, she sent the car for the safety
of the ditch.
3. She took stock and collected herself.
4. She removed the baby from the car and headed for higher ground.
5. She called the tow truck to get the car back on the road.
6. Once safely at home, she allowed herself to feel the inevitable emotions.
Try to keep control, but when not possible, avoid a collision with anything
dangerous. Make sure you can think, then protect what is valuable to you. When
all is safe, feel your emotions. This is a good formula to survive life's
catastrophes and threats, and bounce back to happiness again as quickly as
possible.
SELF-HELP
Back in October I wrote about the grass always being greener on the other side
of the fence...just because when you look across you don't see the brown between
the blades that you see when looking down.
One of your fellow subscribers wrote in, "The grass is always greener on the
other side of the fence, and you can bet the water bill is higher too."
I suppose you get what you pay for. If you want a green lawn, you have to put
in the time, the money, the effort, the attention. If you want a greener life,
put in the time, the money, the effort, and the attention.
Hope I haven’t bored you too much, just thought a few on here might appreciate reading.
I also have a few more to add, but they're at home so will post some other time.
A few months ago I started a Happy Class (on the net), and I signed up for a ‘daily dose of happiness’. Some of the quotes really make sense and make you think about your life and how you might be able to improve upon your own happiness without changing, just looking at things and circumstances differently I guess.
Anyway, I wanted to share some of the quotes that I think are worth reading over. These I kept in case I needed to be reminded again…
PATIENCE
Only humans are impatient. Seeds do not attempt to turn into trees in winter.
Eagles don't try to soar during rainstorms. And Mayflowers do not blossom in
August.
Developing patience - your ability to wait for the right moment in your life
cycle to accomplish a particular task or goal - is all important to develop
excellent timing and great success.
LOVE
Do you love somebody? A husband? A wife? A child? A parent? A friend?
Get a pen and a paper. Don't worry, I'll wait.
…
…
Back already? Good. Now write this down.
"I love you."
You know what to do with it.
REGRETS
Once the past is gone, it cannot be recaptured. Worrying about it will not
help. Being sad won't help. Remaining angry won't change the past. These
reactions might change your future, making you worried or sad or angry, but they
won't right a wrong that has already happened.
No washing machine has ever returned a lost sock, but you still need to wash
tomorrow's clothes.
COMPETITION
Feeling competitive? Compete with yourself first.
What was your bowling score last time? Beat it by ten. What is your average?
Beat it by ten?
Why compete with someone else? Nobody is the same as you. Nobody has the same
build. Nobody has your unique perspective. Nobody has identical brain
connections. Of course you can bowl (run, jump, read, cook, knit, motivate,
whatever) better than some other people...and they can do many things better
than you.
Bettering your own best score is much more satisfying. That is true
achievement, because you are competing against someone with identical strengths
and weaknesses. And if you better your score, you get the satisfaction that
next time you'll be competing against someone with better strengths and less
weakness.
FEAR
Are you timid about something? Are you afraid to do something you want to do?
Little Sister took her first steps, three of them. Then she tried a couple more
times, and stopped. That was enough for a while.
No worry. Sooner or later she will take a few more steps and before we know it
she will be running circles around the house.
It's OK to be timid. Just don't let it stop you from pursuing your dreams.
AUTHENTICITY
What colour is a grape? Well, on the table we have green grapes that are often
called white, and purplish grapes that are called red.
But what colour are they?
They are both a very pale green...inside. Given the choice between the skin and
the inside of the grape, I would rather eat the pale green inside. What colour
is a grape? Pale green.
What colour are you?
* * * * *
BTW, why is orange cheese called yellow, and yellow cheese called white?
LOVE
Whom do you love?
Do you love your spouse? Your children? Your parents? Your neighbours?
You love everybody you put ahead of yourself, everybody you sacrifice for.
There are great big loves, like giving your life for someone, or even a kidney.
There are smaller loves, like letting somebody go in line ahead of you. Or like
letting someone take the last chocolate covered cashew. Even if you don't know
the person, it is love.
Every love counts.
How can you love a little more?
FRIENDSHIP
How to be a friend:
Listen.
Listen.
Listen.
Listen.
Be honest. Give you true opinion...gently. Then back off.
Listen
Listen.
Listen.
RISK
Our pastor recounted a tale from his childhood of how the children would go down
to the harbour in the spring to hop on the floating ice sheets. One day, he saw
a child in another group slip and fall into the water. The child did not
survive. For a couple weeks, nobody hopped on ice. But, then they started
again.
It can't happen to me.
Funny how quickly we can embolden ourselves against obvious risks, when shyness
and unfounded fears can grip us for a lifetime.
It can happen to you. But the consequences of shyness and unfounded fear are
usually worse than whatever the fear is about.
Don't take the wrong risks.
HAPPINESS
"Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is
the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and
gratitude."
Denis Waitley is saying essentially what my signature below says.
Will you live every minute today with love, grace, and gratitude?
YOUR LIFE STORY
Ever flip on the biography channel and marvel at the great lives of history?
Every one of us lives a great life. As humans, we have unique super-powers that
most creature do not have.
We can control so many aspects of our own lives if we choose to.
We can think great thoughts if we choose to.
We can know God if we choose to.
We can choose to make the world a better place.
We can love deeply every person we choose to.
We can rise above our situations, if we choose to.
Imagine the story of your life on the biography channel. Now think...what do
you choose to do?
CONTROL
Sometimes life throws some black ice in your path, and you can find yourself
spinning out of control. Here's what my wife did when our car hit black ice.
1. She tried her best to steer.
2. When control was clearly out of the question, she sent the car for the safety
of the ditch.
3. She took stock and collected herself.
4. She removed the baby from the car and headed for higher ground.
5. She called the tow truck to get the car back on the road.
6. Once safely at home, she allowed herself to feel the inevitable emotions.
Try to keep control, but when not possible, avoid a collision with anything
dangerous. Make sure you can think, then protect what is valuable to you. When
all is safe, feel your emotions. This is a good formula to survive life's
catastrophes and threats, and bounce back to happiness again as quickly as
possible.
SELF-HELP
Back in October I wrote about the grass always being greener on the other side
of the fence...just because when you look across you don't see the brown between
the blades that you see when looking down.
One of your fellow subscribers wrote in, "The grass is always greener on the
other side of the fence, and you can bet the water bill is higher too."
I suppose you get what you pay for. If you want a green lawn, you have to put
in the time, the money, the effort, the attention. If you want a greener life,
put in the time, the money, the effort, and the attention.
Hope I haven’t bored you too much, just thought a few on here might appreciate reading.
I also have a few more to add, but they're at home so will post some other time.
