Be Happy

"Happiness is having something to do, something to love and something to hope for."

- Allan K. Chalmers

I think there is more to this that I need to consider.

The something to do must be something that interests you. Something that you believe in. Something that has meaning to you. If you are doing things that have no meaning to you, then you have to ask yourself why you are doing it and try to find meaning. Sometimes the meaning is not in the doing, it is in the awareness that the doing brings. The days when my work has no meaning, I remind myself that by working I am able to enjoy my time better with my family. It makes that time more precious to me.

The something to love is good - except, it seems, if that love is not reciprocated. Then something to love can be really be painful. "It is better to have loved and lost..." Opening up your heart is a difficult thing to do, but the act can be a lesson in itself.

The most important something to love is yourself. I struggled with this for a long time. The key for me has been forgiveness and acceptance. I had to be able to forgive myself for the things for which I wasn't proud and to accept that I am not perfect. I make mistakes. Everyone does. I am finally at peace with this.

The something to hope for is really important. Without hope, it is really hard to move forward. Sometimes when I feel that I am losing hope, I have to pretend I have hope. In pretending to have hope, I start to gain actual hope again. It's a chicken or the egg thing for me.


Be Happy
Bright Star Dreams

Believe in your Dreams

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"

- Eleanor Roosevelt

For the most part, I am not a dreamer. I pretty much stay in the here and now. I set goals and then I work to achieve them, but those are practical things like buying a house, getting a certain type of job, or saving a certain amount of money to retire on.

I've decided I need to allow myself to dream. To think outside the everyday life things and dream.

Some dreams that I've allowed myself:

• A world where the color of a person's skin does not matter
• A world that understands the meaning of enough and ensures that everyone has it
• A world where people consider the impact of their actions and words on others
• A world where finding cures is more important that the money earned from treating symptoms

These are some of my Bright Star Dreams

Be Exceptional

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what other people say you cannot do"

- Walter Bagehot

I'm a perfectionist. Always have been, always will be. It is the part of me that drives me to create exceptional results. The darkest times in my life were when I believed the people who told me the things I could not do.

I know now that I am exceptional. I have exceptional ideas. I can do exceptional things. I achieve exceptional results. I have an exceptional family. We may do things a little different than the norm, but that's what makes us exceptional.

Bright Star Dreams

Be Balanced

Today I went to a yoga class - my second in as many weeks. Let me just say I love, love, love yoga. I normally do Ashtanga, but today for a change I went to a Hatha style class. It was wonderful. I feel all mellow and balanced.

My new intention is to try to practice once a week at a minimum. I believe that yoga is an essential component to achieve balance in my life.

Namaste

Bright Star Dreams

Be Grateful

" Let us be grateful to people who make us happy,
they are charming gardeners who make our souls blossom"

- Marcel Proust

In French class, in grade 11, we were asked to do name the person we loved the most. I cannot remember who I chose, but one of my fellow classmates named her most loved one as herself. I have often reflected on this choice. It was not until I was 30 years old that I could say this same thing. At 16, she was more well grounded than most people I know. I am grateful to have known Karen S.

Those that make me happy:

Me!
My husband - he always makes me laugh
My dogs - one is a clown and the other is his straight lady (they are quite the tag team)

I am grateful for my quirky family

Bright Star Dreams

Be Your Brilliance

In setting my intention to be positive, I came across this inspiration:

There is nothing to practice.
To know yourself, be yourself.
To be yourself, stop imagining yourself to be this or that.
Just be. Let your true nature emerge.
Don't disturb your mind with seeking.
When I see I am nothing, that is wisdom.
When I see I am everything, that is love.
My life is a movement between these two.

-Nisargdatta Maharaj

You are enough.
BE your brilliance!

On this blog I am going to get to know my positive self. It is my experiment to see where my positive self takes me.

My positive thoughts for the day:

I am a brilliant woman
I have the most loving and brilliant husband - he loves me with all his energy
My merry little hounds keep me entertained every day
The birds are singing to their little ones - the world is renewed

Bright Star Dreams