Happy Girls

What makes you a happy girl? Sometimes Happiness can be found in the most simple pleasures of life. I find that a few of my most happiest moments are found when I come across a beautiful piece of art, or when I find a book that I want to read into the early morning hours, or when I discover a new quote that inspires me. One of my many favorite inspirational quotes is simply about believing in what makes you happy and its author is a well known classy lady that has indeed inspired many woman through the ages.  

I believe in pink.
I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.
I believe in kissing.
Kissing a lot.
I believe in being strong.
When everything seems 
To be going wrong. 
I believe that happy girls
Are the prettiest girls.
I believe that tomorrow is
Another day and
I believe in miracles.  Audrey Hepburn

I never really thought about believing in a color, especially the color pink, but there is a deeply feminine part of me that wants to become more acquainted with the many shades of pink and as for kissing, what girl doesn't like an abundance of kissing. 

The laughing, the kissing, the strength, the happiness, and the believing in something more than ourselves are qualities that are deeply interwoven in some of the most happiest people we know. 

Sometimes finding happiness is about becoming reacquainted with ourselves and remembering our passions in life, so go ahead and paint that wall with your favorite color even if it happens to be hot pink, take more time to find that strength in yourself during your weakest moments, kiss the one you love more often, laugh till you cry (especially at yourself), believe that you deserve to happy. and remember that "happy girls are the prettiest girls". 

Oh yeah, one more thing;  when was the last time you were in a car, music up, windows down, without a care in the world.  It's usually those most simple moments in life where you end up finding your true happiness.

What Is Your Love Language?

The word relationship will either leave you dreamy eyed or have you running for the nearest door. There are many ingreidents that go into making a good relationship, but what is that special ingredient that takes a relationship from being good to great? My husband and I are reading this amazing book called "The Five Love Languages" by Dr. Gary Chapman.

The book focuses on the five primary love languages that are commonly learned at a young age, it takes the reader on a journey in finding their own specific love language as well as the love language of their spouse. The five love languages discussed are: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

The relationship world is much like the linguistic world in that it is difficult to understand someone who does not speak our primary language, yet in a relationship it is a love language that is being expressed and our love language is usually different from our spouse's, so "no matter how hard we try to express love in English if our spouse understands only Chinese, we will never understand each other". 

My husband and I have already found one another's love language and we are now in the process of learning to speak this new dialect. This book has helped us to realize why we struggle sometimes when we try to communicate our needs to one another, 

Just be prepared for the positive change that will occur as you apply these love language techniques in your own relationship. 

Finding the Strength to Forgive

Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive. C.S. Lewis

Forgiveness is not always easy in fact sometimes it encompasses our complete body, soul, and mind to truly forgive a person who has committed a serious transgression against us. We may also be so consumed by the pain of the offense that we end up carrying the burden throughout our lives. One thing to remember is that when we forgive we are letting go of the pain and we are allowing ourselves to breath. So,where do we even start in the forgiveness process and how do we really know if we have truly forgiven someone?  Here are a few ideas that I have found to be useful in my own life:

1. Acknowledge The Pain
~Take time to understand the hurt and the pain that you are feeling and what it is that is causing you to hold onto any resentment.

 2. Talk With Someone Or Write It down
~Sharing your feelings with someone or writing them down helps to lessen the intensity of the negative emotions.

 3. Let Yourself Forgive
~ Letting go of the anger and the pain will probably require all of your will power and strength, but once you allow yourself to let go of those negative feelings you will discover a sense of peace that has been missing from your life.

4. Keep moving forward
~There may be times when those past feelings of anger will creep back into your mind and this will be the moment when you will need to find that strength within yourself to overcome those destructive thoughts and remember that you have come too far to turn back now.

I once heard a talk from a great speaker that had shared his thoughts on the topic of forgiveness and amid all of his wonderful stories he also had this to share: Sometimes we can take offense so easily. On other occasions we are too stubborn to accept a sincere apology. Who will subordinate ego, pride, and hurt—then step forward with “I am truly sorry! Let’s be as we once were: friends. Let’s not pass to future generations the grievances, the anger of our time”? Let’s remove any hidden wedges that can do nothing but destroy.

Where do hidden wedges originate? Some come from unresolved disputes which lead to ill feelings, followed by remorse and regret. Others find their beginnings in disappointments, jealousies, arguments, and imagined hurts. We must solve them—lay them to rest and not leave them to canker, fester, and ultimately destroy.

 

 You may have to declare your forgiveness a hundred times the first day and the second day, but the third day will be less and each day after, until one day you will realize that you have forgiven completely.

William P. Young

Hidden Talents

 "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious" Albert Einstein 

We have all been born with incredible talents and abilities that can make a significant change in the world, yet how often do we actually search out our hidden abilities or take the time to cultivate our talents. Most of us have a desire to become something extraordinary, however our circumstances in life sometimes have a tendency to redirect our desires and make us question our ability to be exceptional. Our talents are an important part of who we are, they define us as individuals, and can only enhance our capability to make a difference in the lives of others and in our own. The interesting part is that we are often using our talents without even realizing it, for instance some of us have great listening skills while others are very intuitive to the feelings of others.Whatever your talent may be know that there is someone waiting to be touched by your specific abilities, so begin thinking about your forte in life and take the time to make a change within yourself and the world.

"Excellence is not a destination; it is a continuous journey that never ends"

Tis the Season for a Little R&R

This morning I am enjoying the holiday season by warming my toes in front of a warm wood stove while sipping hot chocolate and listening to a little Christmas jazz. This is what I would consider an "ahhhhhh" type of moment and I'm savoring every minute of this down time. Especially since during this time of year we are typically dealing with stress overload, so finding different ways to relax and rejuvenate our senses is a welcome diversion. 
Here are a few ideas that I hope will help to ease the stresses of the season and help you to find that Christmas spirit once again:

1. Reminisce with your significant other about Christmas's past

2. Take a nice long bubble bath

3. Open up the pages to the book that you have been wanting to read for the past few months
4. Wake up before the kids and make yourself  a nice herbal tea or hot chocolate and reflect on what Christmas is really all about
5. Look at your family photo albums

6. Listen to Christmas music

7. Make Christmas sugar cookies

8. Write down the things you are grateful for

9. Take a drive around town to look at Christmas lights

10. Play a game with the family

11. Go to a Christmas Bazaar

12. Play in the snow and if you do not have snow where you live take shaved ice and make snow balls

13. Watch Christmas movies
14. Make homemade gifts

15. Find a way to help someone in need

Have a Merry Christmas!!!!

The Meaning of Love

Love is like the childhood game of hide and seek, sometimes we find love hidden in the most unusual places only to have it run away and hide once again and for the time being we are left counting, hoping that we will soon have our turn to hide and be found by love. I actually became enchanted with the idea of love in my tenth grade English class where I was introduced to the classic love story of “Romeo and Juliet”. I questioned the existence of a love that was so complete that one person could not exist without the love of the other and I often wondered if it would it be possible for me to someday find that same kind of enduring love. I would eventually find this type of true love, but not before experiencing love’s accompaniment of heartache.
There was a writing contest that I had once found in a magazine and the essay topic was "When Was The First Time You Understood The Meaning Of Love". Although I'm an amateur writer I decided that I would enter the contest with an anticipation of having an award winning essay. I was completely unaware of the true feelings that would eventually pour out onto those blank pages. I found that the meaning of love for me was not so much a moment of realization but rather a series of lessons learned throughout the course of my life. I never actually submitted that essay but I had gained an awareness of love that was worth more to me than any recognition. I encourage you to find a notebook and begin to write down your own thoughts and feelings about love, you may be surprised by what you will find.

Achieving your dreams

How often do you find yourself watching other people living out their dreams all the while forgetting about your own dreams and aspirations? It is never too late to begin a life that you love and a great way to start achieving your dreams is by setting goals for yourself.  
  
Achieving your dreams begins with a little brainstorming. Think about all of those dreams that you have wanted to accomplish in your life (don't forget your childhood dreams) now jot them down on paper. You will find that writing down your dreams will help you to realize your true passions in life. 

Once you have compiled all of your thoughts on paper you will now be ready to move onto the next step which will be to take all of those ideas and divide them into two categories labeled "My Long Term Dreams" and "My Short Term Dreams". Your "long term dreams" are usually attainable within a 3 to 20 year time period, so this would be things like a career, financial planning, or education, whereas your "short term dreams" would be those dreams usually accomplished in a shorter period of time, so something like planning a fitness schedule or reading a book once a week. 

Okay, so now is the time to take a look at your dream list and arrange those dreams from the most important to you to the least important (keep in mind that working on both a long term and a short term dream at the same time is quite common). Priortizing your dreams will make it easier for you when coming up with an objective for achieving each individual dream. 

Once you have decided on which dreams are most important to you, you will then begin the process of developing a step by step plan to accomplish those dreams. For instance if you want to go to school the first step would be to call the school and set up an appointment with an advisor. Once you take that intial step you will find that the next steps are more easily attainable. 

This last part will probably be the most challenging , this is when you put your plan into action, and by giving yourself realistic expectations and keeping a positive attitude you will find that your goals will seem more within reach. Update your progress periodically and If you really want to be inspired to live your dreams watch Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture " http://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo