• About
  • Love
  • Happiness
  • Angels

lovehappinessandangels

~ Love Happiness & Angels

lovehappinessandangels

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Counting Our Blessings

08 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Tracey Marie in Uncategorized, Weekly Blog

≈ 6 Comments

photo

What is the first thing you think about when you wake up each morning? Is it how you don’t want to get out of bed and go to work?  For me while languishing in my bed, I take time to be thankful for all that is good in my life and I look forward to my day.

I’ve recently noticed some of my friends writing three things they are grateful for on their facebook page. This is in fact a very powerful exercise to do because it forces us to focus and concentrate on the positives in our lives and anything negative becomes insignificant. It really is surprising when we stop to think of all the things we can be grateful for, simple everyday things that we take for granted, such as running water, food, our family and friends.

A few years ago I decided to keep a gratitude diary, I was encouraged to do this when I read somewhere that Oprah Winfrey kept a gratitude diary and she said how much it can enhance one’s happiness. It focuses our attention on all the good.  If keeping a diary isn’t for you, there are many gratitude apps available for phones that will send you an alert each day to enter your 3 or 5 things you are grateful for.

“Thank you” are two very beautiful words. We use these words quite a lot during our day, thank you to the barista in the coffee shop, to the shopkeeper serving us our lunch or weekly shop but how often do we really mean it in our hurried lives. I started to ponder on this and wondered if we just say “thank you” because we have been brought up to say “please” and “thank you” and it is regarded as polite and is good manners.

Whenever I say the words “thank you” I make eye contact with the person I am thanking and smile directly at them to show I really do mean the words I am speaking. Previously before I made the effort to do this, I would be distracted either putting change back into my purse or already making my way out of the shop, not even making eye contact as I said thank you. By making this extra effort to say thank you and really meaning it, the response received is amazing, I am wished a good day as the shopkeeper or person I’m thanking in turn makes eye contact with me. I leave the shop very happy and hopefully they are happy and feel they are doing a good job.

Research shows that if we make a concerted effort to be grateful and to show gratitude and appreciation we not only increase our happiness but also improve our well-being. It also leads to increased levels of energy, optimism and empathy.   Not to mention life somehow seems so much happier and even I would go one step further to say that it even improves.

I would love to hear your five things that you are grateful for today, mine are:-

  1. My health
  2. My friends and family
  3. I have a roof over my head
  4. My wonderful animals
  5. Fresh food to eat

And whenever you can’t think of something to be grateful for, remember your breath.With each breath you take, you can say, ‘I am still here.’ Make each day a holiday of thankfulness—and give yourself the gift of gratitude.” — Oprah Winfrey

Wishing my lovely readers a love filled happy week filled with gratitude.

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

Random Acts of Kindness

25 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Tracey Marie in Uncategorized, Weekly Blog

≈ 5 Comments

No act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted

– AESOP

This week I would like to try and inject some extra happiness into our lives.

We only have to listen to the news to realise the world is in turmoil. Is the world really all that bad? I sincerely hope not. Surely there is far more happiness and good out there than everyone would have us believe. Reporters seem to focus on all the negative stuff, after all it draws viewers in and sells papers. I remember when the news used to finish on a happy note.  Newsreaders would wrap up their bulletins with stories of the fire brigade rescuing a cat stuck up a tree or similar such stories.   What happened to these stories? I know wonderful things are still happening around us.

For example, last week I was encouraged when I read an update on Facebook about a mother who had taken her six year old daughter to Blackpool for a day out. While they were waiting for a tram they started talking to an elderly couple who had grandchildren. When it was time to say goodbye the kind couple gave the little girl £10. The mother and daughter were astounded at their generosity and kindness. This act of kindness made a huge difference to them. The mother later wrote that they probably didn’t realise how much their kind gesture had made their day and she went on to say what a lovely couple they were with big hearts. The mother also wrote that things like that do not happen every day.

I recently took my sixteen year old niece shopping, shopping is not my favourite pastime but to see the pleasure on her face when I bought her things was so rewarding and made me very happy.

What is apparent is when we are giving we receive just as much pleasure, if not more. It gives us a warm glow. Small things can make a big difference and have a huge impact on someone’s day. When we do good deeds it seems to have a knock on effect and the goodness continues to ripple out.

Good deeds or random acts of kindness as they are known can be anything from smiling at a person in a queue; helping someone to carry their heavy bags; helping someone down the stairs who is struggling with a push chair while everyone rushes by; buying a pastry or coffee for the homeless person that you pass everyday; letting someone go before you in a queue or letting them on the train before you; offering to do some shopping for a neighbour who doesn’t have transport; paying for someone’s car parking space, paying it forward, for someone behind you in a queue.

The list is endless and there are so many things that we can do, little things that might just make a big difference to someone else. There is even an organisation called Random Acts of Kindness and this can be found at www.randomactsofkindness.org.

So this week I would like to throw out a challenge to my wonderful happy readers. The challenge is to see if you can carry out one random act of kindness no matter how small. I currently have 80+ followers and if each reader carries out one small random act of kindness it might encourage the people on the receiving end to do the same. Imagine the consequences as this ripples out into the world.

Remember one little act of kindness might be a big deal to someone like the mother and daughter in Blackpool.

Let’s try to make this wonderful world we live in a happier place.

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

A HAPPY Midlife Crisis

10 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by Tracey Marie in Uncategorized, Weekly Blog

≈ 3 Comments

When I first thought of writing a blog, I sounded out the idea with a few friends. One friend who has recently taken up a new hobby, like myself,  asked – “do you think we’re having a mid-life crisis?” I was quick with my response, maybe too quick as I replied definitely NOT.

However, any Google search will reveal that taking up a new hobby is in fact a sign of a mid-life crisis. I read the Telegraph’s Top 40 signs of a midlife crisis http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10156725/Top-40-signs-of-a-midlife-crisis-revealed.html 

Yes,  I can relate to quite a few items on the list, I’ve taken up a new hobby, a hangover lasts more than a day, not to mention my rather unsuccessful attempt at learning to play the harp last year and more.  But is this a bad thing?  I don’t believe so, especially if it makes you take a long hard look at your life to make some positive changes.  Okay we can’t all give up our day jobs but we can try to make our lives more rewarding and satisfying.  

I could quote lots of facts, figures, research etc on experiencing a midlife crisis but these can easily be found on Google.  My blog is about being HAPPY and LOVING LIFE. So let’s be thankful for the midlife crisis – grasp it with our two hands and say yes. It gives us a chance to take stock of our lives, make changes if necessary.  It’s never too late to learn to play an instrument, learn a language, photography, travel, get married, make new friends, fall in love again, again and again.

I live more in the moment now than I ever did and cherish every minute of every day. I no longer take myself too seriously or worry about what other people think of me, something I did when I was younger. Life is definitely more fun and dare I say even care-free. So if you’ve hit your midlife and are having a crisis – learn from it embrace it head on.  

Have you or do you know someone who has reached a midlife crisis?  What if anything, has this resulted in?  A new hobby, a new passion?    I would love to hear from you.  

World English Dictionary

midlife crisis  (ˈmɪdˌlaɪf

— n

 

a crisis that may be experienced in middle age involving frustration, panic, and feelings of pointlessness, sometimes resulting in radical and often ill-advised changes of lifestyle

Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition

2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins

Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009

Cite This Source

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • July 2020
  • July 2017
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014

Categories

  • Uncategorized
  • Weekly Blog

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • lovehappinessandangels
    • Join 34 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • lovehappinessandangels
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: