A Reason To Be Happy

      I haven't updated my blog in a long time.  I have been so overwhelmed with work and personal problems that I found it difficult to write about happiness.  I felt alone and unappreciated.  I felt sad.

      But just when I was about to feel sorry for myself and wallow in sadness, I found this picture-a picture of my family.

      

      I still face the same problems but I have just been reminded by this picture that I am not alone.  I have a very loving family who's always there for me, and that is a very good reason to be happy.

An Inspirational Poem

Live….Laugh…and Love 
By John McLeod

Live well dear friends
In all you do,
Tho' paths be old
Or paths be new,
But to yourself
Be ever true,
Live well!


Laugh often friends
Tho' passing years
Bring, sometimes, smiles
And, sometimes, tears,
For mirth forever
Warms and cheers
Laugh often!


Love much dear friends
For love will bring
The healing joy
And hope of Spring,
Where pain and fear may never dwell
Nor anguish touch….
And so Live well,
Laugh often too,
And more, dear friends,
Love much!

Photo: Voltaire Garcia

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp. 

But, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

No Regrets

     
Sixteen years ago, my high school class watched the Dead Poets Society in our English class.  The movie popularized the phrase "Carpe Diem", a Latin phrase which translates as "seize the day". I enjoyed the movie a lot and found the phrase very inspiring that I have made it my motto in life.

Most people tend to worry too much about the future that they fail to enjoy the present.  While it is good to have a goal, I personally believe it shouldn't be the be-all, end-all of one's existence.  While it's good to know where you are going, I think enjoying the journey is much more important.

The future is not something you can control.  No matter how hard you try to stick to your plans, you still cannot have an assurance that you will reach your goal.  There are so many variables that can affect one's plans- other people, economy, nature.   But while you cannot control your future, you can control the decisions you make today.  Choose a today that makes you happy while still keeping an eye on your goal. Seize the day, and live life with no regrets.

Photo: Voltaire Garcia

Rainbow

Rainbow
by South Border




Fallin' out, fallin' in
Nothing's sure in this world no, no
Breakin' out, breakin' in
Never knowin' what lies ahead We can really never tell it all no, no, no
Say goodbye, say hello
To a lover or friend
Sometimes we never could understand
Why some things begin then just end
We can really never tell it all no, no, no


But oh, can't you see
That no matter what happens
Life goes on and on
So baby, just/please smile
Coz I'm always around you
And ill make you see how beautiful
Life is for you and me

Take a little time baby
See the butterflies color's
Listen to the birds that were sent
To sing for me and you
Can you feel me
This is such a wonderful place to be
Even if there is pain now
Everything would be all right
For as long as the world still turns
There will be night and day
Can you hear me
There's a rainbow always after the rain
Oh whoa



Hittin' high, hittin' low
Win or lose you should go, yeah yeah
Getting warm, getting cold
Weather could be so good or bad
But baby this is life now don't get mad no, no, no
Coz oh, can't you see
That no matter what happens
Life goes on and on
So baby, please smile
Coz I'm always around you
And ill make you see how beautiful
Life is for you and me

Take a little time baby
See the butterflies' colors
Listen to the birds that were sent
To sing for me and you
Can you feel me
This is such a wonderful place to be
Even if there is pain now
Everything would be all right
For as long as the world still turns
There will be night and day
Can you hear me
There's a rainbow always after the rain

Life's full of challenges
Not all the time we get what we want
But don't despair my dear coz I know now
You'll take each trial and you'll make it through the storm
Coz you're strong my faith in you is clear
So ill say once again this worlds wonderful and
Let us celebrate life that's so beautiful, so beautiful 

Ohhhh
Take a little time baby
See the butterflies' colors
Listen to the birds that were sent
To sing for me and you
Can you feel me
This is such a wonderful place to be
Even if there is pain now
Everything would be all right
For as long as the world still turns
There will be night and day
Can you hear me
There's a rainbow always after the rain

From Crappy to Happy

       Life can be crappy sometimes.  You prepare for a presentation all night, only to be caught in traffic and miss it.  You give your heart and soul to someone, then find out he is gay. You invested all your money on stocks the night before the market suddenly crashed.  We do not want it, but it happens...shit happens.

      When life gives you shit, the initial reaction will either be anger or sadness.  We all go through this, but we shouldn't be discouraged by our setbacks.  We should accept the shit life gives us and make most of what we have.  This is exactly what the Maasai people did, and still do, literally.

      The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania.  As a historically nomadic and then semi-nomadic people, the Maasai have traditionally relied on local, readily available materials and indigenous technology to construct their housing.  The structural framework is formed of timber poles fixed directly into the ground and interwoven with a lattice of smaller branches, which is then plastered with a mix of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung and human urine, and ash. The cow dung ensures that the roof is water-proof.  (Wikipedia: The Free Dictionary.)


      So next time you feel like life gives you shit, think of the Maasai people.  As my brother aptly puts it, "When life gives you shit, make a house out of it."

A Quote

If you want to be happy, be. 

~Leo Tolstoy

Pleasing Everybody

Photo: Voltaire Garcia

      We often try to please everybody to the expense of our own happiness.  But how many times have we tried to please everybody and end up failing?  Instead of making everybody happy, we made somebody, or maybe even everybody, upset or sad.  The truth is we can never really please everybody.  This is because we cannot really tell what makes everybody happy.  


      Happiness is relative.  Something that makes me happy wouldn't necessarily make someone else happy.  Chocolates make me happy, but chocolates make Eric sick.  While Bex gets excited reading about Math, J's couldn't care less.


      So we better stop trying to please everybody, because it's just not possible.  Instead, let's do something that will please ourselves, and hope that it will be something that will please most of everybody.

It's a Matter of Perspective

      

        Unhappiness seems to be the theme of most people's lives.  A lot of people seem to be unhappy about almost everything- their job, their relationships, their family, their friends.  But when I hear about their story, they don't really seem so bad.  I guess happiness is just a matter of perspective. 

        I decided to create this blog to share my thoughts on happiness.  I think I am a very happy person.  I am a happy person not because I get everything I want, but because I appreciate everything I get.   I hope, through this blog,  I can help other people have a different perspective on their lives and be happier.