Ok so I’m trying not to give up hope yet … but I was only down by 800 yesterday – today I’m down by 1000.  The odds are most definitely NOT in my favor however I’ve started – and there’s no point stopping until it’s over right?  :)  Sure I started 2 weeks late – and THANK YOU for the 500+ votes I’ve received over the past week!!!  But unless I start pulling 200 votes+ a day – I’m not going to catch up.  Sooo…. if you haven’t voted yet today – if you haven’t asked your blog readers to vote – if you haven’t thrown out a tweet or a FB status update – please, please do!!  :)  I’m almost at 100 votes a day – and if all of my voters get just ONE MORE PERSON to vote – voila! 200+ votes a day. :)

Good Mood Gig from SAM-e

AAANNNDDD I kind of think that maybe even if I don’t get the job – I think dedicating one day a week to writing about finding and maintaining inner happiness might be a great way to go.  Sometimes I wish I didn’t know much about the subject (only because I learned about it the hard way) but other times I’m grateful when I can share a few words with someone in need.

Finding inner happiness – part 1

Have you ever felt free?  Free from the pressures of work. Free from the pressures of family, society, money,etc.?    Have you ever thought, “I never want this moment to end” ??

Take a moment today and relive that experience.  Take a moment and feel where you were – what you were doing – the sounds, sights, smells.  Maybe you were catching a nice wave while surfing.  Maybe your cat sat purring in your lap.  Maybe it was while you played a musical instrument, or it was after a long day of work and you were chilling on your bed with your feet up.  :) Maybe it was outside when you eyes beheld breathtaking beauty.  A waterfall, a peaceful spring, seeing a wild dolphin swim next to you.  Maybe it was beauty from the heart – coming home to a big happy hug from your adorable child.  Or maybe – just maybe – if you were me – you were laying outside under a big willow tree with two beautiful dogs by your side watching the clouds go by.

You don’t have to be doing anything “special” to experience this escape.  You simply have to live.

Stop the torrent of thoughts scrambling around in your mind.  Set aside your worries for 10 minutes.  Breathe.  Look.  See.  Feel.  And then?  And then take a big sigh and smile.

Our actions may not be directly related to the patterns of our thoughts and changing our thinking doesn’t ensure change in behavior.

On the other hand, our thoughts are most certainly directly affected by our actions.  And if we choose to act in ways we may not feel (if we try to attempt happiness when we are sad),  if we keep this up, eventually the thoughts will follow.   Maybe we can’t let go of it all today – maybe there is just too much stress.  Ok.  That’s ok.  Go back in time and relive a prior experience.  Remember how it felt.  Feel it again.

Sigh and let the world go for one minute.  Then smile and feel the energy around you.  Laugh.  Love.  Live.

It only takes a moment.  Try it today.