Tag Archives: happiness
Every Single Thing
I wished I lived someplace where people wrote things like this then hung it on a wall for everybody to see. In East Texas all we get is profanity and crude drawings of genitalia.
Happy?
Nuha Kahn writes of “toxic positivity” for The Walrus: It’s an experience most people can relate to: forcing a smile, holding back tears, saying “I’m fine” when you’re far from it. In a survey by Science of People, over 75 percent of respondents said they had rejected or ignored their emotions in an attempt to …
Purpose
I like the idea that our purpose in life might not be Grand and Exulted, it might be something quite simple. Will Rogers (might have) said, “We all can’t be heroes, for someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.” (source) LunarBaboon, on the web HERE, put it like this:
Homeostasis
“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.” ~Maya Angelou
Sacrifice and Destroy
“Each of us has our own idea of happiness. It’s because of this idea that we run after objects we desire. We sacrifice our time and, to a certain extent, destroy our bodies and our minds. According to the Buddha, happiness is simple– if we go home to the present moment, we realize that we …
Right?
This excerpt from Answers from the Heart by Thich Nhat Hanh, ©2009, illustrates the fundamental difference between Buddhism and Christianity. Christianity is all about the destination, heaven or hell, while Buddhism is more concerned with the path: “If you don’t feel that you’re on the right path, happiness isn’t possible. This is true for …
Just On The Point
“I cannot tell if what the world considers “happiness” is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. All …
The Great Emptiness
“When he was dry, he believed it was alcohol he needed, but when he had a few drinks in him, he knew it was something else, possibly a woman; and when he had it all– cash, booze, and a wife– he couldn’t be distracted from the great emptiness that was always falling through him and …
It Just Was
Excerpted from A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton, ©2012: “You should get some sleep,” said the bear. “I’ll keep going for a bit. It’s a nice night. Thought I’d row for a while longer and take a look at the moon.” “Look at the moon?” said the boy. “Why? It’s …
Wonderful
“Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.” ~A.R. Ammons
Just A Thing
Butt Poems by J. Smith is on the web HERE.
Ask Croz
David Crosby reverses the conventional wisdom and suggests that you should marry someone that you can make happy. Have a listen: There’s something rather charming about a 79-year-old man quoting his Mom. 🙂
Their Life Is In Their Movement
“We are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Their life is in their movement, the inhale and the exhale of our shared breath. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put into the universe will always come …
Happiness
Happiness by Marc Chagall
Anticipation
Excerpted from Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan, ©1967: Knowing the trout would wait there like airplane tickets for us to come, we stopped at Mushroom Springs and had a drink of cold shadowy water and some photographs taken of the baby and me sitting together on a log. I hope someday we’ll have …
If This Is Not Your Lot
“May you be surrounded by friends and family, and if this is not your lot, may blessings find you in your solitude.” ~Leonard Cohen
So Be Careful
“A complete stranger has the capacity to alter the life of another irrevocably. This domino effect has the capacity to change the course of an entire world. That is what life is; a chain reaction of individuals colliding with others and influencing their lives without realizing it. A decision that seems miniscule to you, may …
Transition
As I was slowly waking up this morning over a cup of hot coffee, it occurred to me how many of our pleasures are in the transitions. Both states of being are nice, but waking up is a different kind of pleasure than being awake. It’s nice to be warm, but it’s different than warming …
the word ‘think’
“In the United States we think we have at our disposal virtually everything– and I emphasize the word ‘think.’ We have big houses and cars, good medical treatment, jets, trains and monorails; we have computers, good communications, many comforts and conveniences. But where have they gotten us? We have an abundance of material things, but …
Abbie's Tree House 