Bring on that Sunshine

Tags

encouraging notes, sunshine jars, teaching kids to think of others

We are going on the fourth day of no school.  We are in desperate need of a change.  Our moods are foul and we are “bored”.  Just about the time those winter blues grasp a hold of our hearts, a little dose of sunshine gives us an extra boost.

A lovely group of friends gave me a “Be Happy” jar when I moved and then filled it with heartfelt messages and notes of encouragement.

I love this jar and everything it represents.

It’s that little extra oomph when the days seem long.  It’s like a hug for my soul.  Whenever I feel lonely, I simply pull out a note and my day instantly improves.  It’s that “yes, you matter” message at exactly the right moment.

I decided this jar of joy is too good of an idea to keep a secret.  Why not spread some love?  Why not bust out our supplies and create a love ripple?

So we gathered:

• jars (recycled spaghetti and sauerkraut jars, thank you!)

• fun scrapbook paper to write messages (but any bit of paper will do)

• playful imaginations and creative juices

• a book of quotes (or use your computer to google some hopeful phrases about friendship, love, and happiness)
• markers or crayons or any writing implements

We scribbled down fun memories shared with friends, encouraging quotes, funny stories, and anything we thought might make someone smile.  The boys drew pictures.  We just let our imaginations take over…

If you are feeling grumpy, these little babies will turn your mood around.

You can’t be grouchy when you are thinking of someone special or how meaningful that relationship is to you.  I find that anytime I feel the funk coming, it’s best to think of someone else.  It ALWAYS, ALWAYS brightens my day.

Is there someone you know who could use a lift?  Tell him or her.  Tell her why she’s awesome and how she inspires you.  Share with him how he positively influences you.

Maybe YOU need a mood enhancer and some self-love messages.

Go ahead, get yourself a jar of sunshine and spread that good stuff around!!

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Sowing the HAPPY seeds

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be happy, creating happiness, how to find your happy self, think happy

Have you ever felt like you were playing a game of peek-a-boo with happiness?  One minute, you are stoked and swimming in happy thoughts and feelings.  The next minute, you can’t figure out why you are sad and why things just aren’t going your way.   I sure do.  Sometimes I wonder if that’s normal.

I want to tip the scales of happiness and work on the bursting with enthusiasm side more.  I want to tend my happy garden to sow more seeds of delight and toss out the weeds that entangle my life.  I believe that happiness has to be cultivated.  I think happy people have to work at it–just like anything else.

So, here are 10 Ways to Bring On the Happy:

1.  Continue to count my blessings every day.  I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal (you can check it out HERE) as a daily reminder of all the little gifts in my life RIGHT NOW.  What an eye-opener to see the abundance of lovely things and people in my life.

2. Think about people and moments that evoke happy thoughts.  Without fail, when I focus on these mental images, I’m transported to a happier moment.  Usually these thoughts inspire me to write letters, post notes on Facebook, and call loved ones to tell them that I’m thinking of them.

3.  Surround myself with people who are positive and uplifting.  I am drawn to people who smile, show kindness, use encouraging words, and think of others.   I like to be around people who choose to see the good in others.    They are like vitamins–good for me!  Likewise, there are some go-to people I can count on when I log on to Facebook who will post articles, stories, and statuses that lift my spirits and makes me smile.  Conversely, I’ve hidden the profiles of those who are constantly negative.  To be clear, I’m not avoiding sadness as I know that’s just part of life (and its also healthy to be able to process these feelings).  I just don’t like to see people wallowing in complaints day after day who are blessed beyond measure but haven’t stopped whining long enough to realize it!

4.  Serve those in need.  Whenever I was going through my radiation treatments, I became very aware of other cancer survivors.   The experience heightened my awareness that there are so many other people facing bigger problems and health issues than me.  It was a humbling experience and reminded me of how we are all part of something much bigger.  We can do so much–even if its as little as a simple smile and message to say “you are important”.

5.  Be the kind of person others WANT to be around.  There are periods of the past that I reflect on and cringe because I was the Debbie Downer of the group.  I’m a little surprised by those long time friends that stuck it out with me even when I was stuck in a rut of misery.  Then again, I have some amazing friends!  Bottom line:  if you spend all your days complaining and spreading negativity, don’t be surprised when people bail.  No one needs toxic friends.  Instead, build people up and find something special about everyone you meet.

6.  Connect with nature.  There is just no way to stay in a bad mood when you take the time to notice all the natural beauty beckoning to you.  The shade of the sky, the brilliant colors of a sunrise or sunset, the variety of birds, flowers, trees, landscapes….all of it majestic and FREE!  Stop and listen–do you hear the beautiful melody the birds are creating?

God’s gifts are viewable EVERY day!

7.  Turn up the music and dance.  Music is always my mood pick-me-up.  I play songs with a beat that gets me moving.  When I’m having a bad day, I crank up the volume and dance all around my house.  Sure, my kids think I’m nuts but 9 times out of 10, I feel better and get them dancing with me.  Is it just me or is late 80s rap just MADE for days like these???  Go ahead, cut a rug.  I DARE you not to smile!

8.  Create, create, create!  Find some way to tap into your creative juices.  Take up painting, make an art project with your child, design a space in your house, build something, take fun photos, play with an art app on your phone, or write a story.  Truly, your options are endless!  If your mind is focused on creating, it can’t possibly be focused on the blues.  : )

Create your own sunshine

9.  Pick an occasion and celebrate!  Invite friends to join you.  I’m a life-celebrater–I decorate for holidays like its my job.  I love to bring a festive atmosphere to my home.  I want my boys to remember that we had a lot of fun and shared a lot of laughs.  We don’t spend a lot of money–we keep our decorations, food, and crafts simple.  It’s about finding time to be intentionally happy!

Our little reindeer just sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn for Santa’s helpers.

Snow Day love

Our little groundhogs told us there would be 6 more weeks of winter too.

Valentine’s Day goodies

Let the good times rule with Fat Tuesday

Turning our snow day into a sunny day

10.  Pray, meditate, study scripture–take time to understand your life’s purpose.   You were created to be YOU and nobody else.  Figure out how you can enhance your family, your community, your world.  Seek spiritual guidance in understanding your role.

So those are my top ten ways I’m going to nurture my happiness garden.  I’ll pray for many blooming, beautiful moments and be grateful for the occasional rain showers that help me continue to grow.

When You Let Your Light Shine

A few months ago, I shared my 40 Rays of Light campaign.  If you missed it, you can read about spreading sunshine HERE.

What a fun and rewarding project it turned out to be.  Aside from the delight in writing to so many cherished friends and family members, I loved hearing how each person chose to spread his/her sunshine.

If there’s anything I’ve learned over the last few months, it’s the importance of expressing love and gratitude.   When people pour into you, anything is possible.  Even more uplifting is discovering the tapestry of beauty that surrounds us–in nature, in human actions, in generous children,  and thoughtful teachers.

Recently, I’ve seen lots of grumbling about politics on Facebook and other social sites.  So, I figured I’d balance all the negativity out there with some positive vibes.  I’m sharing some of the responses I received from friends who participated in my 40 Rays of Sunshine request.  These are just a few examples of the ripple effect of human kindness.

Operation:  Spread Sunshine

• One beautiful friend and her 5 year old daughter drove around her local college on a rainy, spring day and offered umbrellas to students who were walking on campus without rain gear.

• “I wrote a letter to a friend who now lives in Paris, who helped me so much when I had my daughter in not feeling like “the only one” to feel the way I felt after the first child. I also wrote a card to a friend who is struggling on her own on a lot of fronts but that always has a positive attitude and a word of wisdom for me too, letting her know of how grateful I am to have her as a friend and letting her know how she helps me grow.”

• “40 Rays contribution: left a love note and flowers for a 90+year old lady from my old church. Haven’t seen her in forever so I thought I’d find her home and leave her flowers. “

I love this girl’s heart!

• “As part of a birthday wish for “Operation: Spread Sunshine” I started a comedic sports blog about the trials and tribulations of being a Cleveland fan to make people laugh. ”   She’s seriously funny and you can check it out HERE!  Love a woman’s perspective on sports!

• “I spread my sunshine with a former student. Very fun!”

• “My little extra sunshine entailed reaching out to five friends who I don’t talk with often which ended up being fun. I also sent my mother a letter via snail mail – she’ll like that. I didn’t save the world, but in your honor tried to add one more ray of sunshine to others near and dear.”

• “I sent some ‘sunshine’ to my cousin, Kim, and her husband Paul who is dealing with some cancer issues right now.  What a great idea!”

• A friend near to my heart came up with these FANTASTIC tees and is continuing the kindness wave by passing them out to her friends.  I snapped up a few for my friends as well because I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!  Yay KIM!!!  ; )

Let it SHINE!

It’s never too late to do something amazing!   : )  Go ahead, grab some paper and write  an encouraging note to a friend, neighbor, cousin, teacher, bus driver, or service person.   Take the time to spread your sunshine.

How to Make People Smile

Tags

kindness in neighborhood, kindness notes, Spread kindness, words of encouragement

Just when you start to think the world seems harsh and people seem nasty, something small happens and you instead see beauty.  A few months ago I found a Youtube video about two girls who wrote kindness notes and placed them on random people’s windshields, front doors, etc.

The video made me smile and I knew I had to make a plan.

I had intended to blog about it much sooner but…well, life happens and throws curve balls.  I believe that’s all the more reason to share the up side of life.  So, here’s how I got to spend my last bit of time in Iowa before the move and before the cancer diagnosis!

A Guide to Make People Smile:

STEP 1 Recruit a group of friends who are full of sunshine and build your Kindness Army.

STEP 2 Gather inspiration, supplies, and your friends.

STEP 3 Write your notes and laugh lots

STEP 4 Prepare stealth mode kindness notes blitz! (laminate them and tie pretty strings on for dangling happiness!)

STEP 5 Hang in trees all around and spread the love.

Who couldn’t use a little more love and a lot more encouragement?  Go ahead, blitz your neighborhood too!  Let’s keep the good moving forward!

All Mixed Up

Tags

flawtabulous, frenzied mom, unorganized mom

Today I went to the dentist after rifling through the “appointment” slot in my family organizer.  I found the appointment card and diligently wrote a note to my son’s teacher letting her know of the appointment and alternative arrangements for the ride home.  I may have even grinned approvingly at myself for just a moment for giving advance notice for once.

Today was NOT our appointment date.  Turns out,  I was looking at last year’s card (still shoved in the “organizer”).

If you were a fly on the wall in my house, you’d know that moments like these happen far more frequently than I’d like to admit.  I’m not one of those legendary all pulled together moms.  Most often, I’m lucky to make it out the door with both kids fully dressed.   9 times out of 10, I’m leaving the house in a frenzy while barking orders at my family.   I’d love for life to slow down just enough for me to catch up with everyone.

But do we ever really catch up?  Probably not.

My kitchen counter will forever be waging a war with the pile of incoming mail, school papers, recipes and life stuff.   Laundry baskets will fill up before I can even get stuff from last week put away.  I will forget to take meat out of the freezer thus initiating a thorough inspection of the pantry in search of something, anything, I can call dinner.  My car will transport wrappers, toys, and crumbs along with my children.  I will employ my now finely-honed sleuthing skills on the hunt for the ever disappearing shoes of my youngest son.

Some days, I can fake it and appear to have it together.  Today is not that day.  Today I am practicing the fine art of flawtabulous-ness.

Are you flawtabulous today too?

Spreading Sunshine with 40 Rays of Light

Tags

celebrating 40, fun activity for turning 40, kindness army, kindness matters, spreading kindness, spreading sunshine, turning 40

Today I turn 40.

I’m not gonna lie.  I really struggled with this birthday.   Like many women, I’ve been inundated with messages that tell me I should be “rewinding” the clock, “fighting” age, and looking younger with miracle wrinkle/firming creams.  I even bought into the notion for awhile. Then I looked around me.  I saw beauty in all shapes and sizes.  I watched truly beautiful friends turn 40. I decided it was time to turn toward gratitude.  I took time to reflect on how I arrived at where I am today.  It’s been a 40 year journey–one with much joy and laughter as well as heartache and pain.  All along that journey, I met people who inspired, encouraged, supported, and even challenged me.  They left a blueprint on my heart.  They lifted me. Thus, an idea was born:  OPERATION:  SPREAD SUNSHINE

I drafted up a letter that I sent to 40 friends requesting that they each pick someone special to spread sunshine.  I was deliberate in choosing people from all parts of my life–from family, my early years living in Pennsylvania, my high school and college years in Ohio, as well as the many places I lived beyond college.  Once I started, I wished I could write more than 40–because there are so many amazing people that I’ve interacted with over 40 years! Along with the letter, I wrote out personal messages to each friend on a little piece of sunshine paper.

I wanted these delightful and exquisite individuals to know how much they matter to me and how important they are in this world.   I don’t know why we wait until people’s funerals to share our feelings.  People need to hear encouraging words and know they are loved.  If we can focus on the many blessings we have in our lives, we might just change this world.

Go ahead and spread some sunshine to your friends.  I hope that by sharing this mission, I can plant a seed and we can all brighten lots of peoples’ lives!

Now, my friends, 40  doesn’t just rock, 40 SHINES  : )

FOLLOW UP:  Click HERE if you’d like to see some of the responses from this mission.  Kindness ripples everywhere!  : )

Restoring Humanity

Tags

kindness army, kindness overpowers bad, reaction to Boston Tragedy, still believing in good in the world

Yesterday I set about my day on a mission of kindness.  I mailed a stack of letters to some very special friends.

I had planned to blog about it soon.

Then the news of the Boston Marathon tragedy hit.

Nothing that I say will ever be fully enough.  The irony of the contrast of devastation in Boston with the content of my letters is overwhelming.   As I sit back and take it all in, I almost can’t believe it’s real.  I spent time all weekend writing notes to people in my life.  I asked them to spread kindness as a gift–my attempt to build a kindness army.   I mailed them yesterday morning, just hours before the explosions that rocked Boston.

I have chills because I can’t explain the timing.  I felt nudged.  I’ve been feeling nudged for a while now.  It’s been on my heart and has consumed me.

More than ever, the world NEEDS human kindness.   People need more encouragement.  They need to know they matter.   We have to stop ignoring each other.  We need to build communities, not bombs.    We need to stop the name-calling, the bullying, the judgments, the hate.  Little eyes are watching and learning.

My request was  and is simple.  Spread sunshine.  Take time to acknowledge someone.  A simple gesture with a simple purpose.

I don’t know who perpetrated such horrific terror in Boston.  I do, however, believe we’ll see an uprising of love.  In the end, love always wins.

Friends, do something today that is meaningful to someone you know.  Even better, do something kind for someone you don’t.

• Refrain from blasting your ex on Facebook.  No one wants to hear it.  It’s hateful and you are better than that!
• Smile at the people you pass on the street, in a store, in the office.  You are better looking when you smile.
• Write a letter to a teacher or mentor or anyone who has impacted you.  Let them know how they helped you grow.
• Be courteous to the person who assists you in a restaurant, store, business.  Do it because it’s the right thing to do.
• Be grateful for this day and every day.  You are blessed to be breathing.
• Donate your time and money to a worthy cause.  I promise it will make you feel better.
• Lift up a child with your words.  Your words will ring in their ears.

I’m asking everyone I know to BE BETTER, DO BETTER!  Will you?

Catching the Contagion!

Tags

kindness, spreading kindness

Life has a funny way of changing you when you least expect it.

When my grandfather passed away over a year ago, I didn’t quite grasp how his funeral would profoundly change me.  As I listened to loved ones pay their respects, there was one theme that repeated again and again.  “Your grandfather was a kind man.”    One year later, the words stay with me.  They make me smile.

Kindness

When someone does something kind for you, you remember it.  It warms your heart.   Nothing can compare to the feeling that you matter.   In an instant, your faith in humanity can be restored.   You get the sense that we’re all in this together.

It’s not a new notion.   Great minds and philosophers have been talking about kindness for hundreds of years.

There are many books on the topic.   People “pin” messages on Pinterest that espouse it’s benefits.

Yet, when daily life sets in, we forget.

Sometimes I forget.  I forget to be kind, to be uplifting, to give encouragement.

We get caught up in the mundane tasks of life.  We race in our cars from one obligation to the next.  We walk past each other and look away.  We ignore.

I don’t like this and I’m not willing to accept it.  I want to choose kindness.  Mindful kindness.

I’m a work in progress but I’m committed.

What if I start with Facebook?  What if I choose NOT to grumble?  What if I asked myself before every post “Will this comment fill people up or make them feel spit out?  What if I replace the glass half-empty mentality with one full of gratitude?  What if I posted a word of encouragement to a friend who seems down?  What if I messaged someone that I haven’t talked to in a long time and told them that I cared?  What if everyone did this and picked one friend…and that friend picked one friend..and so on?

The world is full of negative comments, words, and actions.  However, we do not have to participate.  We can opt out of the negativity.

I have two young boys who are watching me.  They will remember my actions, not my words.  I want their world to be better.  I can help build a kindness army.

This is just the beginning!  : )

 

 

New Year, New Resolve

Tags

20 things that make me smile, kindness, new years resolutions

I’m not a super organized person so it should come as no surprise that I didn’t make a list of new year’s resolutions.  I like to think about all the things I could do better each year.  The writing it down part?  Not my gig!

I do, however, hope to continue on my quest to create happiness all around me.  I want to find ways to spread kindness.   Sometimes I wonder if people forget how lucky and blessed they are most of the time.  Imagine a day when complete strangers smile at you in a store, say something nice for no reason, and spread cheer.  Wouldn’t that be amazing?

I’ve been thinking about how to implement this “Living in a Happier World” kind of mentality.  It should start with me, right?

So in honor of my non-resolution but big hopes kind of year, I’m going to post something once a week that will help me (and maybe you too) get a smile on.

Today I’ll start with 20 things that make me smile:

1.  fresh cut flowers

2.  baking sweets

3. kids’ art

4. snowmen

5.  stealing kisses

6.  nature hikes

7.  finding acorns

8.  fluffy cats

9.  sunsets

10.  cupcakes

11.  encouraging notes

12.  coffee

13.  hugs

14.  love notes

15.  Doritos

16.  smiles

17.  rainbows

18.  finger paints

19.  ice cream

20.  curls

What’s on your smile list?

Putting the “Thanks” back into the Thanksgiving

Tags

gratitude, Thankful tree, thanksgiving activity with kids

Have you looked around you lately and pondered all that is good in your life?

I’m really working on teaching my boys how to be gracious.   We are blessed beyond measure and I want them to really understand that–on a deeper level.

So….we “planted” a thankful tree in our living room.  I’ve seen many variations of thankful trees–all of which require either sewing talent (which I lack) 0r gobs of time (CLEARLY don’t have THAT) .  So, we went with my hill-billy version because what’s easier than sticking a few sticks in some dirt????

We talked about all the things that fill our hearts with gratitude.

And while toys made it high on their list, I was pleased to see that my seven year old found some other things for which to be grateful.

We’ve got lots more leaves to add!  : )  Won’t you plant a tree with us?