Bit of Happy #146: Love More

“Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours.”
-Swedish Proverb

Each day, a coworker of mine sends out a quote to many of her friends and family… and ME!!! (since she knows how much I LOVE quotes). She actually shared this one today, and it brought a smile to my face this morning in the moments I read it. With my reaction, it gave me a great idea! And you know what that great idea was!? Bet you’ll never guess!!!

TO SHARE IT WITH ALL OF YOU!

The Swedish Proverb is gentle in its guidance but shows all of the great things that can come out of a positive attitude. Wake up each morning with a smile. With hope.

Savor each moment your given and take the time to actually embrace them fully. Focus on the positive and rise up with strength in times of doubt or weakness.

Speak, but share your thoughts after thinking about them. Choose your words wisely, instead of speaking from the tip of your tongue.

And finally, love. Love everything around you. Show kindness towards others. Show care and tenderness towards nature. And by doing each of these things every day air fills your lungs, all good things will be yours.

Bit of Happy #142: Ohhhh, the memories!

“Memory… is the diary that we all carry about with us.”
-Oscar Wilde

Memories… Like the first time we road down the sidewalk without training wheels and didn’t fall. Or the time we made a huge step toward finding our true passion in life. Or the first time we got that flutter in our heart from the person we were destined to spend the rest of our life with. Like a diary, all of these are incredible memories that we carry around with us each and every day. Though we may not take the time to revisit them daily, they are never far from our minds, or our hearts.

Today’s quote by Oscar Wilde is an imaginative take on our gift of remembrance. Along with the good memories, some difficult ones are intertwined – ones that we may avoid thinking of. Though, something I’m willing to bet is: despite that these memories may be ones we’d like to skip over, they are also the ones that we have either learned from, grew from, or chose a different path of life because of. These are the life lessons that if you hadn’t endured, you wouldn’t be you! So, with that said… when opening your diary of life, don’t be afraid to celebrate all of your memories!

Happy Wednesday!

Bit of Happy #138: A Gift With No Cost

“A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.”
-Anonymous

I found a handful of quotes about the influence of a smile sometime last week. Not that a smile overload would be a bad thing, but I’ve been trying to spread out these new quotes with the others that I have.

Today’s quote, author unknown, was by far one of my favorites of the bunch. The entire thing as a whole brings so much positivity and light to what a smile can do for you… and what it can do for others. And the best part, it’s free! Free and requiring little time and effort, smiling tends to be contagious. We tend to experience happiness out from others’ happiness. Such a small gesture can brighten someone’s day – whether they are your best friend, your parent or a complete stranger.

“It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.” This part, this very sentence is what really tugged at my heart. It touched the very core of my soul. This is the line that made my thoughts drift to the ones I love, picturing each of them with a smile on their face. Cheesy perhaps, but just those memories of each one of them brought – well, what would you know – a smile to my face!

Give away your smiles and collect the ones that are given back to you. You never know when someone you know, or you yourself, may need to bring out that memory on a rainy day. It is the happiest moments that get us through the difficult times. It is the happiest moments that give us a reason to stay strong. It is the happiest moments that remind us why life is worth living.

“Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.” So, give others a reason to remember to smile. Give them a reason to find happiness in their life. Give them a reason to live each moment to the absolute fullest. And you can do all of these things simply with a smile.

Bit of Happy #136: A World With No Passion?

“Without passion, you don’t have energy; without energy, you have nothing. Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.”
-Donald Trump

Don’t assume from today’s quote that I’m a huge Donald Trump fan, but I must say this statement has a lot of power. Without passion, without a drive to succeed, nothing great will come out of the effort put forth. In fact, there will be no true effort because there lies an unwillingness to put any amount of substantial energy into the task at hand.

I think it is important to take a step back in life and realize what you are truly passionate about. If it’s about helping others, go out in the world and use that as your driving force to accomplish something great. If it’s about caring for animals, wake up every morning and energize yourself with how you will make that a reality. If it’s about making the world more beautiful, take that dream as your daily motivation to change what is gray and bland into something colorful and bright.

Anyone who matches passion with an undeniable energy to accomplish something great in life has the ability to make a difference. Acquire these qualities and practice them each day. Never lose sight of your dreams, and from there, all you have to do is begin with a single step.

Happy Tuesday!

Bit of Happy #135: Sea Breeze

“Sea Breeze”
by Tyrone Wells

“Did I really meet her, or was it just a sweet dream…
That lingers in the morning, like a melody?
Over and over, all through the day,
I can’t stop thinking about how I’m feeling this way.

She moves like sea breeze, swirling around me.
The fragrance that she leaves, hangs in the air.
Soft like a whisper, she’s calling me to her.
These eyes have seen the most beautiful dream.”

A song unlike any other, “Sea Breeze” by Tyrone Wells holds a magic that I’ve never heard before. Not only are the lyrics flawless, but his voice is wholesome and tells an enchanting story. Left wondering if it was all just a dream, he laid eyes on what seems like an angel from heaven – she moved like sea breeze and smelled sweetly. Gently, he seems to gravitate toward her without much choice, she has this way about her that cannot be explained. In surrender, he recapitulates this encounter as the most beautiful dream he’s ever had.

This explanation is nothing that anyone can’t pull from these lyrics, but I wanted to open up the song topic for conversation with all of you. So take a moment to listen to today’s Music Quote Monday, and let me know what you think!

Happy Monday!

What did you think of today’s Music Quote Monday? How do you interpret the lyrics?

Do you think this song really was about a dream, or do you think the lyrics convey a real encounter that feels like a dream?

Bit of Happy #134: The Only Sunshine

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.”
– Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

What a thought. Today’s quote, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., shows the power of a smile. Something as small as a that kind gesture can go a long way. It doesn’t cost any money. It doesn’t require the accomplishment of any great feat. Just tug those muscles at the corners of your lips, and you may very well make someone’s day quite wonderful. Inspire new hope. Shine new light.

So what should you do? …SMILE!

Happy Friday!

Bit of Happy #129: Don’t Miss Out

“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness – not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.”
-William Feather

Sometimes it’s difficult for us to realize what we truly have. If some of the most precious things in our lives were suddenly jeopardized, I believe we would see into a small window of what it would be like without them.

After reading that very sentence, it’s the things that first popped into your mind; those are the things that mean the most to you. And those are the first things you should put most of your effort into. Most of you heart into. Stop to enjoy and celebrate the days you are given.

Each and every day you are given with them should be a day cherished. So hug them a little tighter. Love them more than yesterday. Show you appreciate all of the little things they do.

Your happiness is all around you. You’re breathing it in, basking in its warmth. But until you take a moment, close your eyes and remember all of the reasons you have to be happy, you may let it pass you by.

Speaking of happy… Happy Friday!

Bit of Happy #122: Falling In Love Is Easy

“Falling in love is easy, but staying in love is something very special.”
-Anon

As breath taking as falling in love is, Anon brings great insight into what is truly special – and that’s falling in love all over again each day you spend with that person. It’s waking up at 97-years-old and melting inside the moment the love of your life’s eyes meet yours. It’s leaning in to kiss one another and never losing that flutter in your heart. Falling in love is an incredibly special thing, yes, but staying in love until the day you die is a true rarity.

What do you think of today’s quote? Do you believe that love grows exponentially more special over time?

Bit of Happy #121: Doesn’t Make The World Go Round

“Love doesn’t make the world go round, but it makes the ride worthwhile.”
-Franklin P. Jones

Without love and compassion, where would we be in life? The world may certainly still be turning at its normal rotation, the seasons may still come and go… but without love, what do you truly have? Would our journey in life still be the same? Would we be any less complete at life’s end?

Perhaps the answers to these questions vary from person to person – but, to me – life isn’t worth living if it means there’s no such thing as love. To me, without love the ride wouldn’t be worthwhile. In fact, there would be no ride at all. Not a ride that is worth experiencing, anyway.

Today’s quote truly puts the important things in life into perspective. It’s not about the money. Or the tangible, materialistic items. Or the achieved social status. It’s not about any of those things. In the end, it’s about love. It’s about family. It’s about those special relationships you’ve built with friends and significant others. When all else fails, it’s love that will prevail above any other. Through thick and thin. Through devastation and hardship. Through fire and ice.

So even though love may not have the power to make the world go round, it certainly has the ability to changes lives. To make this life worth living. And now, let me ask you this… which one holds more power?

Bit of Happy #119: Mind Over Matter

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
-Mark Twain

My friend sent around a forwarded email the other day with a handful of quotes, and this one brought a smile to my face. It was paired with a photograph of a bunch of older women doing some kind of exercise or ballet class, and I found a lot of inspiration from it. Unfortunately, I tend to have this terrible perception of getting old. It’s really the last thing I want to do. If I could find a way to stay 22-years-old for the rest of my life, I would be perfectly happy with that.

Though we all know that is not really an option, this quote is saying otherwise. And what I think it is trying to tell us is that we can always remain young in spirit. In the mind. If we think young, we will stay young at heart until the day we each die. And even when our skin is worn with wrinkles, we can still have that glimmer of child-like magic in our eyes. We can see the world through our imagination and choose to never stop learning. Experiencing. Growing.

I’m not quite sure if this quote necessarily took all of my fears of getting old away, but it certainly put it in a brighter, more welcoming light. Hopefully it can do the same for all of you!

Happy Friday!