"Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul." That is a quote by Democritus. Democritus was an early philosopher who has two great distinctions. First, and to my great amusement, he was hated by Plato. In fact, Plato disliked him so much that he pushed to have his books burned! Sadly, none of his works have survived to this day. We know of his work only through fragments found and through the works of others. On a more positive note, Democritus is also known as the Father of modern science". You see. he had an atomic theory of the universe that is the first known model to have existed in this fashion.
To get back to his quote, I believe he is correct in pointing out that money and possessions ultimately cannot make you happy. To me, Happiness comes from an inner well being... an ability to appreciate the small, inconsequential things around you, and be content. Have you ever stopped and thought "What makes me happy?" I think it is a good exercise. My daughter did a post a couple weeks ago called 33 Moments Of Happiness... One Year Later. Last year, my daughter and I each did a blog post on the 33 things that made each of us happy. My daughter did an update a couple of weeks ago, but I have been dawdling. Below, is my updated list. I have not looked at my list from last year yet, so it will be interesting to see what difference a year makes. Remember, when it is little things that make you happy, your tastes are likely going to change over time. With that said, in no specific order, are 33 things that make me happy.
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"Good habits formed at youth make all the difference." That's a quote by Aristotle. If you do not know who he is, then you should stop reading this blog right now and go look him up. I think you will find his thoughts and writing well worth reading!
To get back to his quote, I must say I agree with it 100%. I honestly try to encourage good habits in my daughters now, while they are young, so that they will have a basis for living a good, productive, healthy interesting life. Would you like a couple of examples? Well, for starters, take this blog. Each day, my daughters are supposed to write a post about any topic they like. I want my daughters to be able to write well, and to be able to express themselves on any topic that they would like. Wishing this for my daughters is not enough. They need to practice this skill while they are young, so that it can come naturally for them later on. Let's face it, nearly every high-paying job out there has some writing involved with it. Lawyers, doctors, engineers, analysts, TV personalities or politicians all need to have the ability to write AND be understood. Entrepreneurs also need to be able to write. Whether it is for marketing, new proposals, or even just for thank you letters to an important client. Having a child write a little something every day just makes a lot of sense! Practicing karate is another thing that I have tried to make a habit for my girls. Training in the martial arts helps kids in so many ways. To start, the training helps them to develop physically, mentally and socially. The workouts are designed to help them to develop strength and stamina. Moreover, large motor skills, such as kicking and punching aid in the development of coordination and balance. Our school has five rules that both the adults and the children are expected to follow. In a nutshell, these are: Effort, Etiquette, Sincerity, Character, and Self Control. I am not going to go into detail about them here. (If anyone is interested, I wrote an article on the Bushido Code. You can read it here, although I used it for a marketing piece for my business at that time.) Suffice it to say that these rules help to develop self-discipline and confidence. I have also found that my daughters' attention spans have increased and their listening skills have improved. Both of my daughters started training at the age of three. Madison, my oldest daughter, is now a second-degree black belt. Training has become a way of life for her. It is a part of her. Ashleigh, is now a purple belt. She is participating in her first full tournament season this year. So far, she has won two trophies. She is optimistic that she will win more trophies this weekend. She has been practicing hard at the dojo and at home. Regardless how she does, I am proud of her. The girls also cultivate their own habits over time. I try to encourage there interest in the things they choose as well. If you have kids, cultivate good habits in them now. As a parent, it is our job to teach them. It is not the school's job... it is yours. Happiness is a habit. Teach your children to develop that habit. Healthy habits help to lead to a happy life. Help your children to develop habits that will serve them well for a lifetime. "Happiness is about stringing together a bunch of small pleasures." That's a quote by Ann Brashares. Call me base, but I must say that when I first read her name all I could think of was some woman sharing her bra with someone. "Ah, I forgot you were going out tonight! Here, you better take this." (as she removes her bra and hands it to the lady next to her! Okay, like I said, sometimes my sense of humor is a weird one!
At any rate, the story gets better! I looked up Ann Brashares and it turns out that she is about my age and kinda cute. She is also best known for her young-adult fiction series The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants! So now, not only am I thinking of her lending out her bras, but I'm thinking of her traveling pants too! Anyway, to get back to the quote, it kind of reminds me about what I was saying in yesterday's post. I look for the little things in my life to drive my happiness. This quote really just confirms what I was saying yesterday. Small pleasures are more likely to occur frequently. Thus if you can recognize the little things that can make you happy, you'll be happier than if you only wait for the larger things to happen. For instance, my little thought about Brashares gave me a modicum of happiness tonight. I am always thinking, and oftentimes I find humor in the things I see and read. Thinking about the odd things you see and read about is a great way to experience happiness. Even if what you are thinking isn't funny to anyone else but yourself, if you got a smile from it, then it was worth the thought. That's it for tonight folks. I think I did this topic more justice last night than I did tonight, so you may want to go read yesterday's post. If the lady's name wasn't Brashares, then I likely would have let that quote slide by tonight since I don't like to overwrite on any one topic. But, the vision I had of one large breasted woman lending her bra to another woman just made me chuckle and want to share the thought with you. Good night all! "If your happiness depends on what someone else does, then I guess you do have a problem." That's a quote by Richard Bach. You get bonus points if you actually knew who this guy is. Oddly enough, I had heard of his book (Jonathan Livingston Seagull), but I did not know that he was the author!
If any of you have ever seen the book, then you know why the 70's were known for their drugs. Essentially, it was a small book about a seagull that loved flying for the sake of flying. Who would have thought something like that could become a best seller? Only in the late 60's or early 70's I would imagine! Anyway, back to the quote. Gratefully, this is not a quote from Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Regardless of where he said this, I think the quote has some self-evident truth. If your happiness depends on the actions of someone else, then you really do have a problem! Life makes it hard enough sometimes to stay happy. Add in the actions of another person to make or break your happiness, and then you really are asking a lot. For me, I find happiness in the little things. They happen more often than big monumental things, and they also usually don't depend on other people to make me happy. Here are a couple of things that have made me happy today. In no particular order:
So what makes you happy? If you don't know, then you are doing yourself a great injustice. Discover what little things make you happy, and then put yourself in a position to experience as many of those things as you can each and every day. Sure, there are big things that make me happy. They just have a tendency not to happen everyday. Thus I try to make sure to enjoy the little things that CAN happen every day. Because the bottom line is, that I prefer to be happy rather than sad. So go chase happy! This has got to be one of my favorite quotes of all time, to be honest. I like the message it gives. I think it's pretty self-explanatory, too, but just in case some have it confused- the quote is essentially saying that life is a gigantic journey, and in your life you will run into problems. You can't let these problems (the stumble in the road) weigh you down and make you think it's impossible to move on.
I could give so many examples of stumbles in the road of life- but I'd like to dwell on two large one. The first; being relationships that fail. One of my friends got into a relationship at a young age and thought she had found the one (clearly not, she's 15) and so she threw EVERYTHING into the relationship. She grew extremely attached to this guy, and despite warnings from her parents, me, and multiple other friends who saw her growing depressed from the weight of the relationship, she clung to him for 7 months. For 4 out of those 7 months, she was manipulated to not talk to ANYONE besides the boy she was dating and it was awful. She got caught in this emotionally abusive relationship and she couldn't see it... finally, things hit a dead end and the boy who had caused her so much pain ended up blaming a lot of shit on her and leaving her. This hurt her; but also opened her eyes to how bad of a situation she had been in and how bad it would have been if they had ended up staying in a long-term relationship. However, because of this... she now has a bit of a fear of relationships and while she'll date, she doesn't want anything too committed because of the mistake she made before. She's letting a stumble slow her journey. The second point I want to mention, for me, was my mother's death. This was a GIGANTIC stumble in the road of life for not only me, but also my dad. If you can't tell by our posts, the situation we were in was pretty bad and her death took a toll on both of us. However; this stumble hasn't held us back. For a bit, we were depressed and found it hard to find motivation to keep going- and don't get me wrong; moments of sadness are definitely still prominent. But we've moved on a great deal and instead of letting the past hold us back from our lives; we've chosen to take our experiences and use them to help others in similar situations- and I think that's beautiful in its own way. - Maddie Today dandelions are growing in my garden. The stems have to grow longer, so I can pick one for my family This means spring is close! When the spring comes, I can go canoeing, fishing, hiking, and swimming. We can go on picnics, and I can pick flowers.
Ashleigh This quote is possibly one of the best I have come across in a long while... and recently; I've come to find more appreciation for it. As I've been slowly getting older (odd to be hearing from a 14 year old, but hey, we age too) I've been finding more and more reasons why silence is better than talking, and that isolation can sometimes be a lot better than being social. For one, my house is constantly noisy due to my little sister being young; so any moment of pure silence and relaxation is much appreciated. My house in general is loud- my family do not hesitate to make noise; be it with loud music, cooking, cleaning, yelling, talking, phone calls, or anything else.
-side note- The quietest times for me are often in the very early morning, before anyone else is awake. I usually make myself a cup of tea and watch the sun rise; before doing a little work and then resting on the couch. - In any case; that was NOT the point of this post! What I'd like to point out is the fact that too many people open their mouth to spread hate, negativity, and worry nowadays. I hear it and see it almost everywhere; online and in reality, and it sucks. In my opinion, life is too short and life after death isn't guaranteed. We were all placed on this one planet to get along and coincide; and instead, we go to war with each other. We're so desperate to learn about the life on other planets; when we can't even accept those of our own kind who are slightly different. It's ridiculous how hateful we, as humans, can be towards each other and it's really un-necessary. This being said, I think all of us can do with a bit of silence for once. We become so angry, so willing to antagonize others in the heat of the moment, and it's awful. So I have a challenge for my readers; as a way to calm down and be happier. This challenge may be a bit big, but I want you to try and at the end of next week, leave me a comment telling me about your experience. Here goes! I wants you to: - take at least one relaxing, long bath. - make yourself a cup of green tea every morning. - find 30 minutes every day to sit and meditate. - take at least 15 minutes every day outside in a secluded area, enjoying nature. - refrain from saying negative things to others. - if angered, take deep breaths until calm. - don't speak unless what you are about to say has some sense of positivity in it. There's too much hate in the world. Let's beat it back a little. Good luck, good night, and treasure the silence. - Maddie I love this quote so much because I relate to it. I'm pretty sure most people can; to be honest. For those of you who suck at translating even the most basic of metaphors; this quote is essentially saying to make people happy when you can, and to cheer up those who you see are down as best you can if it happens to be within your capabilities. Sometimes, it doesn't even take that much to make someone's day!
Honestly; I try to compliment most people I run into. Usually; I can always find something I like about a person and if it makes them smile even a little bit; I feel accomplished. Some people really can use the lift up, you know? Some people I believe just walk around and think nobody takes the time they put into their appearance- especially girls. So when I can, I'll compliment a girl on her makeup or hairstyle; because I know all too well that we females take forever in the mornings perfecting our wings and contours and even our eyeshadow blending; and sometimes braiding our hair in all manner of fancy styles. So often; people fail to notice it and it's always nice when someone does. I guess the point I wanted to get across in this post is that it doesn't take much to be the rainbow in someone's cloud. While there are far greater gestures that you can do to make others happy; sometimes a simple compliment is all it takes to turn someone's mood around... and I'm always glad to help when I can. - Maddie I love having Parties. I throw a lot of parties. Today I'm having a party. It's an Easter party
It will include finding Easter eggs. My Dad and Neema usually come to my parties. Ashleigh "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." That is a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson. Okay, although not a household name today, Stevenson was very popular during his day. In fact, while I would think that less than 25% of the sheeple could name him, I think most would have heard of one or the other of his two most popular works, which remain in print today even though he wrote them in the early 1880's. So for those of you who don't know, Stevenson Wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and Treasure Island. Although these are his works that still get read today, he was a very popular travel writer in his day, as well as a poet and political activist. A very interesting character, if you have nothing better to do some day and want to read about him.
To get back to his quote, I think it is important to take your eyes away from what you are getting and to look at what you are giving. For it's what you give that will ultimately come back to you in multiples. Many of the happiest people I know are always giving. Not giving money, mind you, but time. Their time. They may give it in small intervals, or in large blocks. It may be a second to give a smile or a moment to pass along a kind word. In the end, Time is all we have with value. Buy a new car and it loses about 20% of its value the minute you drive it off the lot. Give a person a smile and they may remember it for ever! Same with five minutes of your time. Take a few minutes to sit down and chat with someone you know. As long as they are not late for an appointment or something, I will guarantee that they will appreciate it and remember it. If you want to be happy, then plant seeds of happiness. You do this with your time and manner. Meanwhile, if you plant the wrong seeds, you are setting yourself up for a harvest of discord in the future! If you smile and say a kind word, you are more likely to get that in the future. And the funny thing is, while you may be planting the seed and thinking that it only impacts one person, you are wrong. People can and will see what you do... and treat you accordingly. I know that if I constantly see someone smiling... even if they are not smiling at me, I am more likely to smile when I speak to them or if I am around them. Why? I am not certain. I think it is because I like to make people feel comfortable and if they are smiling, then I have a tendency to imitate them to some extent. It is the same with someone who is always zinging other people. I find I am more likely to throw a zinger at them than nearly any other person. I try not to zing anyone, but sometimes I just feel that a person deserves a zinger, particularly if they have been undeservedly zinging someone else. To tie things up. Spend time treating people the way you yourself want to be treated, and I think that over time, you will find that you will be surrounded by people who will treat you the same way. Trust me on this, talk nicely with people and they will speak nicely with you. Treat them nicely and they will return the favor. That is how life works! My life anyway. Well, usually. There will always be one or two people who will be acidic no matter what you say or do. Still treat these people politely, but don't expect too much in return. You can call a car a jet plane, but it ain't ever gonna fly! One more thing. One of our readers gave me a beautiful card the other day that really helped to lift my spirits, and I just wanted to say thank you. I'll say it to you in person at karate too, but I suspect you read this blog and I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about that card while I was writing this post. A kind word can go a long way! Thank you! I love this quote so much; because it conveys so much through a metaphor. I really think this quote represents open and closed minded people; and how closed minded people view people who are different or unconformative to norms. Or perhaps this quote could be reflecting something deeper- such as people who are sad and miserable with life looking at people who are carefree and making the most of their life. Now these may not even be the intent of the quote; and there are probably countless other interpretations- but I'd just like to touch upon that last one I mentioned because I believe it is the most accurate; maybe even more accurate than closed-mindedness.
First of all; I'd like to point out that the metaphor matches beautifully. Dancing is something typically done by happy people; or is related to as a happier activity at a minimum. To 'dance' through life, you have to have the right music- 'happiness' being the music. To those who can't see the happiness in the lives of others; those "dancing" through life would seem odd, or crazy, for doing so in the manner they often do. Those who can't find happiness within their own life often don't understand how other people can, much less to they feel that others deserve happiness if they can't have it as well. But what if I have things backwards? What if instead of the dancing being happy, it was sad? I guess this quote could work both ways. Maybe happy people see how sad people drag themselves through life and don't understand how someone could be so gloomy in a world so beautiful. However, I am more inclined to believe this quote is about the view of sad people to happy people due to the mention of dancing. Regardless of the meaning of the quote- happiness is easy to find; but your mind must be in the right place. You can't find light by stumbling through a dark cave, and you won't find a gemstone in a pile of coal. If you look at the negativity in everything, you'll never find happiness. That is as simple as it gets. Try to find a little beauty and enjoyment in everything- it'll get you far. - Maddie "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." That is a quote by Edith Wharton. Best known nowadays for her book The Age Of Innocence, few know that prior to her marriage she was known as Pussy Jones. Get your mind out of the gutter! Back then, Pussy had no derogatory meaning. Still, I thought it would be good to add that for a modern chuckle. I guess I watched too much Beavis & Butthead when I was younger. "huh, huh, huh... he said pussy!"
Anyway, to get back to the quote, there are obviously more ways to spread light than candles and mirrors. In her day, these were the two best ways to spread light. But I think the light she was talking about was happiness. Happiness is something we can all spread with a little practice. A smile, a kind word, a little extra effort in anything you do. All can help to make life a little happier for the people around you. So many people go through life spreading discord, stress and grief. How much better would life be if everyone tried to spread happiness? My daughters symbolized the discord today in the car. Both girls sat in the back of the car today on the way back from church. Ashleigh would say something and Maddie would jump on her, telling her to shut up and that she was silly. Ashleigh would then do and say things to annoy Maddie. How much nicer the ride would have been if Maddie would have found something nice to say to her sister. Instead of trying to bring happiness to her young sister, she is subconsciously teaching her that she has nothing of value to say and that if she continues to speak Maddie will make her unhappy. In a way, Maddie is teaching her sister to be unhappy, as she is, rather than to chase happiness. Overall, Ashleigh is an innocent child, and very happy. Sometimes, happiness can be threatening for those who are not happy since it threatens their view that the world is overall an unhappy place. For me, it is the little things in life that make happiness. While no one can always be happy, we can look for happiness, and if we cannot find it for ourselves, we can always try to help others find it. A comment like "I like the way you did your hair this morning", or even just a smile or a tap on the hand can bring happiness to people. I guess what I am trying to say is that if we can't find happiness for ourselves in a given moment, isn't it nice t know that maybe we have helped someone else to attain it? I know that in those times when I actually know I made someone else happy, I usually feel a little better myself. I also know that when someone goes out of their way to say something nice to me, I remember it for a long time. Here is a good case in point. Back in April of last year, I met a woman to sell her one of my wife's old pocketbooks. We stood and spoke for a few minutes and then both went on our way. I had told her about what happened with my wife and how me and my daughters were dealing with it, home schooling the girls, and working from home. When I got back from the trip there was a message for me from the woman. it said: " You are one of the most inspiring, endearing and interesting people I've ever met! Good luck to you and your family! Sounds like everyone is on the right path!! Have a blessed day!!" I must say that that message made me feel good. I always get a bit down speaking about my wife, so I was feeling a bit down by the time I got back, but that message was enough to make me feel a bit better. The message was unexpected but gave me a nice pick me up! How much better I felt after reading it. It was unexpected, and I am sure that that woman couldn't know how much that little text message lifted my spirits that morning... and at other times when I remembered about it. Indeed, I remembered it just now as I was writing this post and went back and found it to quote it here. A kind word can go a long way towards making someone's day. That text only took that woman a moment to write, and yet it did so much to make me feel better that week. It was so much nicer than telling someone to keep quiet because they have absolutely nothing to say that you want to hear! Words have power folks. Think about what you say... and how you say it. If you are unhappy, tired or hurting, does it in anyway make you feel better to make someone else feel that way as well? If you say yes, then you are trying to defend the defenseless. Be a light to others in your sphere of influence. If you can't be a light, then be a mirror. Just don't, whatever you do, be a well of darkness. Life is just too short. If you can't say something nice, then just say nothing at all. Sometimes silence can suffice. This picture is by Maddie Maddie and I went to see The Who last night at TD Garden in Boston. And boy, did they put on a great show! I was a little concerned heading into the show because a friend of mine saw them playing the Superbowl and said they sucked. I decided to go anyway, since I have been listening to The Who for over forty years and I love their music. I am so glad that I did! I thought they did a great show. Both Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend are over seventy years old, and while they have lost a step in old age, and don't move around as much as they once did, they both still sound great. Keith Moon and John Entwistle had both died years ago, so others have taken their place and did a great job as well. This wasn't my first time seeing The Who, so I have some basis for comparison. I saw them rock Giants Stadium back in 1989, when John Entwistle was still the bassist. My history with the band goes back even further though. Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy was one of the first albums I ever bought back in 1976,.The Doors' LA Woman was the other. Both albums had already been out for a few years before I got them, but to be honest, they both came out when I was five, so I wasn't buying anything, let alone music back then! I still have both albums too! These bands and their albums, have been a huge part of the sound track of my life. Tell me, what was playing in the background during important moments during your life? For me, oftentimes it was bands like The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Jimi Hendrix. In fact, "Thank You" by Led Zeppelin was My Wife & I's wedding song. The singer for our wedding couldn't really get it, so we did not play it at our reception, but we did dance to it before we left the house on the way to the church.
Last night, it felt so good to share such a large part of my life with my daughter. She doesn't know how much it meant to me that she actually enjoyed it. My daughter and I have gone to concerts before, but this was the first one where I likely had a better handle on the music than she did. I caught myself a few times leaning over to tell her something about the song coming up after I heard a note or two of the opening and recognized it. The memories I had while listening to the music, and being able to share some of that with her while she was experiencing it for the first time truly made my night. What's more, one of my daughter's friends also went to the concert with his parents and she ran into him there. Now, she will have her own memories from the show that he too will be able to relate to. He was in a different section than us, but he stopped by to see Maddie, which I think helped to make the night a little more memorable for her as well. There were so many songs I knew and loved played last night that I had a tough time picking just one favorite. I remember singing along to Love Reign O'er Me and Join together, as well as You Better You Bet and Won't Get Fooled Again. Pinball Wizard was done really well and Eminence Front (one of my favorites) was a first for me, since they didn't play it at the show I went to in 1989. Oddly enough, Maddie's favorite song of the night was called The Rock and is a purely instrumental piece. She liked it for what they dedicated it to and for the scenes they flashed up on the screens as they played it. Her next favorite was Baba O Riley. Maddie loved the concert too, by the way. One song that they didn't play that I remember from the 1989 concert was Magic Bus. Before the concert even started, they had a little film on the screen talking about the band and one of the things they mentioned was that John Entwistle used to hate playing that song in concert since he really only got to play one chord and that the song would usually go on for six to eight minutes and he would be really bored. When I read that, I knew we were not going to get Magic Bus... and I was right. Another song that was rightfully absent was Summertime Blues. In 1989, the concert I went to was on the July 4th weekend, and The Who played that song as one of their encores.Well, March is still winter in New England, so there was no Summertime Blues. Well, I think I have rambled long enough. I am happy that I got to share one of my favorite bands with my daughter. These guys were good in 1989. After so many years, I think these guys were GREAT in 2016. Now that they are in their seventies, I am not sure if they will be able to tour much longer. I hope they do. I would love to bring Ashleigh to see them one day when she is old enough. My thanks to The Who ... for making music I could grow up with. What amazing memories. Thank you. "Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion." That's a quote by the Dalai Lama. I find this man to be like a modern-day Buddha. Honestly, you need to go and read some of this man's quotes! In fact, he credits the reading of Buddha for many of his own ideas.
The driving force behind the Dalai Lama is kindness. In fact, he has said "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Could you imagine Donald Trump saying that? Or Hillary Clinton? Neither one of them could pull it off. And yet, the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of his people! It both amazes me, and gives me hope. Here are a few of his quotes that impress me.. in no particular order: "It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come." "There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness." "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." "When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength." "I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe." "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." "The purpose of our lives is to be happy." "Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them." "Sleep is the best meditation." There are just a few of his quotes, but I think it gives you a good idea about where he is coming from. That said, I think I will now take some of his advice. It is just after 12:30 in the morning. It would really make me happy to get some sleep right now. Since the purpose of our lives is to be happy, AND sleep is the best meditation, then I think that is what I'll do! Good night folks! Today I am going to talk about videos. I can make funny ones. I like making videos.
I can make Videos with my iPad. I usually catch Daddy doing something funny. Ashleigh While I've seen my dad write about this topic matter before; I've never seen it quite put this way! This quote comes from Brian Hugh Warner, better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson. It's absolutely true, too- if all our wishes could come true, most of our dreams would disappear and we'd be forced to try to find new ones. But... they would be granted and disappear too; and is life really worth living if you have no goals and everything just gets handed to you?
I know that (at least personally), I hate actually reaching my goals. The euphoria of achievement only lasts for a short while, and then everything calms and goes back to normal; if not even more dull than before I achieved the goal. I completely agree with my dad on this topic- that the trip you go on to reach your goal is the most important part of having goals. Goals motivate us to do better in life; to go farther and to LIVE. Without goals... what would we do? If all our wishes became true; we would all be rich and lazy. We would have no motivation to live because there would be no loss, disappointment, change, or ANYTHING! There'd be nothing left to try for, and we would all give up. So I believe Manson had a very good quote; and made a point that most would fail to think about before uttering the words "I wish". I'm sure that 1 or 2 wishes would be fine- maybe for the first day or so; the wish granting would be fun! But soon it would just become common and boring; and no one would want to do anything anymore. How awful would it be to have nothing to do? Nothing to think about or try for? NOTHING TO WORK TOWARDS? I think this is the reason some people get unhappy. They either don't set goals, or they set unrealistic goals and give up after a day when things don't move as fast as they hoped. Sit back and enjoy the ride that is life; and don't forget to hit the gas and take a few chances. Don't let your dreams disappear. - Maddie This quote is honestly my favorite. I love it because I watch my friends holding themselves back constantly; especially recently. They keep giving up on themselves and others; and it hurts to watch. I find that the worst type of regret to watch is the regret caused by a broken friendship. When a friendship breaks and a person is too afraid to try fixing things; or DOES fix things but then has no idea how to continue being the same friend. I hate watching these situations because the solution is so simple.
Recently; one of my friends has been getting more regretful and depressed than usual due to past mistakes made with old friends. He has apologized for his mistakes; but like I mentioned above... doesn't know how to continue the friendship. He refuses to talk normally to either of the people and says that everything is always awkward. Now; while I say that I make things "awkward" a lot; it's more in a joking sense than anything else. Honestly; awkward is a state of mind that is different for every person. Much like love, hate, and any other emotional experience- it varies from person to person. So your definition of awkward may not even BE awkward to someone else. How we experience life and what we choose to do with the options given to us is what makes us unique. We can't see eye to eye on every single matter. It's impossible. And the worst thing you could possibly do to yourself is start thinking in a negative way when you're trying to make progress with someone else. Cross the line. It's worth the risk, trust me. - Maddie "Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it." That's another quote from Marcus Aurelius. I recently found a good website with tons of his quotes, so get ready for a lot of quotes by him. This guy was really enlightened! I wonder if he walked the walk?...Because he certainly can talk the talk!
Basically, the above quote is stating that you only live once. Since that is the case, you need to open yourself up to love and beauty. Life is short, we are here to love and to be loved. If you open yourself up to accept these things you will live a beautiful life. If you hold back because you are afraid of what people may say or think, then you will find that it is hard to experience these things, and that your life could end without you ever experiencing those things. In general, your days are numbered no matter what you want to read the quote as. I chose love and happiness. For others it might be some sort of duty, or to gain renown. The clock is ticking no matter what you think he was talking about. All I know, is that I prefer to be happy. I look for little things that make me happy. I also try to avoid things that make me unhappy. Note, seeking happiness and avoiding things that make you unhappy are not necessarily the same things. I actively try to ignore and avoid people who get on my nerves. At the same time, I try to surround myself with things that make me happy. A good cup of coffee, a drive through my area, some laughter with my daughters, a good book... I could go on and on. So, now that I rambled a bit, I guess I will get to the point. Do what you need to do to survive...but don't forget to schedule some time to do the things you like to do. Even better, make the things you have to do the things you like to do and you have the recipe for a very happy life. Way to go Marcus! With all of the quotes that I have read that have been attributed to you, I hope that you actually lived like you talked. Otherwise, it's silly to talk the talk if you won't try to walk the walk. Walk it like you talk it folks...That's a good way of finding happiness too! "Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." That's a quote by Terry Pratchett. Pratchett was an English author of fantasy novels. He died in March, 2015. I never read any of his novels, so I am not sure what context was behind this quote. For me, it still holds meaning though.
You see, I, in a sense, have come back full circle to where I have started. In 1991, I started as a research assistant at the Value Line Investment Survey. It was my first job on Wall Street, and I was proud to work there. I moved up through the ranks quickly and left five years later as an editor and the editor in charge of the Supplementary Reports portion of the survey. I left to go to Merrill Lynch in 1996. In September 2014, I rejoined Value Line, and in a sense it felt like a homecoming. I still knew many of the older analysts there and many of the younger analysts were very welcoming. After my wife died, it was very hard to keep my hedge fund consulting business viable, since I was also raising two young girls on my own. There just wasn't enough time to do everything, and the business suffered even further, while I supervised visits for the girls with their Mom, or had to drive Sharon to doctors visits as the courts had decreed. In 2014, I still had clients, but I was writing a lot of proprietary reports that I could not send out to other prospective clients, thus the business was stagnating. In July, a number of old friends came up for a fishing trip, and I was talking shop with one of the analysts that still worked at Value Line. He told me that Value Line was looking for analysts to work from home, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Two weeks later, I was hired! I must say that coming back to where I started is not like never leaving. I picked up the Value Line system again very easily, and I am thoroughly enjoying working for Value Line again. I, of course, work from New Hampshire. My New York extension rings in my home office. Some of my old friends ask me if it bothers me going back to where I started. And I must say that it doesn't bother me at all. Sure I miss working with the hedge funds and trying to out think the Street. But the reality of it is that that wasn't what I was doing anymore at my own company. I didn't have the time to do the research AND the marketing AND the client talks that are necessary to keep that type of business going. I had more than enough work to keep me going, but I was just making the bills. And the work was no longer run and gun trading and shorts, but more management critiques and operational synopsis'. I enjoyed doing them, and was happy for the work, but it was just not going to allow me to comfortably increase the rest of my business and home school my daughters. At this point, I am covering about 50 stocks for Value Line. Although the press schedule can be tight, particularly during earnings season, I still have time to teach my daughters, train in the martial arts and do other things that need to be done around the house. Although I miss the camaraderie of being in an office setting, I am older now, and it just wouldn't be what it used to be anyway. In the end, I feel like I have to some extent come home... even though I never really leave my home to work anyway. At least not since 2003. It's funny how life changes, yet still manages to stay the same in so many ways. One final thought: If I never left Value Line, I never would have met my wife, and I never would have then had my daughters that I have now. I also never would have moved to New Hampshire, where I am extremely happy. Thus, although I have come back to where I started, I am also happy that I am never really leaving my happy place in New Hampshire! "If you quarrel every day, you're saying prayers to the devil." That's a quote by Bob Marley. Marley was a strange duck, and a music legend. At first, I was going to pass this quote by, but then I thought about it a little bit, and I think he is right.
Notice he says "every day". That is the key to the quote, in my opinion. We all quarrel sometimes... and then we go back and live our normal lives. We get over it. Those that quarrel every day though, they live in resentment. And THAT is very different. I think we all go through life trying to be satisfied. If you are constantly fighting about things, then it's likely that you are never satisfied. If you were, you wouldn't be quarreling! Remember, it takes two to quarrel. If you are always one of the two quarreling, then it is likely that YOU are part of the problem. The problem can't always lie with someone else. The best thing you can do if you are always quarreling, is to step back and see if you can figure out why. Why do I always fight with this person or that one? Why do I find myself getting into trouble? Why do I start trouble? If you can answer these questions honestly, it should go a long way to stopping the quarreling. Remember, none of us like to argue. All arguments can usually be avoided if you try. We all have buttons that can be pushed to the point where we will lash out and argue. Don't do it. It just isn't worth it. Life is brutally short. Don't waste your time worrying about whether you are right or wrong, or proving someone else a fool, or lazy, or wrong. Live your life to be happy. The only person you have to prove anything to, is yourself. |
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