Here is something to ponder as we begin the week:
What are your life’s biggest regrets?
Narrow it down to three.
…to one.
What did you do or where did you go instead?
How was that?
What did you learn?
What did you gain?
What would you have missed out on had you done it?
What will be your next big regret?
Are you going to let that happen?
Share your life lessons below.
“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” Iyanla Vanzant
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Tagged how to be positive, inspiration, internal reflection, pollyanna, positive, positive thinking, positivity
Are you happy?
On a scale from one to ten, one being ‘I want to crawl into bed and sleep for a week’ and ten being ‘I want to rise with the sun and explore this beautiful wonderful world around me’, where do you rank?
I think about this question sometimes and I find it depends on what part of my life I’m thinking about. In some parts, I’m a solid 8, even creeping toward a 9, and in other parts, dependent on the day or time of the month (I love you, Mother Nature), I’m a sure-fire zero — don’t worry dad, it doesn’t last.
So what is ‘happy’ and should we even be searching for happy all of the time?
If we didn’t have difficult times, would we appreciate the happy moments? I would like to think that we would – looking on the bright-side.
When I think about my friends and acquaintances, I wonder how many of them are happy. They seem happy. They laugh and joke and I enjoy their company. Do they think the same of me?
Are we happy on the outside and sad on the in? How can that be? If that’s true then we all deserve Academy Awards.
A quick search on Amazon.com under ‘depression’ finds 45,675 results but then realizing that includes ’The Great Depression’ (not referring to Jen and Brad’s break-up) a search of ‘mental health’ reveals 145,051 results.
I am often struck by people who visit third-world countries and come back and say ‘they have so little but they are so happy’.
Is that our problem? Do we have too much?
Our houses are larger than ever before, our televisions are larger, our desires are larger but it still doesn’t seem like enough. People keep wanting more and bigger and better in the hope that they will be happy.
But is it working?
Maybe it is true that less is more.
Smaller houses would mean that you would actually have to see the other people living in the same home.
Smaller televisions, or at least less of them in one home, would mean that families would have to converse more and watch quality (hopefully) family programming.
Perhaps then our desire for more would be diminished because with all of this new-found family time, we would be filled with actual, true, emotional connections to the ones we love…
…and in that case, more is always better.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below.
I love to write but I am not a voracious reader. Never have been. I want to be learned and quote passages from famous novels but have never put aside the time to read on a daily basis. Having said that though, when I come across a book that interests me, I cannot put it down.
In my quest to walk on the brighter-side of life, I recently picked up a children’s classic which I have always intended to read: Anne of Green Gables.
I have seen the movie (if you haven’t, rent it, now!) and the stage play, have visited the house on Canada’s Prince Edward Island and have, I admit, read an abridged version but I have never read the official full-length work.
Fifty million people in twenty different languages had preceded me in my venture so there must be something to it. And of course, they were right.
Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 novel is as delightful today as it must have been when she first penned it.
Her vivid descriptions of the pristine landscapes of Canada’s east coast, how she captures Anne’s irrepressible childhood imagination, Anne’s trials and tribulations as she tries so hard to conform to what is expected of her, and the friendships and bonds that are formed as she warms even the coldest hearts of all those around her, captivate and endear the reader.
Anne and Pollyanna are no doubt kindred spirits.
Had I read this book as a child, I am certain I would have been a devout reader. As an adult, I appreciate it even more and resolve to make time for more classic literature, including the Anne of Green Gables sequels.
Thank you, Ms Montgomery, for bringing Anne Shirley into my life. She is a friend I am glad to have met.
“Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day
with no mistakes in it yet?”
– Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Have you read a children’s book that changed or shaped you somehow? Share it below.
Fridays will be “Bright-Side of the Web” days when I will share some positive items that I have encountered on the web.
For today’s topic, as I am entering into this new (to me) and unfamiliar (to me) world of blogging, I question the value of this venue.
Who will read it? What affect, if any, will it have on any one person?
I came across the following video on TedxTalks by Rhonda Lowry explaining her perception of the networked society. I found her insight intriguing and uplifting.
I’d love to hear about your perception of virtual communication and/or the compartments in which you have put yourself. Leave a comment below.
Visit Rhonda’s presentation here: Rhonda Lowry, Literacy in a Networked Society.
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Tagged communication, inspiration, positive, positivity, rhonda lowry
#B4Peace
Embracing Pollyanna 