Choices

November 3, 2021

Choices are continual happenings in your day. Every minute you are being put on the chopping block. What should you wear, what is for breakfast, are you going to the gym, who is going to pick Johnny up after soccer practice. It never ends, you are always making choices, and what you choose for your life might change daily or even hourly for that matter. Most choices are made routinely, and you make them almost unknowingly. Things happen, and happen again and again. It is a routine. It is comfortable. You are in charge. The problem is, since you are responding to stimuli in your environment, while being on automatic pilot, you are not even aware you are doing somethings. It is really good sometimes. I find my keys when I have made the choice to leave them in the same spot. I am glad that I remember to pay the electric bill. When I make that choice, the lights stay on. The point is we all have choices to make. One of the choices we do not think about is choosing happiness. Our thinking about happiness is usually based on circumstances and varies as the wind blows. Maybe I am happy now, and maybe I will be sad later. Maybe I will be sad all the time. Very rarely do you hear someone say I am happy all the time. Happiness is usually not thought of as a choice. I am telling you now it is. Sometimes there are tough circumstances and you have to be strong to overcome them. Even then you should realize how happy you should be to have the power to be strong. To realize you have the tools to solve problems. When you have family or friends over for dinner, do complain about all the work to get dinner on the table, and to clean up afterwards. It is your choice if you want to think of the night in those terms, but when I entertain, it is still a lot of work for me too, I am so thrilled I have family and friends, a house to share, food to eat and dishes to wash that I am grateful as I rub suds around on the plates. I don’t use paper. I choose my reaction to my circumstances. Instead of grumbling. I smile because the night had gone so well. and how blessed I am to have all I have. I choose to smile. I do not have time or interest in grumbling. Should I talk about your baby waking you up at night? I won’t, but I still remember being tired very tired when it happened to me. However what a gift it was to have our son in our lives. Choices. Make better choices, and you will be happier. Right now I am making the choice to say good bye. Thank you for choosing to come to my blog. I am happy. Maybe you are a bit happier too. Have a great day. Thank you for listening.

Granny-o

It is not all a picnic

November 2, 2021

It is not all a picnic. You probably already know sometimes it is hard to smile. Sometimes there are tears rolling down your cheeks, and you are sobbing as though there will be no tomorrow. At those times it is probably very difficult for you. I have learned many things in my lifetime, and one of the things I know for sure is no matter what is going on, whether it is good or whether it is bad, “It too shall pass.” Nothing in this world lasts forever. So, when you wake up in the morning, be ready for whatever your day will bring your way. You have the tools, the experience and the maturity to know everything will work out in the end. Maybe your journey will surprise you, but you will get to the other end of your life…sooner or later. It is a guarantee. Here today gone tomorrow. Maybe I am being a little dramatic here, but sooner or later your life will end. While you are among the living, enjoy the time you do have. Be strong when you must and do whatever you can to overcome temporary problems. You can do it, because all problems are temporary. Pretend any problem you will ever have is a sixteen-pound bowling ball you have to lug around with you day in and day out. It would be a pain in the neck if you had to do it. However, the bowling ball is not the problem, the problem is how you react to the bowling ball. When I think of a sixteen-pound bowling ball as being my companion, I am still able to see beyond it. I can see the miracles that are all out there. I know there is more to my life than my bowling ball. So even then, in the dark moments of my life, I can be happy. I might not like the circumstances surrounding my life at that time, but the circumstances of my life do not control my happiness. My happiness controls my reactions to the circumstances of my life. Everything will work out. Sometimes you just have to walk through a little high water before the sun comes out. Never fear, the sun will come out… maybe tomorrow. It is not all a picnic, but there is always a lot to be thankful for. Choose happiness.

Granny-o

FOCUS

November 1, 2021

Focus. Focus. Focus. If you focus on what you have and not on what you do not have, you will discover you do not have to buy buy buy. Sometimes you buy what you need. You buy food, clothes, gasoline and miscellaneous other things that are necessary in your life. You know what those things are. Sometimes people buy more than they need, because they think having new things will make them happy. I would suggest you don’t get on the slippery slope of finding happiness in all the wrong places. You buy today, and maybe you are happy for the moment. However sooner or later, most likely sooner, you will find out you have buyer’s remorse. You will find that you are not happy for very long. So what do you do, you go out and buy something else thinking that this time the bag under your arm as you leave the store will bring you happiness. Again, for a minute, you might think you have finally bought happiness. Guess what happens? Buyer’s remorse again and a bigger credit card balance to boot. Look into your closet and see if you are wanting, or if you have more than you will ever need. I think I know the answer and I am sure you do too. STOP BUYING. You cannot buy happiness. Focus on what will really bring you happiness; Love, Appreciation, Friendship, GOOD Health and Self Confidence. These are the things that you should focus on. These are the things you really need if you want to be truly happy. Leave your credit card in your wallet. The things of great import are free. Help yourself, there is plenty of happiness for anyone who wants it.

Granny-o

BACK HOME Again

November 1, 2021

Back home again. It is the end of your day, and you are walking in the door…who do you greet first? Your wife, your children or your dog? When you open the door who is there to greet you, your wife, your children, or your dog? For a lot of people, it is the pooch. Jumping on you wagging his tail because he is so excited to see you. On rare occasions if your dog is somewhere other than at the front door, occupied by something else, as soon as he hears the door open he is tearing over to you from where ever he was. Your dog will gladly stop everything to be with you. How happy you are as you reach down to scratch his ear. How happy he is as well. You walk into the house, your children are playing video games in the family room. You call out hi, and they nod. They know you are home, but they do not take a break from their games to greet you. You pick up the mail on the hall table and are looking through it as you walk into the kitchen with your dog following close behind. You see your wife is finishing up. Dinner is almost ready. You mumble hello, and she mumbles back hello to you, but she does not stop filling the bowls and you do not look up from the mail before you put it down on the pass through. How would you describe the happiness level in your home? At least the dog is happy. I am telling you right now, that you have to start getting your priorities in order. Learn from your canine friend something about appreciation. See how appreciation increases your happiness level one hundred percent. Imagine if you were at the door with arms wide apart to greet your husband as he walked through the door. Or if when the door opened you heard voices from the family room saying, “Daddy’s home” as feet came running toward their father. What a way for Daddy to regain his enthusiasm and lose his fatigue. Have a dog if you choose. Love and care for your dog, but do not make your dog your priority. Appreciate the people who love you. Then happiness will live in your house for all of you. Change your priorities…change your life. I have my priorities straight and I am happy, and so are the people who live around me. Can you say the same thing about yourself? Are you happy?

Granny-o

Your happiness?

November 1, 2021

Your happiness? You already know what makes you happy. Just look into your heart, and you will remember. The secret is, your thoughts create your world. What do you see as you look around? Do you see the red rose in the garden, or the dead squirrel on the street? Both things are within your range of vision…What do you notice first? Think about it as you go through your day. Is what you are focusing on making you happy? If it is, super dooper great. If it is not change your perception and you will change your life. Maybe slowly at first, but sooner or later the corners of your mouth will be going up again. Give it a try. I know it will work.

Granny-o

You Are

November 1, 2021

thoughts?

You are. Is that an incredible thought? You are. You are also in charge of making you anything you want to be. God has given you the tools to be you. God has given you a lifetime to use his gifts to create the best you, you can be. You have everything you need. The person you see in the mirror can be changed and improved on a moment-to-moment basis. You are in charge of how your day will be. You in charge of how you will be too. You are totally unique as one cloud is from another. Look inside and figure out what makes you tick. Figure out what you like about yourself, and then make the most of it. If there are things you don’t like, then fix you. Change or eliminate the bad or look at the way you are seeing yourself and change your perspective. Look at yourself as if you were looking at yourself for the first time. What do you see? Smile. You are a gift. You are unique. and you are wonderful. Maybe you do not believe it now but trust me. It is true. God never makes mistakes. Liking yourself is a very important component of happiness. Get happy.

Granny-o

GRATITUDE and Appreciation

November 7, 2021

Gratitude. Gratitude and sadness cannot co-exist. When you are grateful your sadness disappears. You can’t be saying wow at the same time you are saying ow. It just doesn’t happen. The more grateful you are the happier you will be. Gratitude puts things into perspective for you. It reminds you of what you have, not what you have lost, or don’t have. Wow is my favorite word, but thank you is not far behind. I say thank you all the time. Why? Because no one owes me anything. When someone chooses to do something for me, I say thank you. Gratitude shows how much you appreciate something. When you were a child didn’t your mother teach you to say thank you. Didn’t she tell you to thank someone when they did something for you? Why have adults forgotten the lessons of childhood? Growing up, does not mean you have to grow stupid. Those lessons worked then, and they will work now. Remember the wisdom of your mother. The other interesting thing is gratitude seems to work for strangers more than for family and friends. When a stranger does something for you, you say thank you. Even if the thing they did was not very big. When you pay a toll taker on the highway, you say thank you. Thank you for what? Thank you for taking my money? What is that all about. It would be more logical to say, “Have a nice day”. I don’t thank toll takers on the highways any more because I have Easy Pass, but I don’t understand why I would thank a toll taker. If someone holds a door for you instead of letting it slam in your face, you say thank you. That makes more sense, but how many times do you thank your husband or your children for holding the door for you. People seem to take those nearest and dearest to them for granted. They often forget what a gift the most important people in their lives are. Do this. Do that. Everything is expected not appreciated. It is not the way I run my life, I say thank you all the time. I never forget that no one owes me anything. I am happy. My husband and I had a marriage that got better and better year after year for almost 48 years, until he died. Our son, our only child, liked us when he grew up. I am here to tell you things get better, if they continue to be appreciated. The other thing is when you appreciate someone for doing something, they not only continue to do it, they do it better. If you say to your child I am so impressed with the way you keep your room neat. Your child will continue to do so. Your child likes to be appreciated, as we all do. He not only will keep his room neat, but he will do an even better job the next time as long as he continues to feel appreciated. Sometimes a hug with the words of appreciation works wonders at making a smile show up on his face. It also helps if you keep your own room neat. You are his role model. For the most part a child does not care much about whether he cleans his room or not, but when you notice and appreciate he has a neat room, he cleans it willingly. Sometimes a whole house might be a mess, but when company is coming it becomes spotless. Who could possibly be coming who is more important than the most important people in your life? If living a messy life style works for you, then leave it that way when the company comes. If it does not work for the company, then clean it up for your own family. Did you ever notice, if you cooked a meal and you were complimented about how good it was, the meal would show up on the table more often. Everyone likes to be appreciated. It doesn’t matter how young or how old you are. The third thing I want to tell you is when you appreciate the efforts of someone else, they will sooner or later find things to appreciate about you. Maybe it hasn’t happened for a while, so it might take time for the compliments to come. It might take longer for compliments to become habitual. Gratitude and appreciation should become your new behavior. As you start noticing the good things about others, they will start noticing the good things about you. if you can change you, you can change your world. You can turn frowns into a smiles. I like being happy. Part of the reason is happiness is so much easier than being grumbly. It is so much more fun too. Remember no one owes you anything. Change your behavior and see what happens. You might be surprised.

Granny-o

It just goes to Show

November 1, 2021

It just goes to show that high achieving brilliant minds are attached to human bodies. One of the things that gets in the way of happiness is having a perception of how something is going to play out before it happens. Anticipation is often a good thing, but it can also get in the way. For instance, I always thought people with brilliant minds would be high achievers. They would love to be learning new things pretty much constantly, and when they aren’t, I am surprised. I feel like I want to say go open a book. Learn Learn learn. But it doesn’t work that way. Very brilliant people are also human. They learn from their world just by opening their eyes. They see things that most people just gloss over. I also find that very brilliant people already know a lot and what they are about is creating. Using the information that is out there to facilitate the formulation of ideas for the future. The very brilliant are not followers, they are visionaries. They absorb what they absorb and then give so much more back. So when you see someone not spitting back the words from a lesson on a test without great accuracy, it might be because his mind is somewhere else. Be kind to the architects of the future.

Granny-o

Good morning

November 1, 2021

Good morning. Let this day be the best day of your life so far. And let tomorrow be the best day of your life so far. Forever and forever let it be so, because every day is a gift, and every day starts anew. The great thing about it is that you have lifetime experiences that will help you live a better life today. Every day is special. Everyday has great potential when you wake up. It is like waking up to a dream. Where everything is wonderful to be happy you have to look deeply into your soul and find appreciation. Look at your life. and start appreciating it. Wow. (wow is my favorite word) In my life I pretty much say wow many times during the day. Wow this, or Wow that. I just can’t get over the gift that I have been given…that would be the gift of me living in God’s world. I just can’t get over it. Like I told you, I am 73 and I count my blessings over and over again every day. It is all a gift. For instance, I love having hands, what a wonderful thing to have. I look at my hands over and over and think wow. look at that. Most people do not appreciate what they have until they don’t have it anymore. I never stop appreciating what I have. Remember today is the best day of my life so far, and I am treating it as such. I am happy. Try appreciation of your life today, and you will feel happier…even if you are happy already. Have a great day.

Granny-o