I need to move away from depressing topics and find more uplifting things to post. I know that I have said so in the past but; because we are seeing and living with too much negative situations all around us; we need to find things to bring happiness.
The simple things in life are often the best they say. There is so much joy from nature such as watching a butterfly or enjoying flowers. More importantly our families, fur babies and friends. These simple things in every day life that we take for granted must never be just taken for granted. Have we not learned recently from Ukraine how fast they can be taken away from us? Have we not witnessed this in the Middle East and in many countries where suffering never stops?
We need to live in the moment and make the best of everything. A smile from a stranger, helping someone by just holding a door open at the shops with a smile on our face. Say thank you to shop assistants, smile at them and mean it. Make their day a bit nicer, because they are also doing it tough, most retail staff don't work full time; therefore struggle to make ends meet. So give them a smile and be on your best behaviour when you make your purchases.
Pay if forward in any way you can. Don’t worry about things that you have no control over. Just live in the moment. Find things that make you feel good, simple things. The things that money can’t buy are the most important things in life. Meditate and find your still centre, practice this until you can easily slip into the zone. It helps to keep us grounded and deal with life.
Appreciate nature, even if it is a photo in a book, a picture on a wall. If you get pleasure from looking at the picture then just go with it. If you don’t have a garden to enjoy, you can have indoor low maintenance house plants. You would be surprised at how much pleasure you can get from indoor plants.
I started off knowing nothing about plants but always loved plants. One night back in 1995, when I arrived in Canberra with my young family, I just happened to pick up a garden encyclopaedia that my husband bought years before we married. I just started to get engrossed in the book and learning botanical names of flowers, shrubs and trees that interested me. Eventually being able to rattle off the botanical and common names. When I moved into my current house I really got the garden bug and almost 30 years later I still get pleasure and so much peace in my garden.
So it is important to find the things that bring joy and peace within. Sure I still struggle but when I go into my garden I feel grounded. I forget the world out side and focus on my local universe, my reality.
You can still care about what is going on in the world; but you the individual can’t change what is happening in the world; you can’t right the wrongs in the world. But you can right your world. Live from the heart. Live in peace, be compassionate, help where you know you can; but don’t allow yourself to be drained and dragged down into despair. Reach out when you need help though, it’s not easy but someone will surely be there at the time. Allow others to reach out to you for help as you may be the one person in that persons time of despair. Don't ignore a cry for help.
Teach the person in need how to find happiness, something to focus on to lift them out of the despair. That will produce happiness for both of you. Teach them to find their happy place to live in the moment. That is a powerful tool, don't underestimate it.
