"once in your life, I truly believe" — Of Men and Myths

Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colors seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

Bob Marley


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Compilation of the Heart - Cultivate Life

Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.
You fight for it,
strive for it,
insist upon it, 

and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it.

You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.

And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it.

You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.

Elizabeth Gilbert

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When Love is Dead

I'm loving Angels instead.

"'Cos I have been told That salvation lets their wings unfold."  

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Eclipse

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The Direction of Happiness

Happiness always looks small
while you hold it in your hands,

but let it go, and you learn at once
how big and precious it is.

Maxim Gorky

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Happening

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Take one Step in that Direction

You must be careful when you ask people whether they’re happy;

it’s a question that can upset them a great deal.

François Lelord


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Life can sometimes seem like a quest to achieve happiness. Certainly that is an underlying goal in Western and Eastern cultures. Many of us say, “Once I find my soul mate, then I’ll be happy” or, “If I get that promotion, then I’ll be happy” or, “Once I’m making this or that income, then I’ll be happy.” Woven within the mere thought itself is a sense of being “less than” you want to be, which therefore makes you less happy than you were before that thought even arrived.

Some might argue that it’s not the conditions of our lives that make us happy (although some can certainly help at times), it’s the way we relate to ourselves and our lives that provide the happiness. It’s the way we walk through life.

In other words, we’re always practicing something. If we spend our time wrestling with negative, excessive worrying, or hopeless thoughts, we’re practicing unhappiness. If we spend our time noticing and acknowledging these unhelpful habits of the mind, without judgment, we can then choose to turn our attention to matters that walk in line with greater happiness and sense of peace.

In the realm of behavioral therapy, a therapist might say, "What would you be doing differently if you were happy?" Some people might answer, “I’d be smiling more” or, “I’d be riding my bike” or, “I’d be spending giving more to others.”

Then the response from the therapist would be: “Now let’s put these into action.”

Sometimes we need to put our feet in front of our heads and then our thoughts and emotions will follow. We don’t have to climb Mount Everest, but if all we can do is take even one step in that direction, it can make a difference.

By Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

    
Glück ist flüchtig, kaum zu fassen. Es tut gut, sich sein zu lassen.

Happiness is fleeting, hard to grasp. It feels good to allow yourself to be.

Einfach wieder Schlendern – Konstantin Wecker
    

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Untouched

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Another one Bites the Dust

“The first time someone shows you who they are,
believe them.”

Maya Angelou


it's just easier, you know

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Adjust settings

With people talking all the time about "Highway to Hell" and "Staircase to Heaven" they can’t be hard to find.

I just wonder if, with my GPS settings on “ECONOMICAL”, it will ever lead me through that:

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