Make A Child Smile

http://www.makeachildsmile.org/

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more blessed than you imagined.

Time Magazine's Person Of The Year

"Well, I think we won a decisive victory. Forty-seven percent of the American people still voted for John McCain. And so I don't think that Americans want hubris from their next President. I do think we received a strong mandate for change … It means a government that is not ideologically driven. It means a government that is competent. It means a government, most importantly, that is focused day in, day out on the needs and struggles, the hopes and dreams, of ordinary people. And I think there is a strong mandate for Washington as a whole to be responsive to ordinary Americans in a way that it has not been for quite some time."

-Barack Obama

5 Things Happy People Do

They find their most golden self.

They design their lives to bring in joy.

They avoid "if only" fantasies.

They put best friends first.

They allow themselves to be happy.

Thanks Oprah Magazine

1. Don't seek happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is attainable now, by facing what is rather than making up stories about it.



2. The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral, which always is as it is. There is the situation or the fact, and here are my thoughts about it. Instead of making up stories, stay with the facts. For example, "I am ruined" is a story. It limits you and prevents you from taking effective action. "I have 50 cents left in my bank account" is a fact. Facing facts is always empowering.



3. See if you can catch the voice in your head, perhaps in the very moment it complains about something, and recognize it for what it is: the voice of the ego, no more than a thought. Whenever you notice that voice, you will also realize that you are not the voice, but the one who is aware of it. In fact, you are the awareness that is aware of the voice. In the background, there is the awareness. In the foreground, there is the voice, the thinker. In this way you are becoming free of the ego, free of the unobserved mind.



4. Wherever you look, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence for the reality of time—a rotting apple, your face in the bathroom mirror compared with your face in a photo taken 30 years ago—yet you never find any direct evidence, you never experience time itself. You only ever experience the present moment.



5. Why do anxiety, stress, or negativity arise? Because you turned away from the present moment. And why did you do that? You thought something else was more important. One small error, one misperception, creates a world of suffering.



6. People believe themselves to be dependent on what happens for their happiness. They don't realize that what happens is the most unstable thing in the universe. It changes constantly. They look upon the present moment as either marred by something that has happened and shouldn't have or as deficient because of something that has not happened but should have. And so they miss the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself, a perfection that lies beyond what is happening or not happening. Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is untouched by time.



7. The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more present you need to be; otherwise, you will be forced to relive the past again and again.



8. Equating the physical body with "I," the body that is destined to grow old, wither, and die, always leads to suffering. To refrain from identifying with the body doesn't mean that you no longer care for it. If it is strong, beautiful, or vigorous, you can appreciate those attributes—while they last. You can also improve the body's condition through nutrition and exercise. If you don't equate the body with who you are, when beauty fades, vigor diminishes, or the body becomes incapacitated, this will not affect your sense of worth or identity in any way. In fact, as the body begins to weaken, the light of consciousness can shine more easily.



9. You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you and allowing that goodness to emerge.



10. If peace is really what you want, then you will choose peace.

Can We Mention The Men?

Support Me In The Relay For Life!

I figure this is something that is worth getting a jump start on! Every year, I participate in the American Cancer Society's signature event, the Relay For Life. While it has been several years since I was involved in the Needham event, taking part in the University of New Hampshire's relay during my time away at school, I am thrilled to be back home and walking in the place I was first introduced to this, now worldwide, movement.

• http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09NE?px=7718511&pg=personal&fr_id=16336

Please visit my personal page and support me in, what has become a very personal battle, against cancer. I'd be honored to have you join my team, as we'll come together in May to experience, what will inevitably be a life-changing twenty-four hours . If you can not physically join me, I would appreciate any support you might be able to give! So far, through my relaying efforts, I have raised close to $15,000 over the years. Every little bit helps, so please embrace this wonderful cause and help in my efforts to raise the funds necessary to aid in the elimination of cancer!

Quotable Quotes Take Two!

• "What we see depends mainly on what we look for" - John Lubbock
• "Solutions are not the answer" - Richard Nixon
• "The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention" - Duguet
• "A good sense of humor is essential to deal with the world's reality" -Anonymous
• "Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to" - Unknown
• "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" - Eleanor Roosevelt