Ten Things Making Me Happy
In response to a great deal of awful things from the start of this year, I want to share with you ten things in my personal life that are making me happy.
While Valentine’s Day is my least favorite holiday, the message of love it conveys is worth spreading. Rather than keep it to one day designed to generate revenue for florists, chocolatiers and card companies, I think spreading love every day is a fine thing.
Love begins with the self. When I love myself, and my life, I can give more love out. When I am grateful for these things I love, I draw more things to love to me.
This is the Law of Attraction in action. Consciousness Creates Reality. The actions we give our thoughts and feelings to will draw good or bad into our lives.
One of the main reasons I write this blog, and post three times a week, is to remind myself about the importance of this. I desire to manifest some pretty amazing things into my life, and that requires me to be grateful for what I already have. Sometimes this can be difficult, not because of a lack of gratitude, but more because of outside influences making me feel negative.
Spend any amount of time on Facebook or other social media, and see how positive you can stay. Read one article about the incredible selfishness of the US President and Congress, and try not to get angry. When the hobby world I like to spend time in experiences derision, it can be incredible frustrating.
The Ramblings of the Titanium Don, with Positivity on Mondays, Pathwalking on Wednesdays, and Crossing the Bridges on Fridays, is where I can offer up empathy for an all-too-often senseless world. Thus, I give you some love today.
Ten Things that are making ME happy.
This is in no particular order, fyi.
- My friends. I have some of the most incredible friends. They offer me love and support and sounding boards as I walk my crazy paths. You are incredible people, and you make me very, very happy.
- My wife. This might get a tad sappy, and she will probably tell you that this makes her throw-up in her mouth a little. I married an incredible woman. She is my partner, my equal, my favorite companion. It never ceases to amaze me how much having someone who understands me like she does matters. She makes me very, very, happy.
- The SCA. The Society for Creative Anachronism has played an integral part of my life for over 26 years now. I have met amazing, talented, wonderful people playing this game, and found my favorite hobby. Also, the SCA helped get me out of my shell, and I believe is why I am more extrovert than introvert now.
- Fencing. While this is a part of the SCA, I need to put it here separately. I have found very few things in life that bring me such joy. Everything about fencing I love, from the various weapons to the melee combat to the people doing it. I love teaching fencing to new people almost as much as I love fighting. If I am having a lousy day, fencing practices ALWAYS make me happy.
- Writing. Putting words to the page is joy. I can make words fly and sing in ways that even surprise me from time to time. Even when I find myself having trouble writing this blog, words on the page make me happy.
Five things that make me happy down, five to go.
- Reading. I do not read enough. This isn’t about articles online or social media, this is about books. Fiction, non-fiction, self-help, whatever…reading is weightlifting for the mind. No matter how strong I think I am now, reading will make me stronger. That makes me happy.
- Music. As I am writing this, my Writer’s Mix is playing off my old MacBook. This mix is largely movie and TV scores, including the various Star Wars films, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and more. Also, some classical music and cinematic New-Age by David Arkenstone. In the car, I usually rock out or play something to sing along to. Music, however, can alter my mood, and ultimate contribute to being happy.
- My cats. We have two cats. They are brats in their own unique way, but when they purr and do adorable things, it’s hard not to feel happy.
- My office. We recently moved, and with this I gained a home office. I have created a space that feels akin to a pillow-fort from childhood. Comfortable, warm, and thoroughly ME. Every time I come in here, I am home, and that makes me happy.
- You. Yes, this is utterly cheesy, but knowing that you have read this, and are reading my blog, makes me incredibly happy. Whether you agree or disagree with the things I write, it makes me happy to know that you read me. Thank you!
Life can be rough. We all go through difficult times. But we can always find things that will make it better.
Hold on to your happy.
When we stressed out, and we feel bad, and the world seems terrible, there is always something we can find that will remind us of happiness. Nobody can or frankly should be happy all the time. But even when we are sad, angry, grieving, depressed, or otherwise feeling negative, we can seek out and find things that are happy. I hope that by sharing some of mine, I can help you find yours.
As always, thank you for crossing the bridges between my worlds with me!
This is the seventy-first entry of my personal journey, the Crossing the Bridges series. My collectively published writing can be found here.
