Cultivating Happy

Sometimes you feel down. And tired. And frustrated. And you have to remember that it’s okay to feel this way. And you have to remember to allow yourself some down time. It is okay to sit and watch television and not be productive a thousand percent of the time. And you watch Adam Hills who is a very funny and lovely man because he is so human and genuine. And the episode is about hobbies. And you recall that your hobby is collecting moments of lovely. And Nick Vujicic warms your heart because he is all heart. And Jennifer Byrne inspires you to smile because she genuinely smiles and talks about optimism. And you remember that happiness and bliss and joy need to be consciously cultivated. And you feel better because you have had a cup of chamomile tea with honey. And you have laughed. And you have let yourself be. And that is a moment of lovely in itself. And that lifts you a little bit so you feel ready to go out into the world again. The end. 

7 Steps

Seven steps to a fun night out.

1. Get one of your besties to come over and play dress-ups. Application of make-up, and playing with hair absolute musts.
2. Purchase munchies (and not feel guilty that you are eating crap).
3. Go to hole-in-the-wall-blink-and-you'll-miss-it-vintage-store in the back streets of Surrey Hills
4. Meet interesting urban artsy types
5. Watch hilarious so-bad-it's-brilliant-plus-it-has-young-very-attractive-Johnny-Depp-in-lead-role movie musical
6. Drive home listening to early Cat Empire album.
7. Smile at life.

Festive Buses

Imagine you're running late. And you're a bit stressed. And you're forgetting to breathe. And you see the bus, but you miss it, and you silently scream because of course you missed the bus, you're running late!! ARG! 

The next bus arrives. You step inside and find yourself in a tinsel forest. The entire bus, every pole and seat is lined with tinsel. There is a Santa statue in front of the ticket machine. The luggage bays are filled with stuffed toys. There is even a Christmas tree. And you find your stress melts away a little bit, because you can't help but smile. And at every stop, more people get on, and they smile too. And it makes you feel nice, and you marvel at the fact that the bus can be a place of such wonder.

And then imagine the girl sitting next to you has a basket full of handmade soft toys. And she looks like a lovely person so you talk to her. And she turns out to be as lovely as she seems. She makes soft toys and is training to be a Kindergarten teacher, and today she is bringing in her craft to share with her class. And you have a conversation all the way to town.

And when you hop off the bus, you feel better. It was worth being late. You got to ride inside a tinsel forest with a friendly fellow human being. If this is the Christmas season, bring it on.

Smile

Things that have made me smile recently...

1. The plethora of beautiful flowers in bloom at the moment

2. Over at Superforest a little while ago, Sheri posted about everyday objects looking like faces. I came across the above goofy-like smiley face on my way to the station yesterday

3. Wearing my sparkly gumboots in the rain 

4. And I NEVER thought I'd say this... but Glee's cover of Charlie Chaplin's Smile. 

Smile though your heart is aching 

Smile even though it's breaking. 

When there are clouds in the sky 

you'll get by. 

If you smile through your pain and sorrow 

Smile and maybe tomorrow 

You'll see the sun shining through 

For you. 

Light up your face with gladness, 

Hide every trace of sadness. 

Although a tear may be ever so near 

That's the time you must keep on trying 

Smile, what's the use of crying. 

You'll find that life is still worthwhile- 

If you just smile.