My Little Jar of Happiness

Happy New Year!

“In this new year, may you have a deep understanding of your true value and worth, an absolute faith in your unlimited potential, peace of mind in the midst of uncertainty, the confidence to let go when you need to, acceptance to replace your resistance, gratitude to open your heart, the strength to meet your challenges, great love to replace your fear, forgiveness and compassion for those who offend you, clear sight to see your best and true path, hope to dispel obscurity, the conviction to make your dreams come true, meaningful and rewarding synchronicities, dear friends who truly know and love you, a childlike trust in the benevolence of the universe, the humility to remain teachable, the wisdom to fully embrace your life exactly as it is, the understanding that every soul has its own course to follow, the discernment to recognize your own unique inner voice of truth, and the courage to learn to be still.” 

― Janet Rebhan

I made a happiness jar for myself and the boys for 2014.  I can't wait to make it overflow.  I will share some of my greatest moments with you at the end of the year.

May all of your happiness jars burst at the seams in 2014!

Cheers,
Megs

The New Attitude - Gratitude!

Tis’ the season…for ungratefulness, entitlement, selfishness and receiving.  Oh wait, wait, wait…let me try that again…tis’ the season for overconsumption, credit card debt and pedestrians run over in the Walmart crosswalk.  Hmm that’s not quite right either…tis’ the season for stress, high blood pressure and panic attacks.

I know, I know…I sound so pessimistic.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas…BUT (you know whatever comes after the “but” is not going to be good) I have heard a theme coming from many people this year.  The theme is around gratitude or the lack thereof.

In the days leading up to Christmas my boys asked me, “Did you bring us a present today?”  In the days following Christmas my boys asked me, “Did you bring us a present today?”  The more they got the more than wanted.  I heard a mother say that her daughter counted her gifts and said, “6 gifts, you can do better than that.”  I heard a father say that his son was ungrateful because the gift wasn’t exactly what he had asked for.  I heard a coworker say that her children feel entitled.

Part of me says, “kids will be kids”, the other part of me says, “it is my mission to teach my children gratitude.”  So often we hear about focusing on the “reason for the season” and taking the emphasis off of presents.  It is so much easier said than done.  I think most of us are guilty of material gluttony at some point or another.

The older my boys get, the more I would like to open their eyes to the lives of people less fortunate than ourselves.  How eye opening would it be to go to a soup kitchen on Christmas eve or Christmas morning and see people with no family, no presents, no Christmas smorgasbord; some with simply the clothes on their back and their next meal in a bowl in front of them.

If any of you have heartwarming stories of thankfulness and gratitude expressed by your kids, please share.  If any of you have “heartcooling” (yeah I just made it up) stories of ungratefulness or entitlement, please share.  If any of you have ideas on how to nurture gratitude please share.

Counting My Blessings,

Meg  

Show Me The Love

As I read through my notes from “The Happiness Project” this quote jumped out at me.

“There is no love; there are only proofs of love.  

Whatever love I might feel in my heart, others will see only my actions.”

-Pierre Reverdy

It is so important to align our actions with our feelings.  That is the only way others will truly understand how we feel.  Our inner feelings must be translated outwardly through our interactions with others and the way we choose to conduct ourselves in our day to day lives.

Throughout my lifetime I have looked into people’s eyes and listened to them pour there heart out, or at least what they claimed was in their heart, only to turn around and act in a way that clearly conflicted with their words.

 

This leaves me with many questions.  Does that person love me?  Does that person just say they love me?  What do their actions say about how they feel?  These are hard questions to answer.

Alignment is key to our happiness.  We must align our life with our faith, morals and values.  We must align our actions with our feelings.  To be misaligned hurts others, especially the ones you love.  But more importantly it hurts yourself, because if you can’t be true to yourself you will never be true to someone else, and you will rob yourself of the deepest, truest emotions and connections.

I wrote a post, "To Thine Own Self Be True", which is the foundation of being true to others.  I will do my best to make sure the ones I love know just how much.  I will hope that the ones that love me show me just how much.

As you live your life, think about the fact that nobody else can truly know how you feel, unless you show them.  Shape your actions, interactions, and words around your heart.

Much Love,

Megan  

Super Mom

Just call me Super Mom.  I totally earned the title this weekend.  The boys and I bought a rubber band bracelet loom and made enough bracelets to cut off the circulation of 100 small children or 1 large elephant, we attended a birthday party at The Little Gym, we had a dinner date with the BFF, we made Christmas cookies, we attended a night in Bethleham, we shopped for and made goodie bags for the boys classes and SO MUCH MORE.

This is a shout out to all of you moms (and dads):

• Spending countless hours and dollars creating the perfect Christmas for your kids
• Bravely lunging across the room with a shoe to kill the spider threatening your family
• Coming up with the most creative Elf on the Shelf locations
• Packing the most edible lunches for school
• Creating an awesome advent calendar
• Planning amazing birthday parties
• Sitting on the front row of the Christmas sing-a-long
• Wrestling in the living room
• Instilling confidence in your children
• Chaufering your children to and from all of there many extracurricular activities.

Obviously this was a random, very random, sampling of what you do.  But the most important thing is just to be present and be you.

If you are still reading this – my guess is you are a great parent.  I am in awe of you every single day for the time/energy/love you put into the lives of your children.  I hope, and in most circumstances believe, that what you put in will be a reflection of what comes out.  Give yourself a pat on the back and remind yourself that there is no one more important than you to your children.  Your role makes a difference, some would say it makes all the difference.  Here’s to all of you Super Moms and Super Dads in the world!  

XOXO,

Megan

To Thine Own Self Be True

Yesterday I read a sentence that resonated with me, “Dream, speak and act in congruency and anything is possible.”  I jotted it down on an index card and put it in my handy dandy index card box full of totally insightful and totally useless bits of information that make up my life.

Today I was reading an article on tinybuddha.com and came across a similar message.  The article began with the following quote:

“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the world.” ~Marcus Aurelius

It went on to say, “When you are alone, spend some time considering whether you are happy and if you are acting congruently with your values.”

These thoughts left me with a few takeaways.

The first is that life is full of possibilities and your choices are endless.  Shoot for the stars, but remember that your own inner compass it what will guide you to that star.  You must talk the talk AND you must walk the talk.

The second and, in my opinion, more important takeaway is about our inner harmony.  It doesn’t matter if we reach the stars if we are not happy and content with ourselves and our lives.  I think a good example of this is a celebrity such as Britney Spears.  From the outside she has fame, fortune, beauty, talent and is a star.  From the inside, at least at times, she is broken, lost and not living in harmony with herself and the world.

Ask yourself:

Who am I?

Am I the person I want to be?

What do I believe in?

Do I stand up for what I believe in?

What do I want out of MY life?

Am I happy?

What makes me happy?

Be the person you want to be.  Live the life you want to live.  Fill your life with the things that make you happy. To thine own self be true.

XOXO,
Meg

No One is Born Racist!

I started this post several weeks ago, but I did not finish it.  In honor of Nelson Mandela, in honor of the season I think this piece is timely.

No one is born racist, homophobic, liberal, conservative or full of hate.  Each and every one of us is a blank slate.  However our beliefs are quickly influenced by the people around us, specifically the people closest to us.

 

Some of the most sad, frustrating and infuriating experiences for me are seeing the beautiful, open and loving minds of children being taught to hate.  The hate being taught is not a gift – it is a burden.  These children are not being saved from future hurt by some faceless “bad person”, they are simply learning that entire groups of people are bad and should be categorized as such.  Children’s worlds are narrowed with the thoughts that certain people are innately bad or good, based solely on the color or their skin, their sexual preference or their political or religious beliefs.

 

It is so important to teach our children to love.  They will be happier if they see the good in people.  They will be stronger if they can connect with people.  They will be healthier if they are full of love, not hate.

Be love.  Be kindness.  Be understanding.  Be compassionate.  Be generous.  Be thoughtful.  Be the person you hope your children to become.  That is the greatest gift you could possibly give them.

XOXO,

Megs

Laughter, Suspicion and Deerbras!

We’ve all heard or read about the importance of smiling and laughing, something like laughter is the best medicine or a smile a day keeps the doctor away…or maybe that’s an apple.

 

Today I want to talk about something EVEN BETTER!  Oh my word I just love what I’m getting ready to talk about!  You know those thoughts, those sights, that just *BAM* instantly make you break out into a cheesy grin or a laugh out loud moment ALONE!  Everyone around you is staring or they become paranoid and suspicious!  HAHAHA!  Or maybe the thoughts that just turn one side of your mouth up in a little knowing grin, or they make you pee in your pants, or they make you cry from laughing so hard, or they make your face hurt, or they make your stomach hurt, or they make you snort.  Man oh man – those are the best moments!

 

Oh, oh, oh or how about the times when you ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY should not be laughing, like at church, in class, during an intense argument, when someone hurts themselves or dies or any other awkward situation where it’s completely inappropriate.  So maybe, it’s totally wrong and maybe in the moment I feel awful about it, but not too awful I suppose…because WHY DO I KEEP LAUGHING, but right now I am here to tell you that it is a blessing and something to be thankful for.  To be able to feel that genuine happiness, even if for a fleeting and wrong timed moment, is a gift.

I love to laugh, I love to make people laugh and I am not afraid to make a complete fool of myself in the process.

 

This skit makes me laugh, I just can’t help myself!  Kevin Hart is a genius.  Be forewarned it has bad language, but sit back, relax and get ready to pee in your pants!

I hope you all get one extra smile and laugh today from reading this blog then spread the love!

XOXO,

Megan