eckhart tolle

3 Ways to Happy

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Drawing Practice #54

“Happiness is a choice.”

-Shawn Anchor

Three ways to become a happier person:

  1. Practice gratitude on a daily basis. Write about three things/people you are grateful for every day – and don’t repeat journal entries.
  2. Accept what is – don’t fight it, don’t worry about what might happen. View reality as beautiful.
  3. “The final habit is the most powerful that we’ve seen so far. For two minutes each day, start work by writing a two-minute positive e-mail or text praising or thanking one person you know. And do it for a different person each day.” (Shawn Anchor, Washington Post)

Anchor strongly believes that you must take responsibility for your well-being and contentment in life. Of course, clinical depression is a real thing. You may need medication, but the medication should be a stepping stone to getting yourself in a state where you can actively work to be happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to be Fully Present

You don’t have to be “moody.”

You don’t have to be ultra “proud” of your children, your spouse or your possessions.

You don’t have to react to everything…or anything.

You can choose to live within the band of happiness no matter the context or situation.

The next time something great happens, say, “thank you.”

The next time something “bad” happens, say “thank you.”

This is how to be fully present and truly happy all of the time.

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Lion

#1: When your computer breaks down and you have to type and publish your blog on your cell phone, ROAR like a lion.

#2: When the bonus they promised to deliver in December gets postponed to February, ROAR like a lion.

#3: When Pinterest tells you that someone in Russia has hacked your account and you can’t reset your password (see #1), ROAR like a lion.

#4: When you start to feel overwhelmed, anxious, angry or depressed, ROAR like a lion.

Or…close your eyes, breathe deeply and know everything is fine.

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It’s That Time Again…

Holidays. Busyness. Stress.

Don’t forget that stress and complaining are choices. Complaining is a form of denying reality*. It also makes you sound like a victim. You don’t want that, do you?

Below are my drawings for today. They are incomplete. I helped my daughter learn how to drive today. Someone honked at her loudly as she paused at the red light, uncertain if she should go or not. She got stressed.  And then we went out to help her buy her boyfriend a birthday gift. She worried it wasn’t enough. I assured her that her thoughtfulness in choosing the gifts was what really counted.

I am now at my other daughter’s high school concert. When all is said and done, I will have been here with her for six hours.  I didn’t get to complete my drawing or get my workout in or get any holiday shopping done. Oh well. But I did get to have a wonderful lunch with her between two concerts and talk about everything she wanted to share with me. We ate and talked and ate and talked and then we had enough time to buy makeup from Target before going back for her final performance.

It’s all good. I’m grateful I can do these things – be completely present for each of my daughters…and be completely present while I draw my funny-looking lizards.

*Eckhart Tolle

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Fast and Slow

There are things you ought to do quickly: running races and putting out fires come to mind.

But most things are better done slowly and with full presence: eating, visiting with friends and family, petting your dog, folding laundry, washing dishes, drawing scary rabbits…these daily activities are what make up the vast portion of your life.

 

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Drawing practice #25

 

Alphabiography

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Photo by Jaime Serrano

I recently assigned an alphabiography to my 6th grade students. For each letter of the alphabet, they had to write 4 sentences regarding a meaningful topic (could be a noun, adjective, verb) to that letter. After reading theirs, I was inspired to write my own.  My version is presenting itself in poem form:

A is for Acceptance

I am learning to accept what is

to see every “flaw, mistake, tragedy” as beautiful

I’m getting better at not asking “why?”

And replacing it with “why not?”

 

 

*My Alphabiography project