Happiness, defined; things that help you find happiness, keep it, and share it with others.
Dearest Donna: Well, you did it girl! You survived 2020 without getting COVID, without another heart attack or major surgery. You survived it with only one death in the family and even though he was 101 when he passed, your uncle will be sorely missed.
As I sat in the downtown area of Jellico, the streets stood silent and still. It was so quiet, the only sound to be heard was the passing geese overhead. If you listen closely you can hear them every morning on their daily routine over the town. This sound brings me comfort. It reminds me that I am home. I just sat there, in my car with the window slightly cracked. The cool morning breeze, the silence and my friends flying overhead brought an unexplainable peace. A feeling that you just can't find in a big city.
A 79-year-old man, living in a village consisting of about forty people, was always unhappy. He had been searching for happiness his entire life, and having not found it, he was a grumpy old man, and no one wanted to be in his presence.
We all hear about them; we all do them: New Year's resolutions. Lose twenty pounds, join a gym, start that new business, finish what I started. And yet, so often, they become empty words thrown into the void, words that we said because we had to. What are New Year's resolutions anyway? Why do we make them? What's the point?
We weren't taught growing up how to be "ok" during a pandemic, so therefore anything you are feeling is completely valid. And that also includes wanting your life back.
I've always thought of myself as a considerate person, was raised to treat other as I'd like to be treated, which I took seriously growing up in an Irish Catholic household. But it wasn't until I got sober at 25 that I really learned what it meant to be considerate of another person. Sure, I knew how to be nice and how to be kind, be it opening the door for someone, holding an elevator, buying a donut for the homeless man sitting outside the donut shop. But truly being considerate is a different animal because it requires us to consider other as individuals as opposed to groups. Here's an example: If I was really being c0nsiderate of that homeless man, I might have asked him what he needed, if he needed anything, before I went in and purchased whatever I thought he might want. As a "homeless person" I figured he would be hungry and thirsty, and I may have been right, but as a person, given that he was outside a donut shop, I failed to consider that that might be the 10th donut he'd been offered that day. Maybe he could have used a couple bucks on his CTA card instead, who knows.
Do you know how to truly love yourself? I'm not talking about the buzzword type of "self-love" we are constantly bombarded with. Not just things like bubble baths, naps, and buying yourself that new thing you've been eyeing. I'm talking about the kind of love you give your kids, your partner, or your best friend. The way you take into consideration what they want and how they feel. How you go out of your way to show them how you feel about them by cooking them food they like, rubbing their back, and speaking kind, loving words to them. You listen in their darkest times and get excited when they're excited. You simply honor them for who they are. Do you give those things to yourself?
2020 was absolute garbage overall; and at this point, it's kind of a 50/50 for 2021 too. I've said it before; TikTok definitely saved my sanity and I know I'm not alone.
Original story can be found at: https://www.bloglakecity.com/post/my-dad-the-writer To know me, you have to know who my dad was. For over 20 years he was a welder and a good one. He would get up at the crack of dawn, put on his welding clothes, all of them with holes burnt into them, grab a 7-11 breakfast, and be off to work. I still remember how he always smelt like a garage shop.
I am unwanted... but that’s just...me. It’s always been this way. I don’t know what it is. At this point I kind of just roll with it. I’m used to it. I pretty much expect to be unwanted no matter where I go. I personally feel that it would be a cold day in hell before anyone is attracted to who I am.
Are you still stuck in isolation due to the covid pandemic. You think you have nothing to do. You want to go outside and feel the fresh air on your skin while you are running. You want to have your freedom back. Well let me tell you something. You are not stuck. You have options you have a treadmill. You have a cycling machine you have some type of workout equipment at home that you can use. If you do not have such items. Then get a friend that is not in isolation to bring you something to do. You can always workout no matter your situation. You can set whatever goals you like and still complete them. You can do what you have to do to feel fulfilled at the end of the day. Remember isolation is only temporary. Look at it like a chance to keep to yourself for a little bit. Think about it when was the last time you had a good break from work. When was the last time you were actually alone for a set period of time. When was the last time you were able to just shut the whole world out. Chances are not often. So take this time to meditate, to re-align your self with who you actually are. You see in this busy world we live in we often forget who we actually are. We are much to busy with work,kids, your phone and other things that need your immediate attention. Just disconnect take the time you need to re align yourself. Trust me you need it. If your a busy body like me. Always on the Go from 7 am to 11pm. You need that time for yourself. It is absolutely essential to your well being. Now that's out of the way here comes more motivation. Get up off that couch and workout. Put on some YouTube motivational video's. If that's what you need to get going. Only you are able to push yourself. Nobody should have to motivate you. But you.
There's something about writing on a platform with other writers that can't talk to each other that makes my little introverted heart skip a beat.