A permission slip for Happiness (Happiness = 1st Guest Post!)

Today marks a happiness milestone for the Wake Up Laughing blog - my first guest post! I decided to start a guest post series to provide a space for others to share about happiness in their own lives. I'm honored that the first guest post comes from a dear friend. I loved her take on signing her own permission slip to be happy. I love that she acknowledges that the decision to be happy can be a challenge but she's willing to embrace happiness today. As I read her words, it seemed to me like the last paragraph almost turned into a prayer to happiness, and how sometimes all it takes is a re-framing to see that there is a blessing to be found everyday. It may take a reminder every morning, personally sometimes I have to re-choose happiness a few times a day as I notice myself slip into negativity. But, all that matters is reminding myself: I did sign my permission slip...

So, without further ado:

Today, I sign my permission slip to be HAPPY

Letting go of negative feelings is one of the best things I can do to harvest my happiness. It seems silly to give myself "permission" to be happy, but ultimately, it is in my own hands. I figured out that I don't have to be stressed or unhappy if I just don't allow myself to feel that way. My expectations and standards are simply "mine" to be disappointed with if things aren't to my satisfaction. I have the choice to feel what I feel. It seems that feeling dissatisfied or unhappy is much easier than allowing myself to just be happy.

However, life is too short to constantly push happiness away from my reach. It stares me in the face everyday. The real challenge is can I, or will I, embrace it? When I watch the news, how many times do I see stories of people facing hardship or losing their loved ones? For me, it's a constant reminder of how much I DO have, as opposed to what I DON'T have. So, my happiness may not be perfect or satisfying by another's standards, but it doesn't matter to anyone but me.

Today, I will be happy to be alive, remembering someone else may not have been blessed with another day. Today, I will be happy that I have family or loved ones to share with, remembering there is someone in the world who may have no one. Today, I will be happy that I am in good health, remembering someone's health may be failing them. I will remember there are many things that could be worse when I start to think that happiness is beyond my reach.

Today, I give myself permission to be happy - to indulge in the simple blessings I am given everyday...

- Ahrijona Kimchi Mama

(PS - Would you like to write a guest post on happiness? If so, please leave a comment letting me know or send me an e-mail at jules57 at gmail dot com.)
(PPS - Remember, to use the symbol for at and a period for dot.)

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Gratitude: 1/29/2009

1. Doing things I did not want to do yesterday.
2. Having enough sense to know that even though I wanted to just lay in bed, sucking it up and getting caught up on resolutions would ultimately make me happier.
   
3. Not napping yesterday and today I have a cleaner kitchen and living room, the bed is made, I feel better and I am happier.
4. Knowing that letting things go doesn't equate to me getting more/quality rest, in fact it's just the opposite.
5. Working on my paper and e-mailing the intro to my professor.
6. To-do lists.
7. Having Sean home yesterday.
   
8. Occasionally I understand myself better.
9. Seeing my nephews yesterday.
10. Chatting with my sister yesterday.
11. Learning more about my friends from their Facebook notes.
12. Sharing gratitude.
13. Going to bed earlier.
    
14. Catching the Fringe episode I missed online.
15. Reading Videogames.
16. I feel so much better today.
17. I turned the TV off.
18. C and I went for a walk.
19. H's violin teacher is flexible and when we need to cancel a Saturday lesson she can usually fit us in another day.
20. Watching C dump all our DVDs onto the floor... AGAIN. (And, again. And, again. And, again.)
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Today...

...Be the change you want to see in the world. -Gandhi

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Gratitude: 1/27/2009

1. A quiet day to get some extra, much needed, rest.
2. Texts with my sister.
3. Phone call from my sister.
4. Hearing the adorable story Nephew N wrote.
5. Thoughtful e-mails from a friend.
6. Practicing gratitude.
   
7. A to-stop list in addition to a to-do list.
8. My to-do list.
9. Colors.
10. Ravelry.
11. Instead of putting her fingers in her mouth I've been catching C with her finger up her nose.
12. Finished a poncho for H and she loves it.
13. Blog comments.
14. Call with my mentor today.
    
15. Stability.
    
16. Reframing.
17. Reclaiming.
18. Creating.
19. Finishing things.
    
20. Play.
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Finished poncho

Finished poncho, originally uploaded by jules57.

I finished this for H today. She's going to wear it to school tomorrow.

On Happiness and Service

I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve. - Albert Schweitzer

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Gratitude: 1/26/2008

1. My doctor's office.
2. No co-pay for the prescription.
3. Drive through pharmacy so I didn't have to schlep the baby into CVS to pick up my prescription.
4. Feel crappy but still did the floors this morning - who knew?
   
5. Financial Monday!
6. Financial aid is in finally! YAY!
7. Bills are paid! Double YAY!
8. Great class discussion last night.
9. Being a part of my grad program and being surrounded by such awesome, thoughtful people.
   
10. Sleep.
11. Not feeling much better yet but I know this will pass.
12. My healthy babies.
13. Sean's job.
14. Funny dreams last night.
15. Meditations.
16. I started out still feeling kinda crappy by the end of our call I felt a lot better.
17. Gratitude.
    
18. Following my fascinations.
19. Creativity.
20. Collaboration.
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Weekend Gratitude: 1/25/2009

1. Going to the Phoenix Comic Con.
2. Sitting in on the Writers vs. Artists panel.
3. Being a make-up artist for a day.
4. A little Yoda.
   
5. Having fun as a family.
6. Getting a lot of homework done too.
7. A restful Sunday.
8. Motrin for aches, pains and fevers.
9. My mom's list for tips on a breastfeeding issue.
10. Phone calls from my sister.
    
11. Laying with H before she falls asleep.
12. My hand pain was fever related and not necessarily from all the extra time at the computer. I worry about that cause I spend a lot of time at the computer during the semester.
13. Sean traded chairs with me for our desks. His is a bit more comfortable.
14. January's resolutions are almost done and soon I will switch to February's resolutions!
15. Change.
16. Reading Understanding Comics.
17. Half.com for used books.
18. Starting week 4 of my happiness project.
19. Doing a little bit everyday does make a big difference.
20. My daughters and my husband.
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Gratitude: 1/23/2009

1. The baby butt wars are becoming epic in nature. Oh the drama of a pink bottom.
2. Meditation.
3. Going to the grocery store even though I didn't want to.
4. Writing, writing, writing.
5. Lunch with @AmyPR.
6. Hearing from a friend that she was back in touch with another friend who needed her.
7. There is only love.
8. Ideas.
9. Curiosity.
10. Serving.
11. Audiobooks so that I can hear books I want to read but may never get around to actually doing it.
12. 45+ minute commutes to and from school so I get a serious chunk of time to do nothing but listen to audiobooks (and drive safely, of course).
    
13. Re-framing.
14. Sean's job.
15. We have more than enough.
16. Being unafraid.
17. Almost to the end of a decent week.
18. Watching H & C grow.
19. High speed internet.
20. My laptop and work area.
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Gratitude: 1/21/2009

1. Watching the inauguration with C.
2. Meditation.
3. A call with my mentor.
4. Finally using up the bookstore gift card I won for filling out a survey last year. The amount was pleasantly surprising and helped me get books 2 semesters in a row!
5. Funny, funny typos.
6. Twittering with friends... (I think the official term is called "tweeting")
7. Prioritizing.
8. Having so much fun in class last night.
9. Gratitude lists in my inbox in the morning.
10. Gratitude lists in my inbox in the evening.
11. Sean's job.
12. Our home.
13. Our family.
14. H & C.
15. Getting to be their mother.
16. Being Juli.
17. Afternoon naps.
18. Books are bought in spite of the financial aid snafu. It will work out and in the mean time, I can get to work!
19. Warm weather in January.
    
20. The smiles C gets from people everywhere we go.
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Honoring Inspiration

A few weeks ago something came to me, a realization about my recent self. The realization: As I take time to discover and cultivate who I am, I notice the roles that used to overwhelm me are now inspiring me.

These roles - mother, sister, wife, daughter, friend, employee, co-worker, supervisor, student – could each feel so daunting just a few years ago. I didn't even know there was inspiration in front of me and I had no idea how to approach life with creativity. I was so resentful, drowning in obligations to anything and everything in life with no time for me. Looking back, I realize that having no time for me was partially my own fault - I wasn't making any time. If I don't make myself a priority, it is no one else's job to do so either.

Now I get to look at who I am. It’s not that I’m not tired, or that I don’t get occasionally frustrated, but I have started on a journey to develop myself. As I focus on my happiness project I find I do truly love being a mother, a wife, a student, daughter, friend…

I was recently lucky enough to be able to let go of quite a few things that were a source of negative energy and in doing so it seemed I was suddenly compelled to approach the roles in front of me with creativity. My new mantra: Be ready to be inspired by what is in front of me today. When I start with myself, I can see my roles as a gifts in my life. There are new gifts in my day, every day. Inspiration is everywhere once I open myself up to receive it. All it took was setting some boundaries (easier said than done but that’s another discussion) and then focusing on being Juli and looking for what that means.

Today that means:

• Bring order to my house.
• Improvise.
• Read.
• Write.
• Create (recently this has been a lot of crochet projects).
• Practice gratitude.
• Laugh with my kids.
• Laugh with my husband.
• Learn something new.
• Cook new things or make our old favorites in new ways.
• Get enough sleep.
• Seek the goodness in life – in the people around me, in the media I consume, in the moment that I am in.

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Gratitude: 1/19/2009

1. Sending free faxes with Fax Zero.
2. Not letting little financial hiccups ruin my day. It's 'Financial Monday' again!
   
3. An extra day with both my girls since H has the day off.
4. Managing life with lined Post-It notes in a variety of colors.
5. A free program to combine PDFs on my Mac.
6. Back to school tomorrow!
7. I feel ready and prepared to handle the additional stress.
   
8. Cheesy baby puke - my perfume for this morning.
9. New babies!
10. Cleaning up my workspace resulted in increased productivity for Financial Monday.
11. It's ok to feel angry - even when I'm working on a happiness project.
12. Logging in to the ASU online system and finding my professors have been busy uploading course information.
13. C fell asleep tonight without any fuss - that is rare.
14. Listening to H practice violin.
15. Sean and H playing the violin together.
16. Homemade Korean for dinner.
17. Maintaining boundaries.
18. A call from my sister this morning.
19. Open questioning.
20. Creativity.
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Gratitude: 1/18/2009 (The husband edition)

It's our anniversary so today's list is dedicated to my husband:

1. His sense of humor.
   
2. His intelligence.
3. He listens.
4. He's patient.
5. He challenges me.
6. He laughs at my jokes (whether he is laughing "with" or "at" is debatable but trivial).
7. He takes care of our family.
8. He provides us with more than enough.
9. We've been able to grow together.
10. We've been laughing since our first date.
11. He's a wonderful father to our kids.
12. I love watching him with C.
13. I love watching him with H.
14. We're geeks together.
15. I learn from him.
16. We teach each other.
17. He's creative.
18. We try new things together.
19. He's a cutie.
20. We're partners.
    

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity

Daily Routines Revisited

I realized that in my original post about routines I didn't really include what my routine consists of so here goes. Ideally, this is what my day looks like:

• Wake up
  
• Get H off to school
  
• Breakfast, observe the morning clean-up
• Rest of the morning varies depending on need: run errands, check emails, make calls, pay bills, vegg out, go to appointments, etc.
• Lunch and nap time for C
  
• C naps, I have "office hours" for crafting, emails, writing, homework, making calls
• C gets up, H gets home from school
• Snack time/Homework time
• Cook dinner
• Dinner
• Observe the evening clean-up & family time
• H gets free time, C gets ready for bed
• C goes to bed, I take my evening time for emails, writing, to-do list review
  
• H goes to bed
• Sean and I vegg and hang out
• Bedtime
  

Most days look *something* like this but it's not perfect. I'm glad I typed it out though. The two areas I am really working hard on are observing the morning and evening clean-up consistently. It only makes my life easier when I do. I noticed as those small tasks pile up, the free space in my mind gets limited too. It's bizarre. I suspect the amount of dishes on the sink is inversely proportional to the amount of creativity I can access (both literally and figuratively). Interestingly enough though, when the kitchen is clean - creativity seems endless.

And with that, I'm off to do the dishes....

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happiness gratitude inspiration creativity