Back on the Bus

Tonight Ross left in a rush and forgot his ID badge. It's not the end of the world, but I figured it would make his life a lot easier if he had it.

So....

Back on the bus.

The bus gives you lots of good ideas for science projects. Mostly involving Petri dishes. 

Just when I thought my bus days were over for good.

But it was an easy trip and a pretty night.

On the way home I let this guy use my phone to make some calls to his wife. He had a pay as you go phone. Out of minutes and confused by how to access his voicemail, I figured it wasn't a big deal to me.

Maybe letting a stranger borrow my phone wasn't the safest move. But on the hour long ride home I thought about it. Does it really matter? IF he decided to make a break for it and steal it, I'd be out a phone.

And...

Nothing else. My photos are backed up. I don't have any sensitive information on there. And I could get my own pay as you go phone. I'm getting sick of stuff. Stuff is just stuff remember? Instead of thinking of my stuff- for some crazy reason- I decided to trust a stranger, who need the help.
Why? Maybe because I still believe in the humans in humanity, or at least want to. Maybe because I have been there before, many times. In need of a phone and also just in need of help and at the mercy of strangers.

It wasn't altruistic. I hope it was just human.

QW #22: Homemade Happiness Extract

I'll be the first to admit that "happiness" tends to elude me. In this time of transition (again) in my life, it seems like so many things are continually going wrong in a world of perpetual "hiccups." 

That's why, when perusing my favorites quotes, I decided right away this was a good one to write on today. 

"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things." -Henry Ward Beecher

When I got thinking about this quote, it occurred to me that happiness can be found in moments. In the roller coaster world in which we live, it's perfectly okay to be happy one moment, then not the next. I think we fool ourselves into thinking that happiness is a status we must achieve and maintain for "x" amount of days before it fully counts. You have to be a happy person, or a happy family, or be happy with your job, or whatever.

That's a silly way to think. 

I like to think of happy moments. Little rays of sunshine in what can sometimes be a gloomy day.

As I've been unpacking and getting settled in a new apartment I've been doing a lot of arranging and rearranging and configuring and re-configuring. As I sat back the other day to look at this spot I couldn't help but feel very pleased with myself. This little spot in my new home made me feel so happy! I remember thinking what a dumb and little thing it was, but everything about it just brought a smile to my face.

This ray of sunshine is my small dinning room. It sounds a little too formal for an area outfitted in a borrowed card table and folding chairs but that's exactly what it is. Blue and yellow has to be my favorite color combination since the beginning of time, and sunflowers are my favorite flower. So it makes sense why this little eating area makes me so happy.  I took common things and with my creativity, I set up this spot. I love the way the sun comes in during the day and lights up the room (which you can't see because otherwise the photo would be backlit). 

My absolute favorite part of this room isn't the striking color combo, nor the sunflowers.

It's the tablecloth.

Now, a tablecloth would usually meet Beecher's "common" requirement. But this isn't any old tablecloth. My mom made this tablecloth for me. And although you can't see the intricate stitching and detailing, believe me that it took my mom hours, weeks, and months to make this for me. I see it multiple times a day and I think of all the love (and maybe secretly a little frustration) she poured into creating it just for me.

And that makes me really very happy. 

I don't think that I'll ever win the lottery (no mind that I don't play the lottery...). I don't think I'll ever strike it rich or make it big. But for now I can work on extracting happiness from common things in my life. Because that's a start that's good enough for me. 

The Little Things

Positive Post #5

You know what makes me happy?

The little things.

I am a simple person (maybe simplistic, maybe just simple). I smile at the little things. Here is an example.

My little good-smelling-wax-melter thing. Yes, that is the technical name for it.

First I got these.

Then I got the warmer device, THEN I got the tea lights. So it was a little out of order, but when all was said and done, it is a simple thing that brings a smile to my face.

Let little things make you smile, but don't base joy in little things.

Because things fail you. Things break. Remember my joy at getting a crockpot for Christmas? Ross was also excited.



Remember how this happened about a week or so later?



Crockpot met it's fate on a deathly date with the tile floor.

Not only the crockpot, but my hopes and dreams were shattered. And I bawled my eyes out like a child who dropped their ice cream cone. Only more pathetic.

I had a good friend once tell me (shortly after I had ruined something and become frustrated), "Kristen, they are just things!" How right he was.

Don't depend on things for joy, because surely they will not give you that. But let small things help you smile.

Look around for something small that makes you smile. Maybe it is a scarf that your mom gave you, an e-mail from your dad. Maybe you see the nail polish your best friend let you borrow, or a Halloween costume your brother helped you make. Maybe the aroma of your good-smelling-wax-melter thing.

Let something small turn your day, and frown, around! :)

Keep Going, Finish the Race

Positive Post #4

Don't let the little things trip you up!

The best way I have thought to illustrate this is a literal example. It is a tear-jerker and SUPER embarrassing but I hope it is inspiring in the end.

For a couple years in high school I ran track. In my heart I am a cross country runner, but the cross country coach always roped the team into running distance for track season.

I sometimes ran the mile, but mostly the two mile race. Two miles around a 400m track means ... 8 laps. Running in a circle 8 times. I definitely did not like that, but I gave it a fair shot for a couple years.

In track you wear a specific kind of shoe called "spikes." It is a lightweight shoe with some plastic protrusions as well as about 8 spaces or less for metal spikes to be screwed into the bottom of the shoe. This helps give your foot traction as you run.

 

Since I ran on a variety of tracks I had a variety of spikes in my tool kit. They ranged from what was appropriate on a fancy schmancy "real" track (*cough* Oxnard) to what was appropriate on our low class dirt tracks in the Antelope Valley.



At one particular track meet I was prepping my spikes from "low class" to "fancy schmancy," when I couldn't get some of the spikes out. They had been ground into my shoe and were stuck. My coach reassured me that it would probably be fine if I used a variety of spikes in the bottom of my shoe. Off I went to run the two mile race!

The first time I fell on that awful spiky red track, it hurt my pride more than my knees. I picked myself up and kept going, a bit surprised at the fall. I took my strides more carefully. Then I fell again. And again, and again, and again. With each fall I became more frustrated and my knees seared with pain. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I was trying as hard as I could to be focused, to pace myself, to take long strides, to pick up my legs and feet. My bony knees became raw and each fall hurt more. I felt that lump building in the back of my throat and tears welling in my eyes.



I remember falling at least 10 times that race. Yep. Over ten times in 8 laps.

But I kept going. I kept up my wobble jog.

I was lapped, the next race started. My failure was out there for the world to see and every time I lumbered past the grandstands I felt it. But I knew I had to finish.

That would be cool if the crowds in the stands gave me a standing ovation as I stumbled across the finish line. That would be fantastic if the director gave me a bouquet and medal. That would be nice if hot EMTs whisked me away to administer to my raw bleeding knee caps. That would have been satisfying if my team bore me up on their shoulders and carried me away.



But none of that happened.

The specifics of the story seem so far away, the exact spikes in the bottom of my shoe, the number of times I fell, my final finishing time. When talking to my coach afterwards, he figured it must have been the variations of spikes in my shoe were responsible for my downfall (haha get it?).

But with all pride now vanished, I learned an important lesson that day.

Keep getting up. Keep going. Finish the race. 
Don't let your falls, your perceived failures, stop you from continuing and finishing.

Recently I stumbled up this quote by Jeffrey R. Holland, taken from a speech you can read here.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/118082280/jeffrey-r-holland-quote-made-on

Your wounds will heal (albeit with much pain and maybe some scars). And you won't even remember how many times you fell. But you will remember crossing that finish line.


And what more? You'll run again!

Happy -The Documentary

Positive Post #3!

Now that I am a mature responsible adult (bahahaha!)

I have found that I very much enjoy documentaries. Is it the aging process that makes you crave "boring" films about real life?

*enter Netflix*

The awesome thing about Netflix is that you have tons of documentaries at your fingertips. Gone are the days of having to research a good one that you have to be 100% certain is worth your money.

A few weeks ago I watched "Happy" (2011) a documentary written and directed by Roko Belic. The film "explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion."

One of the biggest things that stuck with me was how the scholars talked about service. They discussed how there is great value in working for something bigger than yourself.

I highly recommend watching it.  You can rent the movie from their website for $2.99!

I also highly recommend being happy. :)

So grab some popcorn and treat yourself to a "TGIF Movie Night!"

Allow Happiness for Yourself! (Positive Post #2)

Positive Post #2!

Sometimes, you have to be your biggest fan. I love myself for previously writing this blog post. My optimism overwhelms me and reminds me of my potential. So read that post.

It occurs to me that sometimes the biggest hindrance to happiness is... wait for it...

YOUR SELF! 

Yep. I said it. Some people are so good at being unhappy that I might've thought they were making salary with benefits off it. They make a daily routine and lifetime career out of it.

LET YOURSELF BE HAPPY!

http://www.ilovedoodle.com/products/bad-hair-day

Stop wallowing. Stop being the martyr. Stop making excuses.

Allow yourself the opportunity to be happy! Why? Because you deserve it!

Pull yourself up and out of your pity party pit.

This is the first step. Because no matter how intensely you try to be happy, if you don't allow happiness for yourself... it will never happen. :)