"Most people are as Happy as they make their mind up to be."  Abraham Lincoln

So I made my mind up to be very happy this week and it worked.  I have had a great week so far and today promises to be even greater.  Some of the things that made smile had to do with other people and some were just about me.  I am working with two groups on a program called "All About You" .  The concept is to remind the women in the group to remember themselves and to take care of themselves.  Both sessions this week were filled with laughter and fun.  That definitely made me happy. 
I heard from my best friend in high school this week.  We have just reconnected and are going to get together in April.  I think it should be wonderful and that made me happy.  It is also a great incentive to lose those extra pounds I am always worrying about. 
And last but not least I had my first Creative Thursday night and I enjoyed it very much.  I am always putting off painting so I made a date with myself to paint last night.  I did invite over a few friends but everyone was already busy.   I kept my plans anyway, lit a candle, and painted.  I painted a slightly sleepy angel who is awakening to all types of exciting adventures. The awakening part of the picture was in tribute to Jamie's Wishcasting question on Wednesday, "What do you wish to awaken?"  I really enjoyed working with my watercolor pencils and if I don't get them out before Thursday I have definitely made a date with myself for next week.  So it has been a good week filled with happy events. I can't wait to read what made everyone else happy this week.

Jamie Ridler's question this week is really very interesting.  She asks, "What do you wish to awaken?"  Lots of things run through my mind as I ponder this question but I decided I would like to awaken the carefree side of my personality.  I am sure it must be in there somewhere but I am not sure carefree was ever a word I would use to describe myself.  Even as a freshman in high school my English teacher used to call me Smiley because I was so serious.  I don't remember being offended by this but the fact that I do remember it at all means it made an impression on me.  So for even a week I would like to feel carefree!  When I visualize what carefree looks and feels like I am in a really cool convertible with the top down on a sunny, breezy day,  the music is on as loud as it can go, and I am headed to the beach.  I would love to know what carefree looks and feels like to you.

Did you ever spend so much time searching for what you want to do that you forgot to enjoy what you actually had right in front of you? I did that very thing.  And yesterday I gave myself permission to stop the search and to begin to write and to paint.  It sounds crazy to have all of the time in the world to do exactly what you want to do but not know how to use and enjoy that time.   But that is exactly what happened to me.  Once I retired I felt I had to be as busy as I had always been. I felt that my day should be filled with important things to do and important places to go.  Only I wasn't sure what that was.  I am beginning to understand what others have told me.  Now is the time for me to do things for me.  A day spent writing or painting is a day well spent.  Yesterday I gave myself permission to live in the moment and to experience what that means.  I have looked, and researched, and thought about what I want to do enough for twenty people.  Now is the time to stop searching and begin living and enjoying all that life has to offer. 

This is my first post as an unofficial member of  he Happy Book Book Club. Each Friday I will write about things that made me smile and made me feel happy during the week.  This week there are two events that really standout for me.  Several posts ago I expressed the hope that I would find a group of people that I could grow with creatively.  Tuesday I started a new writing class and I think I may have found that group.  The first thing we discussed was how everyone was looking for other people to share the writing experience with.  It was amazing to see how well the group seemed to instantly click and feel comfortable with each other.  So I may have found my "creative tribe" and that makes me happy.
The second thing happened today.  Yesterday we found out that our doctor who we really like and trust will be moving.  He is only about five minutes from us now but will be much farther soon so we will have decided whether to travel to see him or find a new doctor.  I was telling my daughter-in-law about this and my two year old grandson was quietly listening.  He hopped off my lap and went to the other room.  He quickly came back with his doctor's kit and took out the stethescope and began to examine me.  So I guess we already have a doctor in the family and I don't have to look any farther.  Everytime I think of how serious he was as he tried to solve my dilemma I can't help but smile and feel my heart get bigger and that makes me very happy.

I missed Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday yesterday but today I could not let go of the question that Jamie posed.  "What do you wish for your family?"  The answer that immediately came to mind is Self Confidence and Belief in One's Self.  I realize that in life we are all going to have some good times and some times that are not so great but if we believe in ourself and our own ability we can make the not so good times good and the good times great.  So my wish for my family is that each person be able to see themself as I see them with all their unique talents and gifts.  I know that if they take the time to  appreciate who they are and what they have to offer to the world they can make all of their dreams come true.

As we get older friends are so important in our lives.  As a teenager and a young mother. I was always on the phone with my friends.  We laughed and talked and shared all types of confidences.  Now as I age, I think my friends are just as important but it is so much harder to connect.  Everyone is so busy that it is hard to find time to just sit down and talk and yet it is as important today as when I was fifteen or twenty-five.  In the blog world people talk about their community or tribe and if I understand them correctly it is the people who understand you and connect with you. As I try to grow creatively, I have not yet found my creative tribe.  I think it would be fun to meet people who understood what I am trying to create and people that I could bounce ideas off of. I have met a lot of wonderful people and I have some truly great friends but I am not sure anyone quite knows what I am trying to do creatively. Maybe that is because I am not quite sure.  But I do know one thing for sure - I will keep on trying because as a continue this journey I am meeting a lot of new and different and interesting people. I would love to hear how you found your creative tribe.

Today I have been thinking about the words that we choose for ourselves to guide us through the year and a thought came to me that I am not sure about.  Many of the women that I worked with on Tuesday chose words like acceptance and peace.  They are soft quiet words that I may have chosen a few years ago.  For the past seveal years, I have been on a journey and as I went through the many phases of that journey I think I too would have chosen quiet words. Althought I feel life is always a journey, I feel much more settled now.  I like where I am in my life and although I hope my journey takes me on many more unexpected twists and turns emotionally I feel settled and grounded.  Once I reached this state of mind I wanted to experience more excitement in my life, so for my  2010 word I chose Sparkle.  So what I keep wondering is, " Do you first have to feel peace and acceptance within yourself before you can sparkle?"  What do you think?

Today Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday question is, "How do you wish to shine?"  Since my word for 2010 is sparkle my first response is I wish to shine brightly with sparkle.  As I continue to work with teachers on how to learn more about themselves in order to make decisions that make them happy, I am reading more and more about how to become a happier person.  It is so interesting to learn that happiness is something that we can all obtain. I realize now that (1) happiness is something that we may have to work at recognizing and (2) when we do recognize the happy moments in our life each day that we have to savor and appreciate them.  I would like to be able to share the things that I am learning with others in a way that is bright and shiny and sparkly so that everyone has the ability to recognize the happiness they experience in their life each day.