I usually have two books going at once, one fiction and one non-fiction. Yesterday, I was scanning my bookshelf in the family room looking for something motivational/comforting/self-helpish and I spotted What Happy People Know by Dan Baker, Ph.D. I read it a few years ago, but apparently I’ve forgotten “what happy people know” because I’ve been feeling pretty blue lately. After rereading it I decided to play along with the Teaser Tuesdays Blog meme at MizB’s Should Be Reading blog. I randomly opened the book to page 94 and picked out this quote to share. “From that day on, I realized that there was something happy people know that unhappy people don’t: No matter what happens in life, there’s always something left to love, and the love that remains is always stronger than anything that goes against it.”
I like that, the idea that love rules, that the capacity of our hearts to appreciate and love unconditionally can overcome the craziness in our minds. Craziness that is almost always motivated by fear. Fear that we aren’t good enough, we aren’t loveable, fear of loss, fear that things won’t get better, fear that we are helpless to “fix” the broken pieces of our life. I think we all have to dig deep sometimes to find the courage to quiet that fear-based voice with a conscious prayer that begins and ends in gratefulness and love. My take away after reading Dr. Baker’s book again is simply this: Life is a dance and we all might be a little happier if we remember to lead with love, not fear.



Baby Brooklyn’s first visit with Santa!

Your sweet face heals my heart.
I didn’t sleep well Monday night. I tossed and turned and at one point toward morning I found myself dreaming. In the dream, a dark-haired little boy who was no more than six or seven years old, was standing next to me. He seemed very kind and much older than he looked and he spoke with a slight, sing-song Indian accent. “If there was only one thing I could give you right now, what would it be?” he asked. My mind started reeling, one thing, only one wish and I had to come up with it right then. I thought it was impossible to answer such a big question without having more time to think about it! But I was wrong, because at that moment the answer came to me and I said, “Peace of mind.” The little boy reached out without speaking and touched me gently. I closed my eyes and went into a pleasant meditative state, my mind was quiet, and yes, at peace. I haven’t meditated in a long time, even though I’ve been thinking I need to start again. So here I am, where we all find ourselves so often, wondering…was it just a dream, or was the universe whispering sweet somethings in my ear?
1. I remember, I remember when my kids were younger. That’s a photo I took of Andy and Lizzi for our Christmas card one year, they were so cute!