Tag Archives: faith

happiness

Trust the journey 

It’s been a weird week. I’ve had these gut feelings come up and make me question myself and choices I’ve made. I’m so hard on myself sometimes. Some of the things going on had me feeling so overwhelmed and like I was making bad decisions all over the place. 

So I slowed everything down and got back to praying and meditating. And weird things started happening. I had people appear suddenly offering friendship, I had questions asked to me about Ayurveda, I had questions answered about whether I’m doing the right thing. 

I had a conversation with someone this morning that I kind of expected to go badly. I was really anxious about it, and wasn’t in a very good headspace to begin with. 

Instead of what I was expecting, I was given a talk about how I needed to honour my journey. This is someone who came into my life when I was completely broken and he’s been one of my teachers as I’ve been on the path of healing. 

He told me he was there to walk the journey with me, that I needed to remember how much I had worked through, and that it was a testament to my strength and character that I was where I was now. In a time of such self doubt, I really needed to hear that right now. I may now meet everyone’s approval, but I can feel in my gut I’m being true to myself. 

Those kind words were more than a happiness moment, they helped me pick myself up and keep walking on my path. 

As a bonus happiness moment I had the girls help me in the garden today. It’s time to get out what we can before everything freezes. They pulled carrots and onions, and dug potatoes. The potatoes hold a special place in our heart because they are ones that my great grandfather brought over from Ireland almost 150 years ago. 

The purple potatoes. I wonder what he wound think of his great – great granddaughter digging them up outside of the house he built all those years ago. Our roots run deep here. 

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happiness

Divine Intervention

I was in kind of a pissy mood this morning (shocking because usually I’m such a treat first thing). I had a couple of things happen that had left a bitter taste in my mouth and I was feeling pretty annoyed. I kind of sat with those feelings for part of the morning, trying to figure out what to do. I played out conversations I could have or actions I could take to express my hurt and discontent. Nothing seemed to really feel right and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

The image of my beloved Pastor from our church in VA kept popping into my mind and I decided it was time to touch base with her. When things were at their worst, when I was totally broken and alone, it was her hand that reached out to help me up. She not only helped me through my situation, but she walked me onto the path that brought me to this awesome relationship with God. She was absolutely divine intervention.

I sent her an email discussing the events in our family over the past few months. Some things I’ve shared here, a lot I have not – I shared it all with her. She is one of those amazing people who will listen to it all and then walk alongside you without judgement. I miss her support and advice more than I had realized, but I feel so grateful that she was there for me in a time when it literally saved my life.

She wrote me back and caught me up on her life and her family. It was wonderful to get that little update and to know that this person who for me radiates the love of God is still fulfilling her dharma.

It was amazing how emailing with her put me into a different place emotionally. All of those discontented feelings that had been running around in my brain seemed to have quieted themselves after that. My heart felt clearer and more at peace. It was a very clear and satisfying happiness moment. She reminds me how important it is to hold out that helping hand whenever it is possible – you never know the difference it could make in someone’s life.

Image result for i believe in prayer. it is the best way to draw strength from heaven

 

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happiness

On a day like this 

On a day like this one I have extra gratitude for the fact that I write a happiness blog. I’m thankful that looking for a moment of happiness in each and every day has become a habit – something I have done faithfully every damn day for over a year and a half. Because on a day like this one it’s extra easy to get bogged down by what sometimes feels like never ending pain and heartache. I feel like surely there has been enough hurt and suffering for the three of us, why do we still find old wounds being ripped open? Will we ever heal or are we just broken?

Then something happens and we laugh. The pain is still there, but so is the happiness, the love, the faith, the gratitude. I am reminded that every day we are farther away from the source of those painful memories and closer to healing. 

Every morning as we drive over the hill by our house we are greeted with a stunning view of the foothills and the mountains. Every morning I say look at the mountains, look at how beautiful it is. Can you believe we live here? And the kids roll their eyes and pretend they’re tired of hearing it. But once in a while I forget to say it and then I hear one of them start up. That moment brings me happiness every day.

Today my happiness moment came in the form of snort inducing laughter from funnies made by the boy. Even with the clouds, he is a constant ray of sunshine in my life. 

Seriously though, the mountains…. Can you believe we live here? Thank God we are back home. 

 

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Movie night 

Tonight Jacob is out with his uncle watching a movie. These guy nights are so important to him and I’m incredibly grateful that there are these caring, strong men in my family. It happened to come on an evening when he really needed some time out and some laughter (the passing of his cat last week continues to be painful for him) and I am thankful that he’s having a good time. My happiness moment. 

I can’t think of a better place for us to be right now than safely engulfed by our tribe. I had a heart saving pick-me-up chat with him this evening when I was reminded of that. Sometimes those things are important to hear and to allow to be absorbed into my heart. We are home, we are safe, we are grateful. I miss my pastor, but I can hear the message she gave us all every week: we are loved children of God. 

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An instrument of peace 

Peace seems to be the theme of my life again. I always think of what I’m doing as seeking peace, or looking for peace. But today I sat with the words of St. Francis make me an instrument of thy peace. 

There is a huge difference between wanting peace and being peace. It made me realize that what I’m really wanting is to become an instrument of His peace. I’m not just looking for it, I want to be it. 

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed again lately and I think I needed a perspective shift. Reminding myself of what it is I really want and setting my intentions is essential. 

I came home this afternoon to see Derek in the yard grazing. I haven’t seen him for a few days (he’s been hanging with his new friend Blindey the blind orphan calf) and I went over to say hi. At first he was causal cool, but after I started rubbing his head in the little spot between his eyes and talking to him he moved in for a full cuddle and kiss 


This dude makes me ridiculously happy. It’s such a simple happiness and peace he has. I realized it’s because he just is. He is an instrument of joy and peace. And my little cuddle with him was my happiness moment. 

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Faith, loss, the tribe 

This has been a year of learning to let go, leaning into our faith,  embracing our tribe. 

Today one of our family cats, one that my parents got when my kids were just little, was suddenly called back to heaven. It was heart wrenching. 

Jacob and Tawny have been buddies since he was a little kid. When we would come home to visit, his constant companion was his pal Tawny. When we moved back their friendship only deepened. He was just telling me yesterday how Tawny has always been there for him as a  best friend.  

After he cried in his room for a while he came out and said you know, something I’ve learned after all these losses is that you cry, you feel like the world is over, you remember they are with God, and you learn to move on. 

My cousin (the one we all always turn to in a crisis) and her family came over to help us bury her. Something my tribe knows how to do well is come together and support each other in times of grief. 

We stood at the computer and looked at family photos of our group trip to Italy, oohed and ahhhed at how the kids had grown, how youthful and thin we were all back then, how much fun we had. We measured the kids on the family wall to see how they had grown since  spring. 

And then we went out near where we had scattered my dad’s ashes and buried Tawny. My cousin said a prayer, we shared memories of her, we held each other up, then we came home. 

I talk about my tribe a lot, but I can’t express enough how fortunate I feel to be part of this group of amazing people. So strong in faith, so much love and compassion. I feel so blessed. It’s a weird happiness moment, but I am so happy that we have this strong, loving support system around us. I’m thankful that we had Tawny in our lives. She was a truly loving, wonderful spirit. She will be missed. But, we know she’s sitting happily on Dad’s lap in heaven 

Tawny hanging out with my Dad a few years ago. 

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The new year

We somehow managed to get up and get going this morning. The boy and I were up on and off all night stressing about the new school year. I love the schools they’re at, yet there is always a little bit of nervousness when heading back after a long break. It was so nice this year though that both kids were in familiar schools. They already have friends, know the teachers, and understand the school routine. I am so grateful for the fantastic schools they are both in.

 When I look back to last year when we moved here I am reminded of how the kids were picked up and held in love by their school communities. That’s not something that happens everywhere and I’m thankful it happened for them when they needed it so badly. 

My happiness moment was hearing all about their first day as we drove home. I love the excitement and hope for the new year. 

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Let go, let go… and Derek 

My thing continues to be learning how to let go. The massage I had on Monday moved around some pretty powerful stuff. He even asked part way through if I was having a big emotional reaction to what was happening. I replied oh kind of, there’s a storm forming in my stomach filled with stuff I’d rather not deal with. So that’s great. And that stuff has slowly been letting go ever since. The process itself is kind of yucky, but the knowledge that some of that really painful stuff is leaving my body is awesome. 

It’s all stuff I’ve known about, but things I didn’t quite know how to let go of. It comes with learning how to forgive myself. Even though it wasn’t my action that needed being forgiven, I struggled with the fact that I had allowed it and that was painful enough. I think I’m now in a place where I can let it go, and I have this awesome energetic spiritual support team who can help me with it. 

All of that stuff brewing around in me today kind of felt more like a sadness moment as I had to acknowledge some things I wanted to forget, but really it’s a happiness moment as I put memories in the past. 

My laughing happiness moment came this morning as my niece showed up in my yard to wash Derek’s butt.


 I was weeding my garden and suddenly my job seemed pretty darn awesome in comparison. Derek is so cuddly and after being bathed came into my garden to help me with my weeding 


He’s so cute and loves being around us so much. I have mad respect for all the struggles this little orphan has been through and yet is so determined to survive. He’s a little stinky, cuddly bundle of happiness. 

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Energy stuff 

I had a massage today. That makes it an awesome day by any standards, but we ended up doing a lot of energy work which was such an amazing bonus. I didn’t realize how much I had missed talking in that energy healing kind of language until I was doing it. It’s so cool to have a conversation with someone who also gets how healing happens on that level. It inspires me and reminds me how important this path is for me to keep moving on. Happiness. Pure happiness. 

Not surprisingly a lot of emotional crap got moved around today. There has been some stuff kind of hovering at the edge of my consciousness for a while now and it fell full force into my lap where I had no choice but to deal with it. There’s a reason why that yucky emotional stuff gets stuffed so far down – because I don’t want to deal with it. But part of leaving all those bruises to my soul behind means bringing them out and letting them heal. 

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