Hey!
Things have been going pretty well lately. School has resumed and despite the fact that it’s literally the last year of my “compulsory” schooling…it’s been pretty breezy so far!
I thoroughly enjoy all of my subjects, I’m not (yet) bogged down by mountains of homework and the bitchiness levels have remained comfortably minimal.
Over all, I think I’ve had a school-related revelation.
If you just get on with your life and the things that you want to get out of the day/class/lunchtime/spare…you don’t generally resent that time, because you’re remaining occupied and you’re not SO stressed about whether you’re fitting in or standing out.
I’m forever grateful for the friends that I have at school, and I know that come lunchtime or in spares I’m not having to awkwardly sit alone, because I have people to be around. But I’m also not frightened of sitting at the front of the class despite that being “nerdy”, and I’m not bothering to come up with seating plans for my classes.
It’s super liberating, and I’m so glad I’ve discovered it!
On another note, TED talk stuff has been moving…well…slowly. I just haven’t found/made the time to dedicate myself to it. I will though, definitely. I’m looking forward to it 🙂
I’ll be in the local newspaper in 2 days…it’s a surreal and crazy feeling, but I can’t wait.
Now that you’ve taken 3:37 minutes of your lives to watch this inspiring man, let’s break it down a little further.
Yes, it was directed to women
Yes, you should feel amazing and empowered after watching it
Yes, it’s okay to have teared up (I certainly did)
Yes, there was Christian references.
And that’s where I want to stop… and I want to pour out what’s on my heart.
There are SO many ways in which Christianity can be miscommunicated:
routine
regimented
fear
indecency
self-righteousness
hierarchy
ugly traditions
The list could go on…
To be very honest, it often makes life really hard for someone like me when people find out I’m a “Christian” because all these little prejudices come rushing into their mind before they even stop to think “This girl is just a normal girl”
What I believe is most important about this video is what it is suggesting. It’s encouraging women to believe they are valued, worthy, beautiful, extraordinary, needed, priceless etc.
Now those words don’t come with the attached “But only if you’re a Christian”.
No.
I personally have more non-Christian friends than I do Christian ones, and I don’t love them any less because of a difference in opinion, because that’s not what my faith is about.
My faith is predominantly about instilling those values into peoples lives.
I want the girls that I associate with on a daily basis to feel so ridiculously beautiful that they can barely handle it. I want them to know I find them genuinely hilarious (I really do) and that I love spending time with them. I want them to know that they are unique and interesting, each of them so different from one another but able to link so perfectly together, like pieces of a puzzle.
The world so often ridicules Christianity or other forms of religion on the basis that they don’t take the time to understand what we’re all about. And in the process of doing so, people forget that things like Love, Patience, Kindness, Grace etc are all part of what it means to have Faith.
I am in NO way trying to make the horrific religious crimes seem any better, trust me, they exist, there are bad people in the system. But there are doctors, lawyers, politicians (can I get a hell yeah?) parents and a multitude of other people who are just not living up to the standards the world puts on them.
Ladies…please….listen to what this video is telling you, and whether or not you believe that there is a God, don’t ever think you’re not worth it or that you don’t have a purpose.
We all go through hard times, whether with friends, school, work or just every day life. It’s natural to sometimes feel crap about your life. I do it ALL the time!
I’ve made it my mission to make sure the world knows how precious they are. Humans are extraordinary creatures, and I will never ever stop being awe-struck by everything we can achieve.
Encourage each other, live every day with enthusiasm and happiness. Sometimes it can be hard, but believe me it’s worth it.
There’s a question that has always lingered in my  mind…
What is life?
Surely it cannot only be the sum of each day, whether spent accordingly or without enthusiasm, for if that were so we would all just live into infancy and then find the rest of our days obsolete.
An entire 24 hours cannot possibly be dreamt into excellence.
No…this is what life is:
Life is the mornings where you awaken with the sun and the sound of the ocean as you fall asleep.
Life is in a strangers smile on a day where you’d abandoned any hope of happiness, and life is the courage to confront your fears.
Life is every traffic light being green and the sky being clear.Â
Life is the fleeting moments of pure purpose, when the heart of someone becomes so uncannily close to your own that you can barely tell them apart
Life is made up of lazy sunday mornings, cheese toasties in winter and laughing in the rain
Life is not definitive, nor constrained by time, life is a creation and a blessing.
To truly live is the rarest gift on Earth, so many people simply exist.
I suppose, at the end of the day, it comes down to our perception of it’s significance. Whether the idea of happiness seems vital to a situation or not. You can be happy to see a friend that you haven’t seen in a while, or you can be happy to see that same friend survive cancer.
However, happiness is imperative. After all, your other options aren’t nearly as uplifting or gracious.
Humans, as a whole, have created many materialistic ideas of what happiness can be, in order to implement barriers to the opposite, detrimental sadness. But what can truly contend with the innate response of being happy?
Think about this….do you really make a conscious effort to lift your spirits when someone buys you flowers? Or when you hear your favourite song being played?
Trust me though, these innate pleasures can be stolen from you…easily…unfortunately. Depression is a real and serious condition, that is in no way “weak” or “attention seeking”. It’s when someone becomes complacent with this depression and no longer seeks to improve their mental health, using it as a crutch to their dreary and broken lives…that’s when it becomes more of a problem.
What does happiness mean to you?
Before you can answer this question…you have to truly know who it is that you are. What does your personality say about you? What are your likes and dislikes? Are you aware of the things you naturally gravitate toward? Would you say you’re an optimistic or a pessimistic person?
These questions, although generally difficult to answer truthfully, are fundamental when it comes to improving your “happiness muscles”.
The Myers Briggs personality test is by far the most competent and reliable test I’ve ever come across. It gives a detailed outline of your personality type upon completion of the questionnaire…not just addressing general character traits, but delving into career types etc. All based upon the 4 letters principle. This does not by any means limit you to what comes up on that page, but it does, however, give you a bit of a taste for your personality and their general tendencies.
In the book “emotional intelligence”, (pg.36) it explains the concept of a “meta-ability”. Basically, it means that each part of our personality builds how we react to things in life and how we use our talents specifically, including that of raw intellect. The same principle can be applied to our personalities vs. ability to be happy.
Some things to remember about happiness.
It’s sort of like fitness – everyone is different! For some people, it takes longer, whereas others seem completely natural at it. The best thing to keep in mind is that it is attainable to everyone, and shouldn’t be a privilege denied to some.
It’s cumulative –Â So…when you feel happy, you can build on that and enhance that if you make the effort to do so.
It’s important – always. Never forget that!!
It’s been a bit of a big post..hopefully you’ve enjoyed it…I certainly enjoyed writing it!
Please leave me any comments if you have any input…
As the modern world advances, we can find it increasingly difficult to rely on the merry old tune sung by Miss Poppins, or even any old tune for that fact. Children aren’t valuing the important stories in classic movies or old fairytales, and are unfortunately becoming more consumed in technology and media. All around the world, but especially in developed countries, we have an epidemic of sad kids growing up to be sad and unequipped adults.
It’s scientifically proven that more time spent on computers and a virtual reality and less time spent interacting with other people can lead to serious mental health issues such as depression. However it also causes a massive lack of “people skills”, as one might say.
I’ll admit, I’m not perfect and there’s been many times when I’ve found myself seriously unhappy without truly understanding why. Amazingly, when visiting villages in Fiji that were massively underdeveloped and had a lack of basically everything I was used to in my comfortable western life, I was hard pressed to find one person suffering from sadness. Their vivacity and love of life was astonishing and difficult to understand, however it was also incredibly infectious. When I think back to my time spent there and all the people I met and bonded with, I have nothing but admiration for their spirit and energy.
Arriving home was a difficult shift, coming from a place where it would only take you 5 minutes to know everyone within the town to a place where people don’t even want to look at you, let alone know you are. I found myself slipping back into the routine of my previous existence.
And it’s hit me pretty hard.
There are people out there who find it hard to be unhappy. They just seem to possess some kind of internal switch that is forever on the “glass half full” side. The truth is, they’ve learnt to just take their life and their situations as they come, and through that they’ve discovered how to give themselves the key to happiness.
I may not be an expert, but I’ve come up with a few ideas that I think are the universal cure for our never-ending sadness.
Number 1:Â Why surround yourself with people who make you unhappy? It can be difficult to admit to yourself that who you’ve associated yourself with aren’t exactly the best kinds of people. Perhaps they have different opinions to you, or they just get on your nerves. Whatever the reason is, there’s no justification for prolonging your suffering. What will happen (and I can guarantee it) is that you’ll begin to fall into a routine, conform and end up exactly what you said you’d never be. Separating yourself from situations where you’re not feeling good is not only a good idea, it’s the right idea.
Number 2: Alone time is good….but you also need someone to trust. Believe me, I have trust issues. I might have a group of close friends but I find it hard telling them things that are really getting me down. I have always told myself I never want to appear a burden, but I only end up burdening myself.
The worst possible option is to keep it all inside yourself, the next worst is to just blurt it out to someone you don’t really know all that well, straight after that is telling everyone you know. So as you can see…there’s a loooooot of wrong options when it comes to this. However it really isn’t that hard to pick someone you feel close to, spend time investing in your relationship with them, and maybe in time you’ll have a mutual trust that allows you to talk about things together. The probability is they’ll thank you for it too, everyone needs a shoulder to lean on.
Number 3: Find a “thing”. Everyone needs a “thing”. Something that they love that totally doesn’t need an explanation. You might have this secret love for knitting tea cosies…can’t explain it? Neither can the people who religiously watch NCIS… but who really cares? These things make up who you are, and your individuality is the greatest attribute. You never know what you might find by pursuing what you truly love, happiness…like minded people…skills…love?
Number 4: Don’t withhold. I think these days, people are scared to laugh at themselves, or even other people. If you find something funny. Laugh. If you see something you want to participate in. Do it. If you want to tell someone they’re special to you. Go for it!
Wouldn’t you hate to look back on your life and realise you missed a great opportunity because fear held you back?
Number 5: Pass it on. Making other people happy is bound to make you happy in the process. If you have no one to teach, teach your dogs. Teach your kids. Teach your little sister. Teach your parents. Teach your co-workers. Teach yourself.
We have the means to give the greatest gift possible to so many people, and it’s about time we started giving it.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated…keep smiling…there’s no reason why you can’t be happy!
Everything is Dandy 