Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Happiness

Tags

God's gift, Gratitude, Happiness, Life, Needs, Unhappiness, Wants

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” – Earl Nightingale

Quote Credit: BrainyQuotes

I use quotes to spur my writing. They are terrific writing prompts because they require us to think about what they are saying. I like writing about happiness because so many people are unhappy. Why? Part of the reason is people associate happiness with something outside themselves.

Their whole life is based on things, people, and events outside of themselves. Why let anything outside of you drive your happiness, when all you have to do is decide to be happy. Yeah, life happens. We get sick. We lose our job. We lose a loved one. We lose a pet. Anyone would be bummed out if these things happen, but you can still maintain your happiness in and around these events. All of these events are normal and inevitable.

How do I maintain my happiness? I cultivate it within. I maintain a sincere gratitude for life. I no longer focus on what I want, but what I need. We all need food, water, air, a place to sleep and have shelter. We need something to wear, to keep our bodies covered. Besides these things what else do we really need?

Some of the happiest people live in absolute poverty. Some of the richest people in the world are unhappy. Think about that for a moment. How does this even make sense? It makes sense because a person’s happiness has nothing to do with wealth. It is internal. Happiness is a choice.

I thank God every day for this life. It is a blessing to be alive. I am grateful for a great many things, but my gratitude for life is my source of happiness. Think about the grand adventure you’ve been on since you were born. Think about the richness of your experiences.

 

Life is God’s greatest gift.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Pets

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Companionship, family, Goldie, Grateful, Gratitude, Love, pets, Thanks, Weezer

Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay

As always, thank you to all my new followers this week! It’s always nice to get an email notifying me of a new follower. I appreciate it. It is nice to know that people are reading my content and enjoying it. Thank you very much.

Today, I want to express thanks for the pets that have blessed my life. My family lost two pets in the last month. Goldie was our golden retriever that had to be put down a week ago. The day we made the call, poor Goldie had upwards of 9 seizures. Weezer, my sister’s dog had to be put down a few weeks prior for a brain tumor. The memories of both dogs will be with me and my family forever. Dogs provide so much love to a family. They are good companions, funny, and love to hang out with you. It was not uncommon for Goldie to be in the same room with us, wherever we were. Because Mom, Dad, and I all have different places we like to be, Goldie would always position herself so she was in the middle of us. She had four places she liked. The first was the hallway outside my Mom’s, Dad’s, and my rooms. When we are all on our computers, you could turn around and see Goldie in the hallway, ever vigilant. When Dad and I watch television, Goldie is there watching the shows with us. When my Mom is out on our deck in the morning, Goldie is out there. We’ll miss you Goldie and Weezer. When the family is congregating in our living room in the morning, Goldie was there.

Whether you are a dog lover, cat lover, have birds, or a goldfish, pets are a great addition to any home. Yeah, they are a pain at times, but the love they give makes any home a warm one. They are companions that do not judge. They are just there to keep you company, get a petting, a treat, and are the best listeners in the world.

If you have a pet you’d like to highlight, comment with a picture of your fur baby. They are a treasure that add so much to our lives.

Me and Weezer at my Sister’s House

Goldie in one of her favorite places in our home—the living room floor

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Happiness

Tags

Being, Creating, Cultivating, Gratitude, Happiness, Happy, Inside, Smile

So many people seek happiness. They seek it in the shopping malls. They seek it on trips. They seek it in the mirror. They seek it in a bottle. They look for happiness everywhere but where it is–inside. Happiness is not something you find or gain or win. Happiness is an attitude.

Happiness, like gratitude is cultivated within. You are happy or you are not. Happiness is not a consistent thing, we must cultivate it daily. We all wake up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. It is these days that we have to work a little harder on our happiness.

I have found that being happy is pretty easy, once you learn that it isn’t out there. It is always inside of you. It is a feeling of satisfaction and security. It is a knowingness that everything is alright with the world. Happiness doesn’t depend on other people or things–it is the way you approach the world.

Gratitude is the primary contributor to happiness. If you are satisfied with what you have, what else is there? Gratitude doesn’t grasp. It doesn’t need to. It has all it needs. It is a wonderful place to wake up and be satisfied. No striving. No pushing. No reaching. Why? Being grateful is happiness right now.

Are you unhappy? Why? Is it because someone made you unhappy? Is it because you don’t have a nice car? Is it because you haven’t been on a trip in a while? Is it because you are stressed out at work? Is it because you haven’t had a drink yet? Is it because you are not happy with what you see in the mirror? Take a moment today and think about what makes you happy. Then rethink happiness. Nothing makes you unhappy or happy. You make that decision. You react. You create it.

Choose happiness.

I hope all of you have a terrific Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday

Tags

Appreciative, Fulfilled, Grateful, Gratitude, Happy, Thankful, Thanks

Today’s Thankful Thursday starts with a big thank you to all of you who have followed me this week. I really appreciate it. It’s nice to see a new follower in my Inbox. I hope all of you continue to enjoy my writings. For those of you who are new, here is my weekly schedule for postings:

• Motivation Monday
• Ted Talk Tuesday
• Wisdom Wednesday
• Thankful Thursday
• Funny Friday
• Spiritual Saturday

I am also grateful for my wife. She is a daily inspiration to me. She recently went to a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas and placed 2nd and 5th in two different categories. I am so proud of her and all the hard work she put into this. The dieting, the brutal exercise routines her coach put her through, and all the rest. Way to go dear!

I am also grateful for the opportunity I have to be with my parents in their senior years. Few people can do this. My ability to retire early allowed me to be home and help and enjoy my Mom and Dad before they leave this Earth. It is a real privilege to do this.

When I look at my life, there are so many things to be thankful for. I seek new things that I am grateful for every day. When you sit back and look at your life, it is a great thing to see the good in it, to see the things that bring you joy and make you feel warm inside.

I hope all of you have a great Thursday! One more day to the weekend!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Gratitude

Tags

experiences, Grateful, Gratitude, Harold Klemp, Little Moments, memories, spirituality

Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay 

“Sometimes it’s important to just stop and be grateful for the blessings that you already have.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Think about the things you have right now. It’s highly likely you have a place you call home. You have a bed to sleep in. You have people in your life you call friends and loved ones. You may even have a pet. When I look back over my life, the times I was truly happy were when I was satisfied with what I had. I was grateful for those little moments you hold close to your heart. Laughter at a birthday party, knowing smiles between you and your lover in a crowded room, enjoying a cup of coffee or tea while you read a good book, or walking in a park or along a beach with your dog. All of these little moments collect in our boxes of memories where we visit them again and again.

As I have mentioned in numerous postings on this blog, a gratitude journal assists you with staying in perspective. Yeah, we all want a new car, a nicer home, or more toys to play with, but when it really comes down to it, most of us have all we need to live. Why are the feelings we get when we buy something new so fleeting, while the little moments I mentioned above stick with us throughout our lives? It is because these little moments in time are more important to us than a new car, home, or toy. These moments we take with us. They stay with us forever. When we are called to our final resting place, leaving this place, this reality behind, all we have are our experiences. The cars, the homes, the toys, the bank accounts, will not go with you. Neither will your loved ones. You will leave this place with your character, your memories, your experiences–nothing more.

This is why I think our little moments stay with us. We know inside that this is what is important in life. The times you laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe, the times you felt love from your friends, significant other, or your pet. The times you felt peaceful and satisfied and everything was right with the world. These are the moments that stick with us and what we take with us when we go to our next place. I am truly grateful for all the experiences and little moments that have blessed my life. Life is a privilege. It is something to be cherished while you have it. Don’t waste it on jealousy, anger, lust, vanity, or attachment. Instead, be grateful for every moment you have.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Two Days

Tags

Appreciation, Chuckle, Comedy, Giggle, Gratitude, Gratitude Journaling, Laughter, Thankfulness

I was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, so I missed my weekly Thankful Thursday, so today, I’m going to combine yesterday and today’s topics into one posting.

 

Daily Ramblings gained some new followers this week. Welcome and Thank you for following me. I really appreciate it. I’m also grateful for the success of my Mom’s cataract surgeries. She was nervous about getting it done and was concerned with her left eye, but this week’s doctor appointment confirmed that all is ok.

I wanted to touch on gratitude journaling again because it is such an important habit, at least for me. I started small, but now my gratitude journal has evolved to a combination of gratitude and morning pages. The practice I use now involves writing down what I am grateful for until I feel it. When I feel gratitude my heart opens. There is a calming that comes and sticks around for the day. This feeling is hard to describe. It is like everything is all right in my world. If you are interested in trying this out, I’d recommend starting with the 5-minute journal. I am not an affiliate, but a satisfied customer. I don’t use the app for this reason anymore. I have a tab in my OneNote app that I dedicate to my journaling.

 

Anyway. For this week’s funny Friday, I’ll recommend a comedian I really enjoy. His name is Bill Burr. I’ll warn you, he’s very edgy, but his humor aligns with mine in every way. I hope you enjoy him. He has a few comedy shows on Netflix right now. You should try him out, if you’ve never seen one. My sister and I saw him in Detroit last year, and he has one of the longest comedy shows I’ve ever seen. He was on stage around 2 hours, which is unheard of in this industry. Most are off stage in about an hour or so.

 

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend, filled with love, fun things, and some time with your families and loved ones.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Thank You Followers!

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Blessings, Blogging, Content, Grateful, Gratitude, New Followers, Ramblings, Thank you

Today’s edition thanks you, my followers. I really appreciate all of you who follow Daily Ramblings and hope to continue to provide great content in the years to come. Like all blogs, evolution is continual. We find a topic we enjoy writing about and our followers result because of the content we are discussing.

I really appreciate the comments you provide. I also appreciate you spending time reading my postings. I try to keep these postings brief out of respect for your time, but will hit pockets that spur me to write much longer postings.

Blogging has been freeing. It allows me to write daily and contribute to this forum. It also allows me to record my thoughts and feelings daily, which fluctuate over the days and months that precede a posting. Sometimes my posts are impacted by the news, a holiday, or an event in my life that is meaningful. At other times, I just write and the topic develops itself.

I hope all of you are having a terrific week! We are enjoying some rain today. It is really relaxing to look at the rain from my office chair and relish that I’m inside, warm and cozy. In my Army days, you couldn’t escape the weather. It always seemed like whenever we went to the field, the weather turned sour. In reality, the weather didn’t change at all. You don’t notice the weather until you are in it and have no means of escaping it.

Yesterday, I fired up my grill for the first time this year. I enjoy a good steak fresh off the grill. Today, I’ll be pan frying my food, as the rain won’t allow me to grill today. For those of you who have the opportunity to grill today, enjoy! The food tastes so good on the grill.

Well, that’s it for today, folks! Have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Grateful for Life

Tags

Acceptance, Awareness, Grateful, Gratitude, Joy, reality, simplicity, spirituality

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege, it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.” Marcus Aurelius

It is a privilege to be alive. I am thankful for each day and all the experiences that come with it. Each of us is here to gain experience and take one more step back to our true home–God. The lessons keep coming and we either learn or fail to recognize the lesson presented to us. The lessons keep coming.

I believe that everything is in its rightful place in the universes of God. It is not reality that is the problem. It is our inability to accept reality for what it is. Some things we can change or avoid, but who can avoid being sick, the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job? No one. These things happen. People get sick, they die, and in today’s business climate will lose work.

There is always a lesson to be learned in every problem we encounter. You can get emotional, you can throw a tantrum, you can ignore the problem, but the problem and the lesson remain. God is persistent. If you fail this time, God will give you ample opportunity to try again, and again, and again. God has all the time there is to help you grow and return to your home. It will happen sooner or later. Why not make it sooner?

I have had a good share of trouble in my life. I’ve filed bankruptcy twice, divorced twice, lost a home, surrendered a few vehicles, lost my job, and a whole host of other things. Did I learn anything? You bet. I realized that happiness has nothing to do with whom you have in your life, how healthy or sick you are, or if you have a soul mate. Happiness is a personal choice. If you want to be happy–be happy. It is that simple.

Find the joy in the moment. Savor that first cup of coffee. Listen to a loved one tell you about his or her day. Talk to your dog or cat and spend time with them. Enjoy every bite of that cheesecake. Happiness to me is all about paying attention to how great we all have it. I have enough food to eat; I have a roof over my head; I have projects that keep me busy; we have a nice dog, a nice home, a great backyard, and the technology we need to interact online, play games, and watch television shows.

For me happiness is recognizing the things I have, rather than thinking about what I do not have. It is literally taking into account all the things I am grateful for and savoring the thoughts that come from that place where all is well. I do this every morning and it is really a great thing to do. Simply write down all the things you are grateful for and keep adding to the list until you feel it–that feeling of comfort, love, and satisfaction, knowing all is right with your world. I do this in my gratitude journal and it is an awesome daily practice. Try it out. Start small and write down 3 things you are grateful for. That’s it. As you establish this habit, you’ll find that you will uncover more and more things you are grateful for. Be as specific as you want or as generalized as you want.

When you have established the habit of a gratitude journal, you’ll begin to notice a shift in your attitude. You will begin to realize that you really do have all you need. Things will rattle you less. Things will roll off of your back instead of sticking to you. When you realize you have all you need, life becomes a true joy to live.

Thank you, to all of my new followers this week. I really appreciate the growth. My goal this year is to get to 1000 followers. I am at 564 so far, so I have some more work to do to gain more. If you enjoy reading Daily Ramblings, send your friends here. I thank you in advance for any help you provide.

Two things I’d like you to keep in the back of your mind as you move forward with your life. All is in its rightful place in the universes of God and God will never give you a problem you cannot solve. These two points should give you great solace as you move forward. I wish you well.

Have a great Saturday everybody! See you on Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Creativity

Tags

Bountifulness, Challenges, creativity, Gratitude, journaling, Solutions, spirituality, trouble

“Creativity, bountifulness, and gratitude go hand in hand.” – Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

As a writer, creativity is an important aspect. We need creativity to create the worlds, conversations, characters, and dialogue that intrigue and entertain our readers. We also need creativity to live our lives. I have found that I am most creative during times of duress. You know those points in your lives where you feel like everything is crashing down around you and you sit there wondering, “What else can go wrong?”

During these times of trouble, our creativity elevates to a new level. Harold Klemp offers three keys to dealing with the troubles that will affect us from time-to-time. When times are tough, it is hard to be grateful. We concentrate on what is being taken away instead of focusing on what we have. This in turn creates a sense of lack or shortage, which in turn, stifles our creativity because of our narrow focus on the things we do not want in our lives.

When I started my gratitude journaling a while back, I did it by going through the motions. The journal I was using at the time was the 5-minute Journal and it requires you to write down three things you are grateful for in the morning when you awake and three things you are grateful for in the evening before you go to bed. I did this each day like without a second thought.

Then, something happened. I began to really feel grateful for the things I was writing down. I began to see how great I really had it. I began focusing on being grateful for the things I had. This focus awoke me to something I have read about over and over again but never really caught onto. It is a quote from some author I cannot remember. The quote goes like this, “Most of us have what we need, but are upset because we do not have what we want.” This is the key to being grateful and cultivating a gratitude that will smooth things out in your life.

Now I write in my gratitude journal until I can cultivate that feeling of gratefulness daily. I write and write until I “feel” grateful. When I have achieved this feeling, I realize how great my life is, how much I have, and how little I need to be truly happy. This is the bountifulness, Harold Klemp discusses. When you have all you need, when you believe you are wealthy beyond words, and you believe that you are satisfied with your life, creativity is boundless, because you have no limits. You attain a child-like quality, where you rekindle what it was like to dream, to make-believe, to live in a world where anything is possible. The days you believed you could be a fireman, an astronaut, a princess, or actress.

Creativity and the ability to visualize some goal or achievement is a great asset, while negotiating this life. When trouble comes, a creative mind will find a solution. There is always a solution to our problems. “God only gives us problems we have the ability to solve” – Unknown.

When you are hit with a problem or challenge, don’t panic. Sit down with a piece of paper and write down every potential solution you can come up with. Brainstorm. I like to use mind mapping software when I begin on a new writing project, others may just want to write out a huge list of potential solutions and work from this. Whichever way you choose to go, evaluate each idea you come up with and choose the solution you feel will work the best. Keep the list, in case the idea you choose doesn’t work. Then you can return to the list for your next-best idea. Visualize the problem being solved. Over time, you will begin to see the answers to your problems come from everywhere. Your friends may offer solutions, your wife, husband, or significant other may offer a solution. You may read something online or in the newspaper that addresses your problem. You may even overhear someone talking in your local coffee shop about the same or like problem you are dealing with and offer some ideas via their conversation. The solution to your problem can come from anywhere if you are open to it.

I hope each of you has a terrific weekend! My brother is visiting and we have a bunch of stuff planned to take advantage of his week’s stay with us. It’ll be a great time.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Counting Our Blessings

Tags

Bible, Calm, God, Grateful, Gratitude, Little Things, Peace, Serene, Thankful, Warmth

Image by Miesha Moriniere from Pixabay 

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson

Expressing thanks for our blessings in life is a life-changing habit. It focuses our attention on what is good, rather than bad. When I first kept a gratitude journal, I started with the 5-minute journal. The 5-minute journal has you write 3 things you are grateful for when you wake up and again in the evening before you retire. At first I had to work at it, because I was so engrained with seeking what wasn’t working in my life.

Over the years it became easier to think about all the things I am grateful for and that has made all the difference. Now my gratitude spans multiple areas of my life. Imagine the difference this practice will have on you. Instead of waking up in the morning and saying to yourself, “Oh, God. I have this to do today and that to do today and I don’t like this and I don’t like that.” That was how my day began for years. Now, I start my day out with good music and journaling. I start with my dream journal, then I move to my gratitude journal, and then my morning pages. After my journaling is complete, I move right into writing for Daily Ramblings in a fantastic mood and ready to take on the world.

The key for me is to write and write and write until I get in that mood where I am grateful and not just going through the motions, which is easy to do. Here are some suggestions to help you out:

• I am grateful for God
• I am grateful for my Bible
• I am grateful for my life
• I am grateful for my Mom and Dad
• I am grateful for our pet (insert the name for a pet)
• I am grateful for my job and work mates
• I am grateful for my home
• I am grateful for my bed
• I am grateful for my Brothers and Sisters
• I am grateful for my friends
• I am grateful for my talents (list out each one or one helpful in your life)
• I am grateful for my ability to (read, write, learn, whatever)
• I am grateful for my health
• I am grateful for my experiences
• I am grateful for my wife
• I am grateful for my son
• I am grateful for my daughter

These are just a few prompts. Your gratitude journal will be unique to you. I literally keep writing what I am thankful for until I get a familiar feeling of satisfaction and peace, both of which come when you have found that state of gratefulness that always come when the mind focuses on what’s right, rather than what’s wrong. Gratitude feels like peace, calm, and warmth. It feels like a warm blanket.

If you are tired of being pissed off, stressed out, and all the rest, try starting your own gratitude journal. It will make a huge difference in your life.

Until next time…

Dave