'peanuts' style...

once again, here i am,
the sun is shining brightly today,
and the wind, breezin it up, fo sho.
loveliness in the true sense of the word, i have to say!
somehow, as of late,
we lucky one's that live here, on this lil island,
have gotten to experience a bit of spring,
right here, right now, in the middle of february...
all i have to say to that is...freakin fantabulous! wow!
but, onto the matter at hand...
that's not to say this great weather isn't one of the reasons i'm writing this happiness blog today...
it's definitely part of the reason i'm reminded of happiness...the sun, the sun, the sun! yes!
it's funny to see the change in everyone's face, when it begins to happen, the change in season,
or more like, the little taste of what's to come...people look happier, in general...
they feel better, they are nicer, they smile more...it's like we've been hibernating from happiness when it's cold or rainy...
(and the funniest part of that is that we're in florida, so most people would just laugh at our winter!)
to that, i say, it's all relative, my friends :)
crazy what a little sun can do for the soul, i've gotta tell ya!
i learned that very well this passed year...but that's not even the reason i'm writing today...
no, today is about happiness...
yes, yes, yes...what's new, right?
right....
but...
let me explain...and then if you think i'm just blowing smoke up your @#$%$#, then you're welcome to tell me...
how bout that?
anyways, this is my thought....
last year i read this book called, 'the happiness project'...
for months, i would walk by it in the book store, and pick it up,
and think of buying it...
but would put it back down, and walk away...
then, for some reason...i think i may have just made the decision to move back here from oregon,
i picked it up, walked to the register, and bought it...'no day like today' as they say...
anyways, i couldn't put it down...turns out i was waiting and waiting to buy it...and it was awesome!
long story short...the book is written by a woman that decided that even though her life was good and she was happy,
she felt as if there was something missing, that she most likely could be even happier if she changed some things in her life,
and, basically, and truthfully worked out a happiness project according to her life.
she studied and read everything she could get her hands on about happiness...from scientific, philosophical, and classic authors...then she sat down and mapped out the things she wanted to work on...setting a few goals a month for an entire year.
one of the goals she set is what i'm thinkin of today...
basically, about being more child like, laughing more with her kids, and not being afraid to be goofy.
as we get into adulthood it seems to be one of the things we let go of pretty quickly...
what takes the place of that? rent, college loans, car payments, careers...
geesh! it's overwhelming at times, isn't it?!
what i've been trying to do is do stuff that i really love to do...stuff that's fun...
stuff that makes me laugh, and puts a smile on my face...
then i feel as if i can face those other things that come up in life, just a little better.
i was recently at the library with a 9 year old, finding some books for him...
and as we were looking, i came across these large volumes of 'peanuts'...my all time favorite cartoon...
so, at that moment, i decided, alright, this is the time to be a child, right here, right now...
we walked up with his comic books, and mine too...
so, every morning, after i read my meditation book, i read a few pages of good ole snoopy and the gang...
it makes me smile and laugh every time, i can't lie.
ahhhhhhh, the pleasure of a good comic strip :)
i have to say, it truly reminds me of the goodness and simplicity of being a child.
and even a few days ago, had the chance to hang out with one of my best friends and her husband,
a couple days in a row, and we spent our time together...just playing...
we threw the football, batted the baseball, hit golf balls, went to the beach and ran around taking extremely goofy pics...
and the whole while...
we laughed like we used to! like one of those, hard to catch your breath kinda laughs!
excellent!
we giggled the next day, because we were sore from doing things we hadn't done in so long...
then, of course, it makes you think...
we should do that more often...
why not, right?!
and yes, we're always taking the time to get the important things done...
but then again...i'm thinkin we should be takin some time to do the other things...
the things that make you laugh with abandon...not caring what you look like, or how loud you are!
as these goofy adults that we supposedly are...we must not...can not...should not...
forget to have fun...to laugh at ourselves...to sing as loud as we want...to dance even if we don't think we can (i can, don't get me wrong...i'm just sayin...)...to tell jokes...and hey, sometimes even jump in the air and shout...i kinda like that one! haha!
think about this the next time you feel like you're gonna lose it...
i challenge you...
to be a kid, for at least 5 minutes of your day...
i'm not gonna lie to you though...i do it for way more than 5 minutes a day (and if you know me, you know this. haha!)...
but hey, you gotta start somewhere...
'rome wasn't built in a day'
as for me...
i'm gonna rock it out with 'peanuts' and dance the wild, happy dance of snoopy...
ears in the air...crazy feet with the squigglies depicting the quickness of the dances moves...
and the freakin huge smile on his upturned face...
good grief :)