Unexpected Happiness Hiding in my Letterbox

In my experience when you give and give and give to others… you get, in return, the coolest “Out of the blue” things that come your way. I’ve been given some VERY cool stuff in my nearly 31 years, from free flights, free vouchers, free dinning room tables, free coaching… and I’m grateful every single time something like this happens. My latest example… is a simple but very loving gift that brought the WORLD of happiness to me.

I went out to my mailbox to find a letter there… no bills, just a letter. Being naturally playful, I did an excited kiddy dance at the letterbox, not caring at all if anyone saw me (For those of you that know me… you can just SEE me doing that, right?).

I then ripped it open to find this:

How cool is that? VERY cool I say! It’s hand made, it’s full of love and it made me very happy.

For those of you not in New Zealand, we have been experiencing some rather large earthquakes here in Christchurch over recent months. They’re scary, shaky and unsettling… and to receive a gift of love like this… is pretty fantastic if you ask me!

… The lesson I took from this is just how simple it is to make someone’s day! Gill put together a piece of blue fabric, with a ribbon and a button… but it’s more than that, right? She took the time to make an ornament into the shape of a heart, put on a very cool HAPPY face, and a sexy wee ribbon then placed this in a cool card with a heartfelt sentiment.

What can you do today to make a huge difference in someone else’s life?

Thanks SO very much to Gill and Robin! What a wonderful gift to receive. I appreciate you both, very much!

If You’re Happy And You Know It…

Clap Your Hands!

(Watch this… and you’re bound to smile!)

Your Shortcut to Happiness – Inner Happiness

Some time ago I wrote a book for a dear friend of mine. She was outwardly incredibly bubbly, happy and the life of the party but was, on the inside, one of the most hurt souls I knew.

Having had personal experience as an outwardly bubbly person who was hurting deeply on the inside, I felt the missing ingredient for my friend was one that is missing in many people’s lives. The ingredient I’m referring to is happiness that comes from within, from yourself, from your own experience with life (rather than being happy when something good happens, for example).

Now, I’m a pretty lucky girl. I’m incredibly grateful for the life I lead, but let me tell you… it took a bit of learning, hurting, getting outside of my comfort zone, healing and listening, to really get what inner happiness feels like. I knew my friend had wonderfully happy days when things just flowed and felt good for her but, without inner happiness as a foundation, she was struggling.

The book I wrote her tells the story of a young outwardly bubbly but desperately unhappy animal’s journey to happiness. The story showcases the robin flying around different settings asking wise elders about big life questions. Cutting a short story shorter, the take home message of the book is “The Answers Lie Within”, meaning it’s awesome and good to ask mentors and “gurus” for advise and guidance… but what’s true for you is only true for you. No one else can know what brings you happiness, because the answer to that question lies within you. So if you find yourself unhappy more often that happy, my advise is to RIGHT NOW take on the belief that the answer to your happiness is within you… The rest will follow.

 

Pink Shoes, Lollipops and Being Happy

Ha ha ha… I have no idea what lollipops have to do with this article BUT… I swear this has something to do with pink shoes and being happy! I went shoe shopping during the weekend with my man… which, honestly, is typically more entertaining than watching the All Blacks (New Zealand’s Rugby Team) kick the butts of the Wallabies (Australia’s Rugby Team) – A big call I know!

So there we were… in the shoe store… the all of a sudden I hear “FOUND THEM” come out of Matt’s mouth. Now we’ve been together long enough for me to know that whatever he’s referring to will be sure to crack me up.

Quickly, I turned around and saw honestly the brightest, most vibrant shoes I have ever seen in my entire life. I cracked up, whipped off my flip-flops and whipped on one of the pinkest, happiest shoes I have ever seen in my LIFE. Matt laughed. The people beside us laughed. I mean seriously, they were BRIGHT! I just had to grab the moment on camera so I pulled out my handy dandy iPhone to capture the shot.

This experience happens in my life on a regular occasion. I remember doing the same with a great buddy of mine, Nate, when I lived in Colorado. One afternoon we found ourselves at Silverthorne, CO where we had hours of entertainment trying on goofy clothes (and not so goofy clothes that we made look goofy with goofy looking faces). We laughed our arses off, took loads of photos and bought lots of laugher to those around us.

 

So guys and gals… Now… I’m not recommending to go out and pull your local mall apart in the name of having fun. But it can’t hurt to try on that goofy t-shirt, pull a funny face… and take a photo… Go Have Fun Being Goofy and Being HAPPY

Share The Love Below.

 

Happy Food For Thought – WOW!

Leo Babauta, the author of the book “The Power of Less” and the guy behind the popular blog Zen Habits, recently published a post about how to be happy anytime.

I’m always happy with what I’m doing, because I don’t compare it to anything else, and instead pay close attention to the activity itself. I’m always happy with whoever I’m with, because I learn to see the perfection in every person. I’m always happy with where I am, because there’s no place on Earth that’s not a miracle.

I’m not always happy… thank goodness!

I’m not always happy… thank goodness!

Liz Benny: On Playing Like A Kid

Playing like a kid fills me with joy and happiness. So I find it strange that adults seem to have forgotten how to play. Now, I’m not blowing my own horn, but I’m totally into playing. I’ll play in business meetings. I’ll play whilst running or in cafes. I’ll play and pull funny faces until the cows come home. I find that people often comment about my playful nature, noticing how it brings joy to others, how it brings people together and/or how it creates reasons for laughter. People have even thanked me for reminding them of how to play. Some even ask how I “do it”. That got me thinking, “How do I do it and why is it so easy for me to play and where did my playful nature come from?”

Well, I look at my grandmother who, in her late eighties (I nearly wrote her age… LOL… she’d not be grateful for that one), still goofs off and has a laugh with my granddad. Last time I visited her she cracked a funny then said, “Do you think I’ll ever grow up?” I was like, “I hope not!” Then I look at my dad who I can have a conversation on the phone that goes like this:

Liz: “What’s your name?” [Said in a goofy babyish tone with a slight English accent]
My Dad: “I dunno. I fink it’s Cyril. I’ve forgot” [Said in equally as babyish tone and some weird accent, probably Irish]
Liz: “Oh… dat’s funny Cyril. Last time we did talk your name was Bert”
My Dad: “Oh yeah… I did change it”… and it goes on and on.

So my family is pretty playful, it would seem, so I guess that’s why I find it easy to play. That’s doesn’t answer HOW I do it though, right? So how DO I play? The first thing that comes to mind is I allow myself to. Plain and simple. I allow myself to play like a kid. I allow myself to goof off. I allow myself to be seen to be playful. I allow myself to recognize that in playing I’m not only getting a huge personal kick of happiness, but I’m causing happiness for others. I also allow myself to not always “get it right”. Not everyone appreciates my playful nature and that’s ok. Now, I know there’s more to it that just allowing, but for the most part that’s it. I allow myself to play.

So, for the “unplayfuls” out there and the folks that have forgotten how to play, I challenge you to ALLOW yourself to play for a week. See how it feels and see how many smiles you can cause in the process. Go play and be happy.