Ten Days to Happiness: Day 3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhandersen/3336535450/

Just -for today, I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, and nourish it and not abuse it nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my will.

Ten Days to Happiness: Day 2

Just for today, I will adjust myself to what is and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.

A short comment on love

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniscollette/1550512599/

Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth,

"You owe
Me."

Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the
Whole
Sky.

- Hafiz

Ten Days to Happiness: Day 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thenovys/2855819349/in/set-72157606830525737/

My brother has been self employed for the last 30 years - he restores old Chevy power cars from the 60s and 70s. About 6 months ago he hurt his back and hasn't been able to work. In fact, he can barely pull himself out of bed each day. It's almost unthinkable for my brother, who cheerfully works 14 hours a day,to have to resign himself to virtual inactivity. Well, I recently heard from my mother that he's taken up art -- he burns designs into weathered barn boards and plans to sell them at the same swap meets where he previously sold restored cars.

His story reminds me of the "Just for Today" tips from Dale Carnegie's book, How to stop Worrying and Start Living. I'll recap one tip each day. Here's the first:

"Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that "most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.

It's not what happens to us that makes us unhappy, it's how we think about what happens to us. We can choose to view our current situation either as a curse or an opportunity. My brother inspires me.