“Get Canal Club sushi at lunch at James’ beach!  James’ Beach now serves Canal Club sushi, Wednesday through Sunday for lunch til 3:00!!  Enjoy it on the patio and know true happiness!!”from the Canal Club’s menu, Venice, CA

This sad story of Jay Hendrickson is both memorable, touching, and inspiring.

Jay is just a young boy when he finished his treatment for osteosarcoma, a common form of bone cancer in children. His family grasped for his recovery – hoping that he will get well forever. He was just 11 that time, but inside of him is an already matured man. When he talks, meaningful words come out in his mouth; words of determination and bravery to survive his fight. Unfortunately, the cancer came back and weakened his already frail body which eventually took his life.

One day, Jay’s mother found a poem in his journal.  She recognized that is was made by her son as it is signed by him.  It reads:

“Life is like a day, the sun goes up, then down, and I figure, life is like that, you go up, and you go down; don’t give up though, for you’ll make it. Remember, sun up, sun down.”

During his burial, his family made his poem the final prayer and his epitaph. It will serve as a reminder to everyone, to keep striving for life is short.

Source: www.star-telegram.com

I found another interesting matter when it comes to happiness. People are really like chalk and cheese to the thing that makes them happy. Like Dr. Barton Goldsmith, a marriage and family therapist in West lake Village, Canada, divided his distinctness of happiness into four. He called it the “4H’s of happiness.” He put it this way:

Health.

From his childhood memories, Goldsmith’s father used to say “Kid ya ain’t got your health, ya ain’t got nothing.” During that time, it only sounded foul. After a few decades passed, young Barton eventually realized that his father’s advice (though he didn’t take it seriously) was right.

Honey.

Is your partner unhappy? Then you might be unhappy. Aren’t your kids doing well? You’re not well either. If you feel that the gems of your heart have no delight, you are feeling the same way. Significant persons of your life reflect to your feelings. Provoking someone to smile is the best task you can do. Seeing your “honey’s” in good condition makes us comfortable.

Hound.

Hound means your pet. Giving pets the unconditional, special love they deserve brings another factor for our soaring emotion. Hounds don’t leave you unless you do as he is a companion.

Home.

Home, like food, has own ingredient for a better result. Dr. Goldsmith explained that with a little TLC plus the “right partner,” home will be a good mixture of peacefulness. Emotional progress starts at home. Whether your place is small or big, as long as it gives you harmony; and it is structured by love.

These views might be distinct from yours. After all, we are the one who will be able to make definite decisions to make us happy. But for Dr. Goldsmith, he keeps this list in order of importance.

Source: www.scrippsnews.com

Personally, I think my amygdala is doing everything for me. When I’m sad, I am just sad. That’s it. I cannot control my emotions. Sometimes, I listen to upbeat music but it just gives me a jolt of happiness, after getting tired with the song, my happiness also fades away. It is like coffee, the effect goes off just a few hours after drinking.I recently read an article by David Pollay, a T.V. host of The Happiness Answer and the one of the top honchos of the International Positive Psychology Association. In his article, he states that when one feels down, just look up! But do not take it literally. He means that one must practive positive emotion and everything will be fine.

According to countless research, when experiencing positive emotion in life, one is kinder, more generous, and helpful. It also increases creativity and problem solving skills. Health-wise, it also improves the immune system and promotes longevity.

For him, getting positive emotion is as easy as looking around. He cited the situation wherein he is feeling down one day and when he looked at his shoes, it is full of stickers. Apparently, his daughters sneaked to put it when he was kissing his wife goodbye as he left for work. It instantly made him feel good effortlessly.

So what are your positive triggers? What makes you smile? What makes you laugh? What puts you in a creative mood? What triggers your passion, excitement, and hope? For some of us it’s looking at pictures of our loved ones. Some of us listen to a favorite song. Others go for a quick walk, or do a little dance. Some read a short, funny story. Others remind themselves of their goals. Take a moment to think about the things that trigger your positive emotions.

Happiness is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Source: www.pos-psych.com

What do you always see everyday?To be fair, I will answer first. I go to work everyday, I always see the pollution emitted by the motorcycles and the jeepneys. There were new buildings built everywhere and I thought what will happen when there’s suddenly a shortage of cement. I bet Manila will be uglier than before as it will be filled with gray, empty shells of concrete.

It is quite easy to ignore the simple things in life. Big things are definitely bigger and are noticeable. Or am I just too busy thinking about something else?

I admit, I can only see the big things and in a negative way. Manila is now fast becoming a world-class city, thanks to the improvement of the infrastructures yet I think about cement shortage. Poor me, I never even considered that before a building is built, materials need to be secured.

I need to look at life differently.

Wayne Syer said “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

He’s right, things around me cannot adjust according to my preference. They are lifeless, or if they have, like people, surely, I am not that important to adapt to my wants. I am the one who needs to change.

I think this can be applied when looking for happiness. Happiness cannot adjust for me, I need to look for it.

Maybe, smoke belching isn’t too bad, it adds color to the wonderful Manila skyline. After all, Manila loses its identity without the gray cloud hovering on top of it. I love Manila. Loving this city means loving who she really is.

As for the buildings, cement is abundant anyway. No need to worry. Someday, I may live in one of those buildings, so the more buildings there is, the more choices I have.

Do you know that the World Health Organization morbidly predicted that by the year 2020, the second most common cause of death in the world is depression?

Scary isn’t?

I am wondering how can depression kill. Suicide, I assume. Why is it that the feeling of intense sadness has the capacity to end one’s life? That’s too bad.

People can choose to be happy. Although sometimes, unfortunate events or situations happens and cannot be avoided.

A path to happiness has been debated for time immemorial. Philosophers like Epicurus and Aristotle argued how happiness can be attained. Epicurus said that the cause of happiness is pleasure and therefore should be prioritized but Aristotle said otherwise. He believed that pleasure should never be equated with happiness because if it is nothing more than pleasure, we will be slaves to our desires. He got a point there but it is still confusing.

Anyway, Buddha, got a different point of view. For him, happiness can be gained if we realize we are miserable; that we suffer. He want to pinpoint the problem first before applying the solution. Wonderful.

Choosing to be happy is a easy choice but very hard to accomplish. It is not just a pill we need to take but a lot of things need to be changed: attitude, view in life, personality.

If you wanted to learn more how to be happy, please feel free to browse our site. You will learn more and more.

Have a nice day!