Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Happiness

This week has been a little hectic with the semester coming to an end (already!) and my seemingly out of control emotions getting in the way of my happiness. On Tuesday night I found myself frantically cleaning my room and gutting out my closet instead of getting my school work done. Also, I caught myself occasionally letting out screams of rage for no particular reason. I guess if I am going to choose an avoidance mechanism, cleaning is the way to go, but don't let me lead you astray - school work should always come first.

Anyways, late last night on a study break, I found this poem. Sometimes tiny burst of inspiration, like this poem, find us at just the right moment if we take the time to notice them.


"Happiness is a kind of openness, we have learned.
So choose the risky road of power and vulnerability.
Be done with dull things.
Take your life back.


Free yourself from habits of anger and compliance—smoking self-destruction.
Eyes wide open to the world as it is, we grieve.
And in the midst of it all, we rejoice…
We have been told that liberty and happiness are mutually exclusive. 
This notion we reject. 

We can write our own scripts, write our own stories.
We can follow the threads of joy, too,
like sparks flying from the campfire, see where they land.
 We can create a liberation psychology.

So we open to love or work or art that feels expansive.
There is no “happily ever after.”
There is only meditation, action, change, friendship, idea, inspiration, creation.
We spin this light out of darkness."

—bluebird, Ariel Gore



Yes, this week has been stressful, exhausting, and emotional, but that doesn't mean there isn't still time to notice all of the reasons I still have to be happy.

Progress.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Gratitude Card


As stated on my previous post, one of the things on the list of ways to take care of myself, was to keep a gratitude card. When I first started treatment, I did this as a way to get myself through each day. I would take a regular note card, keep it with me all day, and try to remember to jot down happy things that took place during that day. Just before bed, I would go over the list as a reminder of all the little things that happened; often times forgetting about them because my brain was consumed by the negative thoughts and occurrences.


Why does that always happen to me? It seems like I am much better at focusing on all of the negative parts of the day and in return, the positives are left behind. Being the perfectionist that I am, this makes it difficult to simply have a good day. Yesterday I challenged myself and put the good ole note card to work.

Here is the list of things I was grateful for yesterday:

My morning coffee
Muzzy curled up in bed with me before I got dressed and ready for the day
Mascara 
 Heated seats in my car
A guest post on one of my favorite blogs!! (Read here- I'm proud of this one!)
Concepts my sociology class is teaching me- even if that makes me a nerd
The ability to actually concentrate on something other than food
The sun came out this afternoon
Bacon on my BLT for lunch
Emails from my best friend
Positive, supportive people in my life
The last cupcake just for me
My afternoon nap
Classmates who help me out
Sweat pants at the end of the day
Finishing my homework
Improving communication with my parents
Feeling prepared for my biology quiz tomorrow
Muzzy, my study buddy

 
Today wasn't perfect and I typically would have ended my day thinking about what went wrong. I actually started writing this post about something not so positive, but then I remembered my gratitude card and my thoughts instantly shifted. 

It's amazing what a simple note card can do.

Progress.