☺ 2014 in Review - My “Jar of Happiness”☺

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{New Year Inspirational Kick-Off!}

 Continuing the trend from last year’s “New Year Kick-Off!” 

Keep your own life bustling with gratitude and awesomeness.

New Year Positive Power! Huzzah!

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This was such a rewarding practice last year, so there was no way I wasn’t doing this again for 2014… Just like the year before, emptying my “Jar of Happiness” has been incredibly heart-warming; bustling with forgotten (and deeply remembered) moments. Reading through my little moments was a lovely reminder of all the memories, laughs, smiles, and accomplishments cherished throughout 2014—including moments through the first several months I’d forgotten about—shining a little light on the undertone of emotional turbulence going on at the time.  

As the year before, this practice fills me with hope and joy, and a positive outlook heading into 2015. Life truly is beautiful and we all have so much to be thankful for. Truly truly. 

I highly encourage you to create your own “Happiness Jar” (if you haven’t already). It is a Must for positivity and encouragement at the end of the year. I promise you will love it! I’ve already started my third year doing this wonderful little jar. 

Continuing with tradition, I decided it would be fun to compile my list of particular highlights of my year. Before beginning this list, I have to say it is quite obvious to me (and probably any of my followers) that the biggest highlight this year was finding the love of my life and making this huge life change. So, apologies if some are a bit sappy, but I would prefer you to be encouraged by love, rather than respond with envy or jealousy or anything negative—if I had lived my life that way I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today, so remember you choose your outlook; the more gratitude you have, the more you welcome it into your life.  

Alright, getting to the highlights of my year…

2014 Gratitude Highlights!

Personal Highlights:

• Potlucks + Tea Dates with fun friends, both close and new. I had the fortune of being able to socialize with some wonderful people during the beginning of the year. 
• As always, tea dates, tea dates, tea dates. ;)   
• Meeting one of my best friends’ baby for the first time, and getting to see her more this year after she’d been away. 
• Connecting with some amazing women and having some amazing discussions; getting in touch with feminine energy, reconnecting with my personal “Fire” and finding myself again.  
• Completing the David Suzuki 30x30 Challenge again this year. And taking part in the #100HappyDays, doing “The Magic” again, and other New Years fun.  
• Reconnecting with old friends—thank you Skype! 
• Tool Concert!
• Lots of Family time—always great!  
• I feel at this point I have to give my ex-husband a thanks at least for trying in our relationship at the beginning of the year, even if it took me six months to finally realize it was over for me in January. The effort was appreciated and he was very supportive during everything.

• Getting my Moon Cycle Tattoo!
• Healing lots of broken relationships this year, makes me feel incredibly fortunate and grateful.  
• Getting to see my Grandma and Auntie who I hadn’t seen in several years. 
• There was this sunny day in May that stood out to me where I got to have tea dates with my brother, with Tam (before we were dating), had dinner with one of my best friends, and had girl time with two of my best friends after that, and finished the night with another visit with Tam. ♥ 
• Skate park day in Kaslo; hoola-hoops and drinks at the park. 
• Costume parties!
• The night me and Tam confessed our feelings and things changed forever. ♥
• Finally doing what I needed for myself, finding myself, and having the courage to make such a huge life change—yes I feel very proud for all of this ;)
• First date with Tam; fireworks, champagne, and perfectness ♥
• Vancouver Trip that started my new relationship and getting to visit one of my best friends. :) 
• Drinking at the park with Tam and Talia—probably my two favouritest people in the whole world!  
• Doing Hot Yoga for the first time—wow did it kick my butt! 

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• Beach days!
• Dyeing my hair pink ;) 
• The night Talia randomly came for a visit. :) 
• Moving day! One of my besties lending me her car so I could pack, and Tam helping me pack his Delica full and helping me move into my new place. 
• Tam making me a bed frame ^_^
• Getting Lyla back after moving into my own place. ^_^ 
• Shambhala! 
• The entire Coastal and San Francisco trip adventure! 
• Halloween the day we got back from our coastal adventure + the hangover day afterwards with cuddles, comfort food, and movies. 
• Watching “Adventure Time”, “Spirit Science”, and a few other great shows with Tam. 
• All the ridiculously sweet things Tam did for me this year—the list is ridiculously long ♥
• The night Tam came home from Utah after two weeks being apart—and getting to Skype with him while he was away. 
• The most perfect birthday ever and being absolutely spoiled by the most amazing boyfriend in the world. ♥
• The amazing hikes I got to do this year! 
• Snowy walks!
• Finally having a perfect Christmas, with both mine and Tam’s families. ^_^
• Ending the year with a kiss with Tam at midnight ;) 
• Having the courage, in general, to follow my heart and make my dreams come true. 

ReLove Plan.et Accomplishments:

• Republic of V carrying ReLove Plan.et gear! 
• All the focus and work that went into my Artwork this year and starting my personal art page. 
• Finally posting artwork for my book series “Everwake” 
• Summer Markets!
• All the positive and inspiring words from my amazing readers and viewers! xo ♥ 
• Doing my “New Year Kick-off” here on the ReLove Plan.et blog—it was fun! :) 
• The series of blog posts during my “New Life Chapter”—I was rather fond of that series, and got some great feedback :) 
• At least a few Video Blogs! ;)  
• Redbubble shop growing! 

I hope you all had an amazing year and start your own Jar Full of Happiness and take lots of photos to capture memories and moments :) 

So much love and wishing you all the best in 2015! xo

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Applying a Positive Mental Attitude to Your Life ☺

No one gets out of this life without having to deal with stuff...great stuff, wonderful stuff, happy stuff, crappy stuff, sad stuff, tragic stuff....and sometimes you look at other people and think..Wow, they are soooo lucky, their life is sooooo good. That is perception, what you are witnessing is how each individual deals with the circumstances of their life...that is the MAGIC of LIFE...you always get to CHOOSE how you react to the circumstances...because everyone deals differently. You get to choose your reactions. If someone reacts positively ...then they are seen as LUCKY...well their attitude is lucky..but life is life is life for everyone.

Life is life is life. For everyone. 

The truth is that everyone has to deal with ups and downs with life. No one person is more gifted than the other--unless they happen to be using the power of the Law of Attraction to their advantage (which is still Them putting life into action), but even then, sh!t happens. Such is life. But how are some people always so happy and positive and seem to be unfazed by the dark messes of the world? 

Firstly: they're not. 

Everyone has downs, everyone has a hard time with things from time to time, because no one is perfect and no one has perfect control over their emotions all the time. No one. Probably not even those wise old monks we hear so much about. Just because you don't see someone fall apart, doesn't mean they don't on the inside, or doesn't mean they don't go home with the need to unwind there instead. Everyone goes through things, everyone cries (in fact, crying is very helpful and healing and releasing), and everyone experiences the drops of their perfect moods. 

Everyone is human. Got it? Okay, let's move on. 

Secondly: Some people just know how to change Perspective.

Perspective is everything, and one of the most valuable and helpful lessons I ever learned was to change my attitude. As already mentioned, things happen to everyone, but the people who seem the happiest are the ones who know how to deal with their conflicts accordingly. This is when having a Positive Mental Attitude comes in. When shit hits the fan, you have two choices. One, you fall apart, get mad, get frustrated, and let it destroy your mood. Or two, (even if you have to first go through One) you pick up a smile and try looking at things from a different perspective. Perspective is Everything! No matter how bad a situation can be, there is always a bright side. Even if the bright side is that you get to learn a hard lesson that will make you a stronger person. 

It's not what happens to you in life, it's how you Deal With It that matters. Trust me. 

I have had happy times in my life where things were effortless and going right, and I've had times when I thought things couldn't get any worse. The irony is that during one of those periods of my life when things were falling apart, I was actually at my happiest--and it was all thanks to picking up an optimistic, Positive Attitude and putting things into perspective. That attitude saved me, absolutely and surely, because things at that point in my life were one of the worst points of my parent's messy divorce and custody battles of my younger siblings, and emotional traumas. That Positive Attitude allowed me to be resilient, allowed me to keep smiling, and made me more helpful to those around me as well. I took time to focus on the good things: the other great things I currently had in my life, as well as why the "bad" situation was a good thing--again, perception is everything. 

Put Things Into Perspective

Focussing on the outcome you desire is a good alternative to dwelling on the problem. If you can focus on the outcome, then your mind (or the universe) can help you get there much quicker and with much less heart-ache.  

Instead of allowing yourself to get overwhelmed and negative, take a step back. Try looking at things logically--which I understand isn't always easy when you're emotional, but take a few breaths, get out some paper (even if you're still crying when you start) and start scribbling down things that might be good about what's going on around you. There are always different angles that you can look at things from; if you don't believe me, just think about how one Same Situation can be perceived Completely differently by each individual involved. There are always different points of view. Your goal is to find the point of view that will help you. The Positive Side. The side that will get you through the mess and put a smile back on your face. 

Plus, if all else fails, remember: nothing is ever permanent, including emotions and feelings, and, after time, you Will feel better. 

Change Your Mind and you'll Change Your Life

If you can pick up this way of thinking then life will become much easier. Life is based on perception, therefore, if you can change your perception you will change your life. You have in your mind the power to do extraordinary things, and one of those extraordinary things is the capacity to change your life through simply Thinking. Think Happy, Think Positive. See what happens. It can really be quite magical and, well, life-changing. 

Practice makes perfect, and while this practice may feel hard at the start, the more you apply it, the easier it becomes. And it's always worth it. Simply taking a few minutes to sit down, jot down your thoughts, and find the positive means much less time wasted stressing yourself into sickness. 

Remember: your Attitude counts for everything. So work on that Positive Attitude at all times!  

A Personal Example:

Using one of my more recent experiences, I'd like to show you how changing your attitude can work… 

Just over a year ago, a flood rushed through our rental home. The entire basement was flooded in several feet of water, and the upstairs was washed over with grimy dirty pools and caked in stinky mud. It happened when I was up town (we live on a mountain and downtown is higher, while our apartment was at the bottom, very close to the lake). I came home to the mess and the mud washed right up to our front door--which was when the "no, no, no" panic began to set in. The entryway was a pool of murky muddy water, and, upon entering, most of our living room was in the same state, drifting down the hall and partly into our bedroom. 

Well, our landlord did nothing and was rather useless during this whole ordeal--we couldn't even get a hold of him for a day or two. So we began cleaning the mess ourselves--we didn't have a lot of options after all. Even after cleaning, the place Stank. The fire department was pumping the water out of the basement and the river that had taken over our backyard (not exaggerating here, it was a River!). After all of this was said and done, the basement was still so thick in mud that there was nothing that we could really do but to start salvaging the mess. All of my silkscreening gear (for my Job) was down in that basement, as well as our expensive camping gear, bikes, and the washer and dryer that we owned. 

Now, while our first reaction was indeed the panic and frustration of the whole mess and the ordeal to follow, we let it pass. We knew that stressing about it wasn't going to help or get us anywhere. 

So we started putting things into Perspective: 

First: it was the perfect incentive to Move the hell out of this place that we had been wanting to do for a while. 

Second: we started to list the things we were Grateful for: 

We had insurance coverage (which after some back and forth bickering and arguments, we were able to receive--bastard insurance companies trying to wiggle their way out of covering us--pfft), so anything that was damaged could be replaced. Our landlord couldn't say no to an early leave out of our lease because, well, our place was literally uninhabitable with the stench coming up from the basement of possible sewer water at that! My screens (for silkscreening) had at least been up somewhere where they remained undamaged by the water and my expensive inks were also still in tact--it was also summer still so I could silk screen outside (how delightful!). Our kitties were safe through everything, thank goodness! And so forth! 

So, with our gratitude and perspective in check, it was on to a Positive Solution: Moving! 

This was the biggest Positive Outlook out of the whole thing. We had a month to find a new place, no excuses allowed. And if it weren't for being armed with our Positive Attitudes and the Law of Attraction, we might have been screwed. My partner and I decided to write lists (things are twice as likely to come true when you write them down!) of what we wanted in our new home--after all, we were aiming for an upgrade and wouldn't settle for anything less. So we made our lists, and made sure they were in line with one another so that we were both manifesting the same thing. And we started looking. We looked at several places throughout the month, and even though it was a little discouraging at times, we didn't settle. And, guess what? We found our dream home. No joke. Pretty much everything that we'd written down on our lists we found--and if we didn't then we received variations! Our landlords are the nicest people we could ever ask for--for real, we adore them, they're the best! We even have a House to ourselves, in stead of some dingy duplex. We'd also made sure we wrote down how much we wanted to be paying for rent, and we even came within that range (which to the unbelieving, was an impossible find). 

So, moral of the story? 

Thanks to Perception, Positive Thinking, and Focussing on a Positive Outcome, our "Disaster" became a blessing in disguise. And this lesson applies to anything and everything in life. There is no point in stressing, there is only a point in turning your attitude around and Thinking Positive!

Give it a try, practice, practice, practice. Remember there is always a Positive Solution. Always.   

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☺ Motivational Mondays! ☺

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We're taking back Mondays!!!

"Motivational Mondays" are fabulous tips to get you excited and pumped for the week! 

Feeling low? Moody? Down on life? Well, that's what these posts are for! Time to feel awesome again and get some Positivity rolling! Just because it's Monday doesn't mean you can't have fun, smile, and enjoy Today! Apply these tips to your week and try to tell me that you don't start to see an improvement in your life! ;)

It's all about You! Change your perception, change your attitude, love your life! xo

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☺ Law of Attraction tip: When you think to yourself "I don't have enough" then you will continually attract that reality into your life and you will never have enough of whatever it is you feel that way about. When you focus your thoughts on 'lack of' you block abundance from coming to you. Shift your mind onto thinking you have an abundance, even if you don't. Emit those thoughts and they will magnetically attract more than enough of everything to you. 

☺ Tackle Procrastination! I am the worst procrastinator The worst! I swear it runs in my family or something… anyways, it feels pretty awesome when you do finally tackle something you've been avoiding or keep forgetting about, so instead of putting things off any longer go ahead and tackle all those procrastinations this week! Go productivity! You'll feel better without it weighing in the back of your mind anymore too! 

☺ Look for the positive in your daily experiences.  I am always astounded at how many people seem to look for things to complain about with even the most positive of things. Stop looking for the negative. If that's where you mind is going then retrain that brain! Catch yourself and see the positive instead. It will change your life! 

☺ Give something up for the week! I love this practice because it teaches self-control which is something many of us struggle with, especially when it comes to bad habits or food. So, whether you choose a food (meat, dairy, sugar, junk food, coffee, alcohol etc.), video games, makeup, cigarettes, TV, or anything at all, try giving up something for the week that you think you need (but don't!). Who knows, this may be the beginning of kicking some bad habits too! 

☺ When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.  Life holds so many very dear and valuable lessons. When we fall that is when the biggest lessons are usually presented for us. This is why losing is a tremendous gift, it's just not always easy to see that in the heat of the moment. Always take a step back and remember to keep the lesson, don't lose yourself to self-defeat.  

☺ Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we hate to hear this little mantra, but it's absolutely true--so long as you stay positive and keep faith. The second you dwell on negative self-defeating thoughts and emotions then you place yourself in a position of stalemate with life in which you can't move forwards. Life brings to us what we need, even if we don't like it in that moment, but it is absolutely up to us to see that and have faith in that. Have faith and don't stay in stalemate.        

☺ Learn new words. Keep your mind fresh and full of new information and learn new words every day! Exercise that brain! How often do we hear or read a word and don't actually know what it means and instead of looking it up we simply accept that we don't know it (or pretend we do)? Stop! Admit ignorance (for no one knows all words!) and look up the word or ask. Learning is fun, and exercising your brain increases mental alertness and response. Plus, who doesn't want to know more words? ;)     

☺  "In my life, I've had thousands of failures, hundreds of wrong decisions, and countless stupid mistakes. But if given the chance to change it?! I'd rather not...Because somehow, my past made me what I am right now. Not hard as a diamond, but strong enough to win my fight." ~Justice Cabral.

Create a Nice Day!! 

Much Love from me to you! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Motivational Mondays! ☺

  . . . . . . . . . .

We're taking back Mondays!!!

"Motivational Mondays" are fabulous tips to get you excited and pumped for the week! 

Feeling low? Moody? Down on life? Well, that's what these posts are for! Time to feel awesome again and get some Positivity rolling! Just because it's Monday doesn't mean you can't have fun, smile, and enjoy Today! Apply these tips to your week and try to tell me that you don't start to see an improvement in your life! ;)

It's all about You! Change your perception, change your attitude, love your life! xo

. . . . . . . . . .

☺ Stop Looking for Drama! I don't think I can even begin to describe the oxymoron of a post I wrote on my Facebook page the other day. It was meant to be positive, to remind people of how to be happy. Ironically, it turned into a drama fest of people bickering about it not being that easy. The point I'm getting to is: stop looking for drama. People are addicted to it and it only feeds the negative feelings inside yourself. Stop doing it. Which also brings me to my next point…   

☺ Learn when to Walk Away!  Sometimes we get into arguments or heated discussions gone awry. You could continue the cycling of drama but chances are one person is as stubborn as the next and won't back down. Learn to walk away. There is no point in preaching or trying to explain something to someone who doesn't want to listen or can't see eye to eye. This goes both ways and maybe you don't understand where the other person is coming from either. It's always better to disengage from the drama and take a step back instead. Think for a bit. Just learn when to walk away. It is very valuable.       

☺ Do you own Thing!  How many times have you wasted your day trying work around someone else's schedule? Yes, it's fun doing things with people but stop wasting your day on flaky plans. Get out there and do your own thing! Be bold and adventurous and be on your own time frame. No more wasting time! ;)  

☺ Commuincate! I live in a very flaky place, people here tend to bail on plans or forget or any other number of excuses. Some people are just like that and I'm sure you can relate. Maybe you're one of those people too. There's nothing wrong with that but communication is key. So learn to speak up and to let people know what you're up to so that they're not possibly wasting their own day waiting for you. ;)   

☺ Be Bold!  Eyeing up a cute stranger? Shy to speak to new a friend? Just go for it! I watched a friend of mine yesterday get shy about it and in the end saw her opportunity and took it. I was so proud. :) You don't have anything to lose by being bold! Maybe the person of your interest doesn't reciprocate the same feeling, but who cares? At least you're putting yourself out there and taking a chance! A chance taken is better than a chance lost!      

☺ Write a Love Letter to Yourself! This is an awesome gratitude practice that should be done often. Take out a piece of paper (or on your computer) and write out a list of all the things you love about yourself. Remind yourself of how awesome you are and fill the page with positivity and love for yourself. Love for yourself is one of the most important things in life you can ever learn. So fall in love with yourself! 

☺ "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." ~ William Shakespeare. People refuse to believe it a lot of the time but our thoughts truly are everything. Nothing is permanent and nothing is either good or bad. Whatever you want to believe then that will be your reality. Thinking is believing, and believing creates your reality. Choose a positive reality and stop turning something into the negative. You have a choice always always. 

Create a Nice Day!! 

Much Love from me to you! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Bring Your Own Sunshine! ☺

Life isn't always as easy as you want it to be. Sometimes you're surrounded by negative people, a job you don't like, or have to do something you don't want to do. But here's the thing; you can always bring your own sunshine. 

Taking charge of your life and your happiness and becoming filled to the rim with bliss is as simple as choosing to smile in the morning. It's as simple as getting out of bed, no matter how grouchy or tired you may feel, and choosing to get excited about your day. Making happiness blossom in your life is as simple as putting one foot forward and declaring that today is going to be the best damn day! 

The truth is that we have terrible brain habits built within us that mean when we start our day it's easier, and almost comforting, to just stay miserable. It's familiar, it's easy, it's almost natural to us. We simply accept that this is the way we are and that this is the way that life is. 

No! 

No more! 

That is what you should be telling yourself, deciding for yourself. Life is as amazing as you make it. Sure, it's easy to get stuck in a rut, it may feel easier to drag your heels and just go with the mundane repetitive motions of your life, but is that really living? At all?! 

Okay, so what naturally comes to us is to feel just sort of "meh," but that's because of our society, negativity, and, like I said, brain patterns that have been built up over the years that deplete our naturally happy levels of serotonin. But the lovely thing about brain patterns is that, low and behold, you can change them. Like magic! Suddenly your lethargic life can be filled with excitement and joy, simply by choosing to see the world differently and--you guessed it--bringing your own sunshine. 

No one is responsible for your Happiness but you. If you read my blog often then you know that this is a reoccurring mantra I consistently repeat. Because it's true. Because I've been through the ups and downs of life and I know and understand it to be true. If you want to be happy then you have to Choose it. No one else can change your life for you. 

Sure, you may have to do things you don't really want to do. You may be around people you don't like. So what? Everyone has moments like that. So you can either join the sad pity party, or you can bring your own sunshine. If someone has a frown then smile even wider. Laugh even harder. Spread joy even deeper. Just because someone else has a dampened spirit doesn't mean you should join in. On the contrary, you should be doing the opposite and be as happy and joyful as possible. Being negative around other negative people only feeds their and your negativity. The cycle continues. Endlessly. We fall into the habit. The all too easy habit. Break away! Smile! Be joyful! Be blissful! Dance down the streets, sing at the top of your lungs, tell a joke, do a good deed, tell someone how much you appreciate them. Your attitude is still your own and it will determine your entire day and your entire life. Break free of the bad habit of negativity, of "blahness." Learn to shine. Learn to start your day with excitement and a sense of adventure. Learn to see good and do good. 

Make smiling your new habit. Learn to smile all day long. A frown or a plain blank sort of expression is our norm. People walk up and down streets and go about their day, with just this blank, almost serious, expression. You know what I'm talking about because if you grin as you walk down the street instead it almost feels strange. Is that not sad? What kind of a world do we live in when smiling isn't our normal expression? We should be smiling all the time! All day! When we're alone and when we're with others. It feels good! Go ahead and try it! Smile! Keep that smile! I bet you feel better already. Smiling is good for you, pure and simple, so make it your new habit. Catch yourself when you're not smiling and smile smile smile.   

Smiling and joy are contagious. When you feel good, people pick up on it, and unless they are super uber stubborn Frowny Pants that refuse to be happy, then it will spill over onto others and make them feel good too. 

So wake up in the morning with a positive mindset, a joyful heart, and be determined that today is going to be a glorious day! And remember, no matter what the day holds, to bring your own sunshine! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Motivational Mondays! ☺

. . . . . . . . . .

We're taking back Mondays!!!

"Motivational Mondays" are fabulous tips to get you excited and pumped for the week! 

Feeling low? Moody? Down on life? Well, that's what these posts are for! Time to feel awesome again and get some Positivity rolling! Just because it's Monday doesn't mean you can't have fun, smile, and enjoy Today! Apply these tips to your week and try to tell me that you don't start to see an improvement in your life! ;)

It's all about You! Change your perception, change your attitude, love your life! xo

. . . . . . . . . .

☺ Start your Morning with Positivity! The best way to start loving your life is to start your day off right! And that means with Positivity! Even if you're dragging yourself out of bed in the morning and you feel all "blah," you have the opportunity to turn it around. Go to your bathroom mirror and look at yourself and announce that it's going to be an awesome day. Do a little dance or jump up and down and Smile! FEEL excited! Get pumped! Hoorah hoorah!      

☺ This Too Shall Pass…  It's easy to get stuck and to feel down when something bad happens in life. One thing that will help is to remember that this too shall pass. Remember that things won't always be this way so take one day at a time. Likewise, cherish the good moments and fully enjoy them, because those will pass too. Nothing in life is permanent. So make the most of it and learn to enjoy the ride.  

☺ Stop Self-Sabotaging Yourself! We work so hard to become happy, yet most of us are guilty of self-sabotage. We create problems in our minds that don't exist. We fall into old negative habits because they're comfortable. We discourage ourselves by focussing on the negative. We talk badly about ourselves and others. All of these are spirals that sabotage our happiness, and we do this ourselves. Switch your focus onto the positive so that you are longer your own downfall. 

☺ Change your Surroundings…  and you'll change your world. With so much media around us, and increasingly so, it's time for a shift. Most media is self-defeating and made to make you feel badly about yourself. Image is a huge part of that--both looks and personality. Well, you can surround yourself with that media garbage, or you can change that. With social media sites (like Facebook, tumblr, Pinterest, etc.) You choose what shows up on your pages. So you can either choose to have the one body-type show up all over your page or you can choose to follow body-positive pages and inspiration. Choose to surround yourself with what's good for your soul!   

☺ Take your Time and Smell the Flowers!  Stop rushing about and take a moment to breathe and enjoy yourself. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and you are meant to be still sometimes instead of racing around through life. Stop, take in your surroundings. Smell the flowers. Admire the trees, the clouds, the birds fluttering through the skies. And breathe! 

☺ You have all the time in the world!  We like to stress out us humans we do, and about how much time we have is definitely one of them. I'm guilty of it, oh yes am I ever. But the funny thing is that when you stop worrying, take a step back, and tell yourself that you have all the time to do all the things you want, things magically make it so. This is a basic Law of Attraction trick; ask and you shall receive. And it works! So stop tripping over your own flustered feet, stop worrying about time and know that you have enough of it to accomplish all the things you want and need to.  

☺ "To acquire love… fill yourself up with it until you become a magnet." ~Charles Haanel. We all want love in our lives. So how do we do so? It really is as simple as making love your answer. Be Love. Be Loving. Love Yourself! Love yourself and your life and you will attract more and more of it in every aspect of your life. 

Create a Nice Day!! 

Much Love from me to you! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Motivational Mondays! ☺

. . . . . . . . . .

We're taking back Mondays!!!

"Motivational Mondays" are fabulous tips to get you excited and pumped for the week! 

Feeling low? Moody? Down on life? Well, that's what these posts are for! Time to feel awesome again and get some Positivity rolling! Just because it's Monday doesn't mean you can't have fun, smile, and enjoy Today! Apply these tips to your week and try to tell me that you don't start to see an improvement in your life! ;)

It's all about You! Change your perception, change your attitude, love your life! xo

. . . . . . . . . .

☺ Make Feeling Good a Priority! It's sad to think that with all the things going on in our lives, happiness somehow gets placed on the back burner. Life is about happiness, it's about feeling good, this you must remember. And this is why you need to make feeling good a priority--nay, your Biggest Priority. Plus, when you feel good, all else will fall into place.          

☺ Spend the day being Lazy.  Every so often having the laziest possible day is a necessity. We work ourselves into the ground with work and even play sometimes so it's good to have some down time simply to do nothing and just veg out. I like to do this on a cozy rainy day, but really any day will do. Make it a point to stay in your pyjamas and be lazy at home. Have a you day, a day to read, write, draw, sprawl out across your bed and stare at the ceiling. Just enjoy a lazy day. 

☺ Stop Needing an Apology…  It was pointed out to me this week that apologies are selfish. This topic is something I want to write a full article on because it can play such a large role in our lives that blocks us from moving forward. But for now, learn to let go of needing an apology from another person. The second we need someone to apologize to us then we are placing our own happiness and state of life in someone else's hands, and that responsibility should only ever fall on you. Remember, you are responsible for your own happiness. So no asking for apologies, let it go, realize we're all going through something, and find new ways of acceptance and moving on.  

☺ Send someone a surprise gift. I don't think anything excites me more than receiving surprise letters or little goodies in the mail from friends. It's such a lovely feeling to know someone is thinking of you. Likewise, I love sending people surprises in the mail as well, for no other reason then to let them know I am thinking of them and love them. So pass it a long, whether it's a lovely letter or a little gift. Make a new pen pal if you can too. :) 

☺ Take part in the 30×30 Nature Challenge!  Join the David Suzuki Foundation’s 30×30 Nature Challenge by committing to spend at least 30 minutes a day outside in nature for 30 days in May. The more we connect to nature, the smarter, healthier and happier we are. Getting outside even makes us nicer and more likely to clean up the planet. Sign up here and take part!  

☺ Let go of the bad and Begin again! You can let hate, anger, animosity, fear, or any other negative emotion eat away at you, Or you can let it go and learn to begin again. Your choice. 

☺ Star your Next Chapter! We trap ourselves in the past, re-reading the events or refusing to let go. Most of our problems do come from our pasts: things we haven't resolved, bad habits we've formed, negative feelings about ourselves or others, and so forth. Working through the past is important to move forward, however you'll never actually make the first step onward if you keep returning there and don't leave. Make peace with your past, let it go, and start anew.   

Don't forget to get out there and Create a Nice Day!! 

Much Love from me to you! 

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{life reflections}

. . . . . . . . . . 

{life reflections}

 Weekly thoughts and rambles. A glimpse into my mind and world. 

These are entries that I might jot down in my Happy Diary; what happens when we put our fingers to the keyboard and allow our thoughts to flow uninhibited. Reflections from the soul. 

Reflections of life.  

I hope to leave you inspired. 

If you want to share your own reflections of the week please leave a link to your "life reflections" entry in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . . . .

Happy-get-on-track week is going well, I am happy to say! (harhar) I know last week's post may have been a bit of a downer, but as I always say, life is just like that sometimes. Regardless, I am feeling myself again. Sometimes getting back on track truly is only as hard as we make it. 

I've written up a post before on all the things I did originally to get back on track so I'm not going to repeat it all now. However, remembering that Happiness is in my own hands was one of the most helpful things for me this week. When you're in a slump it's easy to stay there because we often wake up feeling not so upidy-awesome and because we don't fix that right when we wake up, the spiral happens. I want to write a full "list" this week of more useful tips, since these "life reflections" posts aren't generally supposed to take over my "Inspirational" posts with all the life advice and help. So, let's just say that I'm back on track, that I forced myself to smile every single day. I'd wake up in the morning, telling myself "I love my life" with a great big silly grin, and start saying in my head all the things that I am grateful for as I entered my morning. I swear to you, this alone helps tremendously. Tremendously!!! 

That aside, I am so very grateful for the amazing friends and family I have in my life. I feel so blessed and loved and grateful. And I can't tell you how much I appreciated how many of you wrote me as well wishing me better and if that I needed anything you were there for me. So truly truly touched and grateful to you amazing wonderful lovely friends! I love you! And I think it goes without saying that I am always here for you too if ever you need me. xoxo

On Saturday I got to celebrate my good friend's birthday and housewarming, it was an epic night filled with so much ridiculousness and laughs and memories. I haven't actually drank since New Year's Eve, so it was fun getting even sillier and louder than I usually am. ;) We also tried to watch the meteor shower on Monday with a few friends while we had a bonfire, but the moon was so bright we didn't see any (and I'm sure staring at the fire instead of the sky didn't help either).

So blessed for my friends. I honestly don't have many in real life. I just don't really see the point in having a bazillion friends that you're not even close with just for a popularity contest. This isn't high school anymore. That's what I see a lot in this small town anyway, and I'm sure it's the same elsewhere. I don't get it. Why not put the time and effort instead towards working on the close relationships you do have instead of spreading yourself too thin? I just see so many of the artificial friendships of these big groups of insecure people that cling together and feed their own insecurities by talking badly about one another behind each other's backs. How is that helpful? How is that real friendship? True friends are there for each other, support one another, lift each other up when they're down. They don't Kick them down! 

So, anyways, I don't have that many friends in real life. I want Real friendships with people I actually have things in common with and have fun with and who support and love me as I do them. I know lots of fun people that I'll hang out at parties with but that's as far as many of them go. I love my close friends. So incredibly much. I love getting the hugs and seeing their smiles, and laughing and adventuring, and going for tea. In case this isn't obvious either, I don't go out partying much. It's not that I don't enjoy it, but I do understand the effect of not only the alcohol, but even going sober with all the staying up late totally messing up sleep patterns and therefor your head and health. Going out tooooo often also exhausts yourself, and where's the fun in that? Maybe it's also because, while it's fun to flail around and be ridiculously silly, I appreciate more of the sober times where you get quality time with the people you enjoy being around and sometimes drinking just feels like the artificial side of things. Again, not that I don't enjoy a good fun flailing night. Hopefully you understand what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I Do go out, and I Do have a ton of fun, I guess I've just sort of learned a bit of balance with that aspect of my life. I never used to party in high school, because I was a loner, I just didn't have much in common with a lot of people there and I really didn't know myself at all so not really a surprise. For the younger readers still in high school, I just want to let you know that life after high school gets better. Immensely better. I hated high school. I love life now. It's liberating and frightening, because when you leave school all of a sudden you're free to form your own opinions and hobbies and interests, where as in school it's very bootcamp and narrow minded--in my humble opinion. So yes, things get better. 

And, yes, I am alllll over the place today. I swear I'm not drinking right now. ;) 

How shall I finish this diary entry?…  

Life is good! Life is grand! Life is Beautiful! Have you noticed everything blossoming?!!! So super exciting. The air smells so sweet with flowers and fresh rain and grass, and everything is so green and vibrant and coming alive. I love spring! It truly truly is such a cleansing season, taking out the old and making room for the new, which is why we have the extreme ups and downs at the moment, so just know that you are heading towards somewhere better. So stay positive. Always stay positive. 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

{life reflections} ~ when life knocks you down ~

. . . . . . . . . . 

{life reflections}

 Weekly thoughts and rambles. A glimpse into my mind and world. 

These are entries that I might jot down in my Happy Diary; what happens when we put our fingers to the keyboard and allow our thoughts to flow uninhibited. Reflections from the soul. 

Reflections of life.  

I hope to leave you inspired. 

If you want to share your own reflections of the week please leave a link to your "life reflections" entry in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . . . .

This week has been filled with more tears and anxiety than I've felt in a long while. Boo hoo. Don't worry, I'm not going to write some miserable self-pitying post. I'm not that kind of person. I just wanted to share this with you to let you know that, despite all the positive tips and information I share on this blog, I too am human. Shocker I know. The truth is that I was indeed depressed for a good five years of my life and that takes some time to climb out of. There's a lot of old brain habits that need fixing and relearning. For the most part I am blissfully happy. For the most part I can easily pull myself out of a funk. But sometimes life throws curve balls, and those curve balls can right knock us on our asses and leave us in the dirt. But the funny thing about it is that when we fall down it's because life is trying to show us something. When we fall, it's because there is something we're meant to find down there. I truly believe and know this to be true. Again, you can find the positive in any situation, so why not do so? We wouldn't fall so hard either if there wasn't something still in our minds that we hadn't yet resolved. Sometimes we think we've got it all figured out, or at least mostly; we think we've settled our demons and moved forwards. Sometimes we have. Sometimes it may surprise us to learn that we haven't quite yet. This was my case this week. As it is with most people, there were some issues that I hadn't yet resolved. 

For some reason, perhaps through old habits, I have the suborn tendency to shut myself off, especially from my husband who is closest to me. Don't do this. I will tell you up front to never push people away or block yourself off, because it simply does more damage than good. I know this. I learned this the hard way. I still struggle with it--again, those old brain habits that like to make doing the right thing more difficult sometimes. But talking helps. I know that the Law of Attraction teaches us that the more we talk about our problems then the more we manifest them. While this is true, you also have to learn a balance. If you don't first talk about your problems then they will never get resolved, and if they never get resolved then you will not be able to move forward and use the Law of Attraction to attract positive things anyway. So talk. Talk, talk, talk. Through talking we have realizations--it helps to talk out loud because it gets our thoughts running and can help us realize many helpful things to move forwards. Again, though, learn balance. If you are constantly depressed and need someone to talk to then it is great to have a family member or friend to confide in, but realize that some things are best left to talk to a professional, because otherwise your relationship may become more about the negative than the positive and you don't want that either. I can't say enough about how much a councillor can help you. Seek one out. Talk their ear off. They have words of wisdom for you and they will help you learn about yourself and How to let go of your past. They are wonderful people who can help you, so don't overlook them. If you don't find a councillor you like at the first go of it, then find another one. Find one that you are compatible with and comfortable with. It helps. Trust me, because I've been there and mine helped me make one of the biggest leaps in my recovery. 

So, talk. When you get your thoughts out there you can reach some conclusions. Sit down with yourself as well and write out your thoughts. I always say writing is an amazing practice because it truly allows your thoughts to free flow, and when our thoughts free flow so do the realizations. I know, I'm being a bit repetitive, but bottling things up is counter-productive, don't just sweep your problems under a rug. You may be very good at keeping those problems safely concealed beneath that rug, but eventually the mess will come spilling out into your life and it may not be pretty when it all comes rushing out all at once as these things tend to do. When a problem arises, work through it. Make yourself reach some sort of positive conclusion and outlook that allows you to move forward. Chances are, it may resurface down the road. Again, these things can take time. Be patient, and realize that this too shall pass. At the end of the day, your attitude still counts for everything and you still always have a choice to be happy again. 

[photo credit: mcshredalot]

For myself? There are a few issues I am currently working on, and I plan to work through them every day until I feel better instead of sweeping them back under the rug. I plan to write down a new way of thinking to embed it into my mind until I can come to peace with certain things. Because I know it works and I know that I can heal as I have already done so much of. I plan to push myself into that unreasonable happy state by practicing all the lessons I've learned and generally focussing on that Positive Mental Attitude, reminding myself of Who I Am, and repeating every day that life is beautiful and full of happiness. 

It has also pushed me to finally finish that "Happiness Guide" that I've been working on and the "Happiness Bootcamp" zine, because what better time than to be able to practice it on myself as a guinea pig? ;) 

I wish you all a blissful weekend and all the love and happiness in the world. Remember that we all fall, we can all be vulnerable, but we all within us contain the remarkable ability to heal, to move forwards, and to smile in the face of anything. 

Much Love! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.