Monday, May 20, 2013

Reviewing where we are

Sweet Maybell, doing what she does best.
 Things have felt busy lately. Nothing in particular it seems. We've just been consistently finding ourselves at the end of the day asking, "Wow, what did we do today?". And that's a good thing, trust me. I don't feel like anything substantial has changed. Maybe it's just the time of year or we've just found a groove and we're riding it. But I sure do love being busy.

I feel lately that I've been consistently getting the same message. Does anyone else get that? You can believe it's the universe or your subconscious.  Believing what I do I feel like it's God trying to keep me on track. And that message that I've been getting in various forms, from speakers at church to conversations with friends, is happiness. It brought me back to my 2013 "To-do" list and evaluate how I'm progressing.

We're just going to blissfully ignore #1 on the list for the time being. That still stings a little too much to get in to. But how to be happy, even joyful, is a subject that the Scarecrow and I have been talking about a lot. I have really successful moments with #2 on my list and some substantially unsuccessful ones as well. Happiness is a choice. Isn't that we hear all the time? There are a lot of things that I/we can't change right now, at least not quickly. And so despite these difficult circumstances we have to make the decision to be happy in spite of them. The internet is full of 5 easy steps to (fill in the blank). There's a reason for that. They're good and they're helpful sources of inspiration. This week, this is my list of what I'm going to personally do to be happier.

  1. Write in my journal EVERY DAY of the blessings that I have. Focusing on what we do have helps us to think less on the things that we don't.
  2. ACTIVELY work towards changing our circumstances. Work, strange as it sounds, has always made me happy. I like having a project, digging in the dirt, putting my back into it. This whole unemployed thing has not sat well with me. There's a potential future opportunity which I'm going to be annoyingly vague about, but for now I need to find ways to better our circumstances. Stay tuned for that.
  3. I've said this before, but the Scarecrow and I don't get out much. This is in part due to our financial circumstances. It's also because we don't particularly have many close friends here who we associate with regularly. We NEED this kind of association. We spent a lot of time yesterday with family and good friends. And we felt AMAZING afterwards. I need to find a way to make more of an effort in this department and surround myself with more good, supportive, loving people. 
  4. EXERCISE more regularly. 
    "Exercise gives your endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't kill their husbands." 
    Thank you Elle Woods. And the Scarecrow thanks you as well.
  5. I find I forget myself when I'm thinking of others. I need to get out and SERVE in some capacity. I'm so grateful for my assignment at church with the youth. Here's to looking for more opportunities.

They're a little strange. Love them anyway.
Oh, and I'm going to try and blog more. Stay tuned for upcoming format changes.


1 comment:

  1. Great post, Halley! I love that Elle Woods quote haha. I just started taking a Pilates class and it's so true, those endorphins do wonders! I found my class through Meetup.com; have you used that before? It's something to look into- might help you get out more, meet new people, and doesn't have to necessarily mean spending money (I know how the money thing goes- grad school, yikes). Best of luck!

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