How Do You Gauge How Happy You Are?

Image via Wikipedia

From Denny: Apologies to everyone who was looking for their quote today. We had serious thunderstorms move through yesterday and we lost power. It was like the heavens opened up and decided it was time for a deluge!

Anyway, today's quote was from a U.S. President. We hear a lot of quotes and sometimes don't realize they were said originally by American Presidents. Even a culture often grows up over time around the thought in that quote, so it is with this one.

Generations later we are now addressing how to work our attitudes to improve our lives. Well, Abraham Lincoln, who knew an awful lot of terrible adversity, certainly understood what it took to build and maintain a positive attitude.

He lost 69 elections and he lost all his children over a span of time. He was also President during the trying times of America's only Civil War and was ill with a slow disease. His wife went into a terrible depression upon the loss of their youngest son from illness.

Lincoln was a strong-willed kind-hearted man who even brought his political enemies into his administration in the effort to govern the country in a bi-partisan manner. Lincoln is most famous for several of his inspiring speeches and deciding to dare to go against the tide of convention and free America's slaves. He was all about doing the best job possible for the sake of ALL the American people.

Quote

"People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - President Abraham Lincoln



quotes, politics, positive attitude, presidential quotes, American Civil War, United States, History, Civil War, President, List of Presidents of the United States

Does Happiness Elude You?

From Denny: One of the beauties of coming from a family of very long-lived people is that you don't lose the institutional memory of historical events. Another plus is that you don't lose what former generations taught in the way of good character. What is in fashion in one generation is often out of fashion in the next and, so, we lose the cultural continuity of good values.

Like in any family there were those in mine who were, well, slugs, when it came to good character. To a person they lived miserable anti-social lives, unhappy the majority of the time because they focused too much upon themselves. In my book there is nothing wrong with being good to your self. Just try to make the same good faith effort for others as you would yourself and your life is enriched!

For instance, I enjoy writing all these many blogs. It gives me a creative outlet for color, design and writing about anything and everything that interests me in this world of awesome wonders. Writing these blogs also gives me a chance to share with others as if these blogs were the ultimate social site of sharing! By sharing with others a person can enrich the lives of others while they enrich their own.

Then comes the Joy as was taught in previous generations. This kind of Joy has lain dormant for the past 25 years or so, drowned out by business greed and the drive to unbalanced excessive and financial only success. There are a lot of facets to the concept of success. Monetary wealth and accumulation is only a small part of the equation. This much power and large wealth requires the learning of real wisdom in order to not be destroyed by such power. I could get into what the ancient Kabbalists have to say about the power inherent in money and how to prepare for basically trying to grab a tiger by the tail but that would be another very long post! :)

Perhaps it's time for global society to rediscover some of the ancient wisdom of past societies, learning to appreciate the success of others as well as their own. Happiness can be an elusive creature to those who are calculating and refuse to dig deep into their hearts and offer up greater generosity to those around them. Generosity of spirit goes a long way to creating a much happier life!

Funny Dog Photo by Phil Romans @ flickr

Goethe at age 69 Image via Wikipedia

Quote

“Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though t'were his own.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German Playwright, Poet, Novelist and Dramatist. 1749-1832)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Money, History, Family, German language, Good faith, denny lyon, Arts, Kabbalah, Literature, Kids and Teens

Video: Operation Mend

From Denny: This story of two men and their families was profiled on Memorial Day. It demonstrates just how much people have to treat healing from severe trauma like it is an extreme sport. It is well worth the watching. If ever you feel you are having a bad day just come back and watch this video. These young men have been dealing with a lot over an extended period of time. It's interesting to hear their doctor talk about their desire to create this new program to help mend these soldiers of horrific wounds.

Experiences like this is one reason I've always opposed war - because I know and have seen the long-term consequences both for the soldiers and their families. Nor have I ever had much patience for the kind of people who recklessly promote needless war - and then don't have the good grace to properly and fully give a 100% to healing the people they sent off to war.

While the Republicans constantly disparage, deride and despise the Democrats as the Mommy Party they have done little for the returning disfigured veterans, writing them off as cannon fodder. As far as I'm concerned it takes far more courage to go to bat for all these soldiers to help them heal than it does to send nameless faces off to war. At least now the country and many volunteers are putting their wallets where they belong: promoting life instead of the taking of it or a depraved indifference as to their quality of life once they return from the battlefield. It's time Americans wake up and appreciate the efforts of people like this.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Video: Independence Day Trivia

From Denny: This is well worth the watching! While I knew most of the dry facts - what I didn't know were some of the ancedotal stories that went along with those historical facts that spoke a lot to the personalities and conflicts of that time.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Independence Day Fourth of July America Thomas Jefferson George Washington Declaration of Independence people and society holidays United States CBS videos American history

Awwww Sniffle Sniffle Sigh Awesome Photos

From Denny: This is one of those endearing profound emails you receive every now and then. Thought I'd share with you these awesome pictures. Thanks, Colleen in New Jersey! Try making your own version of this idea of matching photos with meaningful words that strike a chord in your heart! Feel free to share this post with others to enjoy.

*****

The Real Meaning of Words

LOVE



SORROW



INNOCENCE



DEPARTURE



PAIN



SOLITUDE



RESPECT



COMPASSION



FRIENDSHIP



MUSIC



PATIENCE



RESCUED



BEST FRIENDS



DIVINE



"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

Memorial Day Poems

From Denny: These are a selection from many wonderful poems written with heavy hearts and great sincerity about the reality of how war affects us all. The old men who send young men to war rarely stop long enough - or at all - to consider their haste to anger and action affects the entire nation for generations to come.

The following are not glory poems but rather the perspectives of those involved in war be they one soldier, a POW, a mother, a daughter, a citizen who knew none of them but felt a duty to pray for them constantly, knowing the personal cost war would bring to all. They span several wars from the Civil War to WWII, the Korean War and today's Iraq and Afghanistan War.

These poems came from the comprehensive Memorial Day site where there is much more than poems to view. Please take a look today as you remember those who came before us.

For the link to the Memorial Day Poems post at my poetry blog, The Social Poets, go here.