Only when you are happy yourself can you spread happiness with others.

Good evening and happy Thursday night, it has been a beautiful sunny day here in Utah with our high hitting 45...simply unbelievable for this time of the year here!

I pray your day has been a good one and that you are ready for a nice relaxing weekend. I had a very special prayer request from a very sweet friend and would ask that you all reach up to the heavens and pray with me. Her post on my facebook...

 "Dawn will you please ask your prayer warriors to pray for my dad who had a heart attack today. I just got a call from my sister who said that the doctors told her to start calling family and the next 48 hours are crucial. The doctors don't give him much hope." 

Please join me in asking favor and blessings for this family as they stand in wait of God's will. know that you are always in my prayers for peace, calm, comfort and understanding. God I love you so much and am so thankful to you for giving your son so that I might have life. In the name of Jesus Christ our savior. Amen

What Is Success?

What is success, really? What does the word success bring to your mind?

I am sure many would answer along the lines of lots of money, big house, new car, designer clothes, five star restaurants and all that. And sure enough, those are signs of success on the material level. Nothing wrong in reaching for those - as long as you feel joy in the process. 

It has been interesting to see how my own idea of success has evolved through the years. When I was young, I was eagerly reaching for material success. I chose my jobs accordingly and so of course ended up in sales. And sure enough I did earn some pretty good pay checks.

But then a nagging feeling started to grow. I began to realize selling was not what I wanted to do all my life. After all I was often forced to sell products I knew did not really fit the customer. You know how sales meetings go: all that matters is the amount of money you made. The values were hard. Eventually I became very unhappy.

And so I became to realize that even with big pay checks I did not feel successful. That is when my search for success turned inwards. I quit sales and chose another profession - this time helping people. The feeling of relief and belonging was great - and suddenly my life felt successful again. Even though I earned less, I was much more content.

I started to paint again. I love horses so at first it was horse portraits only. Then abstracts - and then other subjects. 

And then I returned to my old love - writing. And positive thinking. 

I realized I felt the most successful when I loved what I did, never mind the money. And so for my own part I define success by the feeling of contentment. Joy, happiness. These emotions can be triggered by many things. Painting, writing. Playing with a small child. Handling a difficult case at work well.

So what is success for you? Do you let others define what is your success ? Are you reaching for that big house just to impress others? Or have you learned yet to listen to yourself and what feels good within? Try to learn to listen to your own feelings - and you may be surprised at what you find. I know I was - but I am also much happier for it.

And always remember - what is success for you may not be success in someone else´s mind. But you are not here to live anyone else´s life but your own. It is not your obligation to please others with your life - only yourself. Because only if you are happy yourself, can you spread happiness to others. You cannot give what you do not have.

So be true to yourself and follow your own joyful path to your own definition of success.

Have a "dandelion" kind of day!!!

Good morning and happy Thursday, it is a beautiful morning out, 34 degrees and sunshine, in all of my years in Utah I have never seen a winter as mild as this! I have to say I could get used to no snow:)

In Prayer this morning it was much nicer than last evening, my mind would not calm and try as I may I could not block out distraction. I felt as if there was something missing all evening, I made an attempt several times to find my inner quiet so that I could share with my Father in Heaven the thoughts of the day and to lift prayer. When tired finally overtook my body and I laid down for my nights sleep I still could not get into the place I like to be when I pray, after several failed attempts I ask God to bless me with a peace filled sleep and to take whatever it was that was hindering my attempts at prayer and allow me a fresh start in the morning. I feel much better and prayers were answered this morning, I was able to slip into my quiet place and pray fervently. Thank you father for allowing me time and peace to be successful. I asked Him to bless each of you with His love, His peace, His calm and His comfort this day. I asked Him to continue to be sided with little Charlton as he battles with his illness, to keep his family comforted and to pull them all into his arms and allow them His rest. I asked for comfort and understanding be given to all of the police officers here in Utah that were involved in the shootings last night leaving one officer dead. Father comfort them and their families, lay your great healing hands upon them and wax them strong. I asked continued calm of mind for my friend who will be going into surgery tomorrow. I asked Him to bless my sweet friend who has been so sick for the last few days that He provide her with strength and comfort. I prayed for the caregivers coping with losing their loved ones, either physically or mentally, Father give them strength to get through each day seeing the conditions worsen, keep them filled with the knowledge that they will not be without them forever just until they are called home and then they will see the reward for their compassion. I asked Him to continue to bless my daughter and my unborn grandson with health and strength. I asked all of these mercies, graces and blessings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Symbol for Happiness

- Tom!

I had just been reading an interesting article about a symbol for happiness by a life coach. She wrote we should carry a symbol with us that reminded us of a true happy moment and whenever we looked at it we should stop for a short while and think about what it represented.

 - Tom! Did you hear me?

My wife´s tone made me sigh, put the newspaper away and rise.

- Ok, ok, I´ll go.

I opened the front door and saw our next door neighbor, Mrs Fitzpatrick, sitting on her porch. She had a cast on her leg. I saw her watching the lawn and tapping her chin with her finger.

The lawn. That was what had made my wife to push me through the door.

- Just look at it! All those weeds! She can´t mow it herself. You go out now and do what a good neighbor should!

And so I had come to mow her lawn on this beautiful Saturday morning.

- Ah, Tom! she waved at me and smiled broadly, - Good to see you! Here, come sit with me for a while.

I got to her porch and sat on a bench.

- Beautiful morning! she beamed at me.

- Err, yes, it sure is, I said. I had'nt expected her to be this cheerful with a broken leg and all.

- Just looking at my lawn, she said.

- Oh yes, the lawn. Well I came here to...

- Isn´t it just beautiful! she interrupted me.

I shut my mouth. I looked around. Weeds, dandelions... Not at all the velvety green lawn like everyone else´s in the neighborhood.

- Beautiful...?

- Just look at those dandelions!

I did just that. Saw the lawn positively overtaken by them. They should be dug up with their roots and soon. I sure hoped my wife did not think I would do that too. Mowing the lawn would have to do for today.

- Now dandelion sure is a symbol for happiness! she smiled.

- I´m not sure I follow... I stammered, - A dandelion as a symbol for happiness?

- Look at that bright beautiful yellow color! If that isn´t a happy cheerful color, I don´t know what is! And it spreads just like happiness.

She laughed at my expression.

- I know, you think I´m batty. But just think about it! If you are really happy, you do good things that bring joy to the people around you. And once they get happy, they do the same. And so the happiness spreads. Just like a dandelion. It blooms, sharing its shiny sunny color with everyone and sends its seeds into the wind - and before you know it, you have a hundred copies of the sunny little flower around you.

- But it is a weed... I tried.

- A weed, that´s funny. I´ve been sitting here for a while now, watching everyone work on their garden. And I mean work. It dose'nt look very joyful - just working to make you lawn look short and thick and green. You know I never see any of the neighbors sit and just look at their beautiful lawn. They just work on it and don´t enjoy it.

Well she sure got that one right. I never heard anyone talk about their lawn unless it was to complain how much work it was.

- Everyone seems to be complaining about how stressful life is, she said.

And then she said the thing I wrote down once I got home. I still write it on the first page of all my calendars when the new year begins, and glue a little picture of a dandelion next to it.

- What a bad day, they say. And I look at the dandelions and see a thousand little suns.