Find Joy
JOY ~ Journey of You April 2, 2010 |
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Past joy droppings feed the soul.
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"C'mon, get happy..."
Happiness is not a feeling; it's a way of being. If we base our happiness on external circumstances, it will always be a fleeting thing. Life presents challenges; that, my dears, will never change. So happiness needs to be based on your internal circumstances, because really, that is all you have control over.
And you do have control over your internal thoughts, believe it or not. I have learned so much over the past two years that can attest to that (and will learn more this coming year as I partake of the Humor Academy program through AATH.)
The beauty is that happiness is a skill that can be learned. There are strategies and tools to use to learn how to become happier. When applied and practiced, happiness becomes a way of life.
Happy may not happen overnight. It's a process. When I worked at the IRS, I assumed life was nothing but a monotonous routine of work, housework, marriage work, etc etc etc. I didn't know any better. Now I do, and I want to spread the word: You CAN BE happy!
I now work from home with a career that I love, and starting today, I have cleaning ladies. (That's a story for next week.) Life still throws its curveballs. Having a 20-year marriage come undone was indeed a "happiness challenge," but both he and I have come through it with our happiness intact.
With the resources at AATH (Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor) and AHA (American Happiness Association), what I have learned in my own life, and the gift of wit and words, my business has evolved to be all about joy. Do you think I could have predicted that even five years ago?!
My point (and I do have one) is never give up. If you think that life sucks and you are just not cut out to be a happy person, I beg to differ. Stick around. The best is yet to come.
Words to Ponder~
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
~Marianne Williamson |
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| Lyrics to love |
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It's only words,
and words all I have to take your heart away
Check out the Brothers Gibb from 1968, before disco and before Barry grew facial hair. Spitting image of Andy Gibb, my first love. Sigh..........
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| Poetry is good for the soul |
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Put Something In
Draw a crazy picture.
Write a nutty poem.
Sing a mumble-gumble song.
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something in the world
That ain't been there before.
Shel Silverstein, from A Light in the Attic
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| Picks this week |
Book Pick - Oh, The Places You'll Go! Dr. Seuss
(When my firstborn was a baby, I had the whole thing memorized. Now all I can recall is the opening: Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to great places. You're off and away. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. (HINT: Choose happiness.)
Flick Pick - UP
(Normally I don't flickpick something that I have not viewed, but I've been told by many to rent this one; thanks, UBCWendyB, for the loan! Will watch this weekend.)
Your JOY assignment this week:
Do a loony-goony dance across your kitchen floor.
If you can get through this clip without a giggle, I tip my hat to you. Certainly belongs in the loony-goony category. |
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What brings me joy?
*Weather warm enough to wear the sparkly flip flops I bought in Ireland for one and a half euro.
*Getting cards and letters from people I don't even know (yep, just like a Rhinestone Cowboy)
*A clean condo
*The chandelier ornament hanging from my smartcar mirror
*Making protein shakes
*Making decisions and acting on them
*Making a living doing what I love
*Meeting happy people and soon-to-be happy people
*Touching a baby's skin (and not having to change diapers)
*Marble cake
*Cell phones, electricity, gas grills, Mister Clean magic erasers, magnets
*Billy Idol
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| Birthday Love |
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HAPPYHAPPYJOYJOY BIRTHDAY WISHES TO:
BECKY HOGAN
JOAN PFEIFER
CAROLYN POOLE
JACKIE TRESEMER
French Novelist Emile Zola who said:
"If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you:
I came to live out loud."
and
ANDREW EPPERSON-SWEET 16!
MY BABY is driving (If I'm still 26, how can my sons be 17 and 16 already....)
AND cake and ice creams wishes to
ALL who are celebrating this week
(or is that cavier wishes and champagne dreams?)
(Send in your birthday. Each month a name is drawn for a JOY prize delivered via snail mail.)
MARCH BIRTHDAY NAME DRAWN FROM THE LUCKYLUCKYLUCKY HAT:
ALEXANDRIA MUNGER
(Send me your snail mail address please and fun fabulous joy droppings are coming your way!
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| Inquiring Minds |
The question was....
Is your CD collection in alphabetical order?
You guys crack me up.
Some of you thought I was nuts.
Many of you do ABC order, and several were apologetic about it! No need to feel ashamed. It is GOOD to have a system. Some of you said by genre, by decades, and Gabrielle of New York gave me grin: as an abstract painter, and expressive arts facilitator/coach/therapist my cds are arranged by spine color. So all the black ones are together, all the different shades of green are together, etc. It isn't the most efficient way but it makes me happy when I walk by it 20 times a dayJ Yeah, it might take me 3,4, or 5 minutes to find my Zap Mama cd but so what.
and some of you reminded me just how old school I am: "CDs?? What are those?" and DivaJen of Chicago brought me into the here and now: "iTunes alphabetized my CD collection for me. My actual CD collection has been disassembled and stored in dusty CD books for at least 5 years."
The final survey - alpha order got the most votes. :) (My albums are in ABC order too. What brings me joy? Vinyl, needle, turntable. You spin me roundround baby, roundround, like a record, baby, round round round round....)
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW:
Who is your fave superhero?
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| Bored at work? |
Get a dead fly from the window sill and let those creative juices flow.....
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| Quote Junkie |
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The people who make a difference are not the ones with the credentials, but the ones with the concern.
--Max Lucado
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| Sage Advice |
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Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
--Winston Churchill |
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"I have learned that the greater part of
our misery or unhappiness is
determined not by our circumstance
but by our disposition."
- Martha Washington
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| Gigs |
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April 1 - Happiness Club
April 15-18 - Erma Bombeck Writer Workshop
April 19 - Christian Life Retirement Center Seniors - Living in JOY
April 21-25 - AATH Conference
Kelly's newspaper column - T� m� go hiontach - I am wonderful
Kelly's blog for healthyrockford.com - Go on a treasure hunt
LOTSA JOY:
May 6 - Shelter Care Annual Luncheon Keynote Speaker
May 8 - Garden Prairie UCC Mother-Daughter Tea
May 15 - AAUW Sorority Keynote
May 18 - Byron Women's Club Spring Luncheon
May 20 - Alpine Seniors - Living in JOY
May 21-23 Words in Play retreat, Sunapee NH
Upcoming Events that are open to ALL:
I love receiving invitations to do workshops, program presentations, and keynotes.
Now I am also inviting you to join me on the JOY Journey:
Writing & Creative Expression Workshops (dates TBA)
JOY Workshops (dates TBA)
JOY Retreats (dates TBA)
JOY Dance Party! (tentative Oct 1)
Joy: A Luncheon at Briggs Mansion (tentative Dec 2)
Weeklong Creative Expression/Joy Retreat, in ITALY, May 5 -12, 2011
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HAPPINESS CLUB
The inaugural meeting of the Happiness Club of Loves Park made history by being the first in Illinois. We filled the room to full capacity! Every month we will learn and discuss strategies for sustainable happiness. Some attendees are happy people, and some are searching for happiness.
There is a science of happiness and brain research to back up the practices we use to "train our brains" to be happy. There is an optimism center in the brain and if you don't use it, you lose it. One of the facts that I love: When we experience fear, a small part of our brain lights up. When we experience JOY, our WHOLE BRAIN lights up. The more we learn and practice joy, the better able we are to cope with stress and "the crappy stuff" of life.
Two TV stations showed up to help spread the word. Reporter Chip Brewster (I prefer to call him "TV Guy") has his link posted online already. Chip stayed with us for most of the meeting so he was in rush to get back to the station to edit his clips for air, and thus some names got mixed up. I mumbled some jibberish like a camera-fearing idiot (I've overcome my fear of public speaking: overcoming fear of TV cameras is next); but the name Deb Dietz was put under me as I was rambling. Sorry, Deb! You could have done a better job.
Words flow better from my brain when they can go through my heart, down my arms, and out my fingers as I type. Now that I am a speaker, I have greatly improved in articulation straight from brain to mouth, but throw in a TV camera and wow, my brain goes dead and my tongue swells. Goal for 2010: Be comfortable - and intelligent - on camera.
We are excited about the next meeting. Fun, informative, and worth 90 minutes of your time. Come on back, TV Guy. We're ready to roll now. :)
Thursday, May 6
6:30 pm (library needs us out by 8:30 pm)
North Suburban Library, 6340 N. Second St., Loves Park, IL |
| Word Nerd |
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Moxie (noun)
Pronunciation: ['mahk-see or -si]]
Definition: New England chutzpah, gumption, pluck, spirit, courage.
Usage: Moxie was originally a very bitter patent medicine, guaranteed to cure such ills as "loss of manhood, paralysis and softening of the brain," not to mention alcoholism. The primary ingredient was extract of gentian root. Another ingredient, wintergreen, was known as "moxie" from the Algonquin word maski- "medicine" and probably is the origin of the name.
Suggested Usage: "It takes a lot of moxie to challenge $5,000 worth of parking tickets at city hall."
Etymology: In 1884 Moxie was altered to take advantage of an upsurge in the popularity of soft drinks. Moxie quickly became the most successfully mass-marketed soft drink in the US until eclipsed by Coca-Cola in the 1930's. Although other brand names have become commonized (converted to common nouns, e.g. "aspirin," "escalator"), "moxie" is the only one we know that became a common noun used to refer to an attribute rather than to the product itself.
-Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com
I don't have the moxie to take on my Coca-Cola addiction. I'm not sure Coke can cure my loss of manhood, but prevention of softening of the brain would be welcome.
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| April Fools - Swiss Spaghetti Harvest, 1957
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| Did you know... |
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There are about 2 million sweat glands in the average human body.
(Uselessknowledge.com)
The next time someone tells me, "Don't sweat it," I'll pass on the sentiment to all my glands. I hope they listen. | |
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joyfully,
xxkelly
Want to learn more about humor/happiness/joy? ASK ME.
Want to go to AATH (Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor) conference in Anaheim in April? Visit aath.org or ask me.
Want to join/launch a Happiness Club in your area? Visit happinessclub.com or americanhappiness.org or ask me.
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| SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY JOY AND PASS IT ON
Spread the word! Let's build an army of JOY Spreaders! |
| parting shot....
You're a good egg!
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Kelly Epperson
kel_epperson@yahoo.com
PO Box 2324 Loves Park IL 61131
Member AATH - Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor
Member AHA - American Happiness Association
Member NSNC - National Society of Newspaper Columnists |
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| JOY |
New book, 365 Days of Joy, is in the works and coming soon. $20
(hmm, how long can I keep saying "soon"?) |
| When LIfe Stinks, It's Time to Wash the Gym Clothes (collection of newspaper columns) $10
Shirts ~C'est Bon and JOY*US $10 |
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