Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Thursday, July 7, 2011
A Secret to Happiness
 Cynthia Sue Larson |
- Mahatma Gandhi
When I spent one delightful childhood summer with my grandmother, she offered to make an angel food cake for my sister and me. We loved most any kind of cake, and were delighted to see such a marvelous project underway, as our grandmother whipped up some egg whites, added flour, eggs, vanilla, and a dash of salt. I gazed with wonder as she poured the heavenly smelling batter into a very special cake pan with raised sides... and gasped as she picked the pan up by its breakaway bottom... allowing all the batter to gush down her arm.
I'll never forget what happened next, as it was most remarkable to me... in this moment of cake disaster, my grandmother laughed and said, "Oh, Fiddlesticks!" I gawked in astonishment at her remarkably laid-back response to a serious culinary setback... wondering how she could find or feel any happiness in such a terrible moment.
 |
My grandmother was a marvelous spiritual life coach long before life coaches were popular, and she showed me an amazing secret to happiness... something so simple almost anyone can learn to do it! Please watch this short video to find out how you can make use of this simple concept, finding happiness almost any time, anywhere:
My grandmother often talked with me about God, angels, and paying attention to signs, symbols and dreams, so I knew she was a very spiritual person... but until the moment of the angel food cake disaster, I had not known just how thoroughly she could personify such spiritual qualities as acceptance, forgiveness, love, and joy.
At a time when we hear more and more about things like the Happiness Index and Gross National Happiness, it's not necessary to pack up and move to whatever place is supposedly the happiest on Earth. We can make a positive difference in the world when we start making changes in every aspect of our lives right here, right now.
Remember to ask "How good can it get... when I choose happiness?" in every situation, especially ones where you can benefit from seeing a bigger picture.
Love always,
Cynthia Sue Larson
email Cynthia at cynthia@realityshifters.com
| Let’s Connect    |
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Happiness, Freedom, and the 4th of July
When I was a young grade school girl, my family and I often embarked upon summer travels that sometimes began a bit before school officially ended, and often extended for months, spanning most of the summer. I was often overseas for America's Independence Day celebration on the 4th of July, in places with little electricity or modern conveniences, as my parents had chosen these destinations so we could experience ways of life very different from our own.
Usually we'd visit places where Americans were not despised, but on one memorable occasion we found ourselves re-routed to a destination we'd not planned to visit in an Ivory Coast town in the early 1970s, where anti-American signs were being waved by protesters on the street just outside our hotel. We were cautioned by the hotel management to remain inside the hotel, as it was unsafe for Americans to walk outside... and we were placed under a benevolent form of "house arrest," to ensure our safety for the duration of our unexpected detainment there. "Why do they hate us so much?" I remember asking my parents, as we gazed down at the throng of people below. "They don't hate us, they hate what our country has done," they explained. While I was too young at that time to understand why people would have such strong political feelings, I could feel the passion they felt to express their views... and it occurred to me that such passionate conviction was quite similar to the spark upon which the United States of America was originally founded when it declared itself independent just two centuries before.
On this 4th of July Independence Day holiday, most Americans enjoy freedoms and liberties often taken for granted, which were outlined very clearly in the Declaration of Independence. I was surprised to read this historic document this week and discover a remarkable fact:
[FACT]: The word "Happiness" occurs not once,
but twice in the Declaration of
Independence!
The first time happiness is mentioned, it's in the rather more well-known sentence that includes Life and Liberty:
So on this Independence Day weekend I'll ask you a question my mother often asked me when I was growing up:
When I was a young grade school girl, my family and I often embarked upon summer travels that sometimes began a bit before school officially ended, and often extended for months, spanning most of the summer. I was often overseas for America's Independence Day celebration on the 4th of July, in places with little electricity or modern conveniences, as my parents had chosen these destinations so we could experience ways of life very different from our own.
Usually we'd visit places where Americans were not despised, but on one memorable occasion we found ourselves re-routed to a destination we'd not planned to visit in an Ivory Coast town in the early 1970s, where anti-American signs were being waved by protesters on the street just outside our hotel. We were cautioned by the hotel management to remain inside the hotel, as it was unsafe for Americans to walk outside... and we were placed under a benevolent form of "house arrest," to ensure our safety for the duration of our unexpected detainment there. "Why do they hate us so much?" I remember asking my parents, as we gazed down at the throng of people below. "They don't hate us, they hate what our country has done," they explained. While I was too young at that time to understand why people would have such strong political feelings, I could feel the passion they felt to express their views... and it occurred to me that such passionate conviction was quite similar to the spark upon which the United States of America was originally founded when it declared itself independent just two centuries before.
On this 4th of July Independence Day holiday, most Americans enjoy freedoms and liberties often taken for granted, which were outlined very clearly in the Declaration of Independence. I was surprised to read this historic document this week and discover a remarkable fact:
[FACT]: The word "Happiness" occurs not once,
but twice in the Declaration of
Independence!
The first time happiness is mentioned, it's in the rather more well-known sentence that includes Life and Liberty:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."This paragraph then continues on... and mentions happiness again, this time along with Safety:
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."The significance of Happiness being included twice in the 1,337 words of the Declaration of Independence is that it was considered by America's founding fathers to be of paramount importance to America's citizens. Happiness was considered on par with and equally important as: Life, Liberty, and Safety... and of these, only Happiness was mentioned twice!
So on this Independence Day weekend I'll ask you a question my mother often asked me when I was growing up:
"What would make you truly happy?"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)