I don't know what this blog is really about, two things mostly:
1. Happiness
2. Helping save the world (yes, I am going to tell you how to do it)
Passion. Every time I see or speak that word, I can't help to go back to my earlier days when I would spend my Friday nights with my friends, drinking a fine beverage known as Purple Passion. I don't even remember what it tastes like, but I do remember loving the name. I am a passionate person. Maybe dramatic is more like it. When I discover something I believe in, or that gives me purpose, I run with it like Forrest Gump runs with the football. That is also my problem, I am always running. It's like the QB passes me the ball, I take it 10 yards to save the puppies, then cut up the middle 5 yds and save the babies in Africa, then run down the sideline to help make sure all of Gods people have equal rights, until I get forced out of bounds. 1st down though...go me!! There are SO many things I am passionate about, it is filling every crevice of my life.
Do these things make me happy? Am I filling a void? I don't know. I have struggled with what happiness is all of my life. When I was a little girl, my idea of happiness was always to get married and live on a farm. Not a real farm though, like one of those Little People toy farms where there isn't any dirt or poop. Everything is just really pretty and the IDEA of having cows and chickens and fresh vegetables is the dream. In reality, farms are dirty, hard work, and you have to get up at stupid o'clock just to make it all work right.
Then, my idea of happiness changed as I became a woman. It was all about this: IF or WHEN I am skinny, pretty, and popular, then I will be happy. IF or WHEN I have the car of my dreams, it will make me super hot and everyone will love me, THEN I will be happy. WHEN I lose just 10 more pounds, I will be acceptable to society and then , someone will want to be with me. Oh wait, I need to color my hair, get some acrylic nails, maybe change the color of my eyes because Cosmo says brown eyes are sexy, mine are NOT brown!! No one will ever want me now! I must also go get a tan because tan people look thinner and it hides jiggle. Man, I am gonna be so busy, but once I do all of these things, I am gonna be SOOOO happy!!!
Fast forward 10 yrs.....I pretty much accomplished all of those things. Ask me if I was happy. Go ahead. I was tired, tan, skinny, wealthy, starving, scared, angry, vulnerable and drove a kick ass car. Did you see happy in that sentence anywhere??? Nope, no happy. Now, let me be clear...I am not saying I was miserable with my life, or the people in it, that wasn't it. I was not happy inside. I was looking and searching for this idea of FEELING happy. But I was not happy inside. It was internal, not external. I had no passion, no purpose.
The day I decided to stop looking outward for happiness, and start with the person standing in the mirror, was the first day of true happiness. Have you ever spent a day with yourself? It is weird. I mean really spent time with you. Not watching TV, surfing the web, or cleaning. I mean sitting alone and having a meet and greet with you. Try it....but do not invite wine into the day, or you will end up driving through McDonald's in your pajamas sans brassiere asking for a Whopper. Long story.
OK, let's get back to the point of this post. Do you want to be happy? Happier? Happiest??
You need to find you purpose. If you can't find your purpose, then you need to find your passion (thank you Rev. TD Jakes). When you find your passion, then you will collide with your purpose. It doesn't mean this is a job people. Many of us have a purpose in life that has NOTHING to do with how we make our living. Think about the 5 people closest to you. I bet you can identify a passion, purpose, skill, talent, whatever you want to call it. We all have it. My best friend has a passion for running, and it inspires her, she also has a purpose of living a grateful life. I see that in her shine through to other people, me especially. I am sure I have worn her out with giving me spiritual advice.
I have family members who could stitch you a prom dress in an hour, knit you an entire outfit, cook you a gourmet meal, and re wire your house in one afternoon. They have passion, purpose. When you find that, you will find your happy. And when you find your happy, THEN everything else falls into place. YOU will always have YOU. So guess what folks, you better start learning to put up with yourself!! When you can do that, you attract all the happy in the world into your world. Maybe you will notice the leaves on the trees as you walk into work, or how beautiful the clouds can be.
Here is the part two: Save the world.
It starts with you, and no one else. "You can't help everyone, but you can help someone. Reach out and be kind to another soul and start the ripple" I don't know who said that, but I posted it on my page the other day. It is so true. We need to just be kind to one another, and then they will feel the ripple effect of our kindness, and it will pass onto the next person, and then, kindness will take over the world! People who do harm to others do it because they have something missing. Maybe no one was very kind to them, so they do not know how to be kind back. All they know is pain and suffering, so they exude that to others. Let's put an end to that. Pay it forward? I have experienced and given my pay it forward moments folks, it works. You get back what you give. What are you giving?
Now, here is where the two tie together, stop looking to the outside for your happy. Look inside. Find your happiness in a hobby, daydream, animal, children, Jesus, basketball, WHATEVER. I can promise you this, it will NEVER be found in the cosmetic aisle at Target. When you find your happy, let others have some of it. They will share it with even more people, do good things, and the ripple effect will begin. And then no more government shutdowns, because everyone will be all like, Oh , hey man, we don't want anyone to suffer, and the parks are way too beautiful to shut down, so we need to make a deal.
That is how I see it, anyway.
Thanks for reading,
Amber
