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Posts tagged ‘Fun’

Nov 6

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Like a Kid

“Just imagine becoming the way you used to be as a very young child, before you understood the meaning of any word, before opinions took over your mind. The real you is loving, joyful, and free. The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.” – Miguel Angel Ruiz

On the way out of dinner with the running group last night, we stopped at the game where you use a crane to win a stuffed animal. When we pass those machines, our first thoughts are “you never win” or “that’s for kids.” Well, we won five out of six times and we were giggling like kids.

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Next time you pass one of those machines, drop in a dollar. Or drop a few quarters in the bubble gum machine. It’s pretty easy and more than alright to feel like a kid again. Unravel your complicated life if only for a moment. Dare to have fun, play and laugh every day. Pretty simple.

Oct 11

5 Comments

Silly Hats

“I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!” – Theodore Roosevelt

I gave my niece Emily a silly hat as a little gift for running me in at the marathon last week. I thought it was fun but I wasn’t sure if she’d actually wear it. She was very excited and in her sage wisdom said she’d wear it everywhere now that she doesn’t care what other people think.

It takes some of us many years to get to that point, some never do. Instead of unfolding and blossoming into who we are, we hide and keep true self to ourselves. Pleasing others, making decisions from the outside instead of inside. The sooner we become at ease with ourselves, the sooner we can live a good life being the person we are born to be. Acceptance is a beautiful gift.

Be yourself, unencumbered and unafraid. Let go of expectations and judgment on yourself and others and release your true self to the world, silly hats and all.

“If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

“If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Mar 8

2 Comments

Party Hat

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anais Nin

We celebrated Lily’s fourth birthday this morning with a run with friends. The party hats didn’t make it too long on the dogs, but the rest of us wore our hats for the entire run. We got a few strange looks but when we explained we were celebrating a dog’s birthday, it made all the sense in the world.

“Enthusiasm moves the world.” – Arthur Balfour

“Enthusiasm moves the world.” – Arthur Balfour

Friends wear silly hats, sing “Happy Birthday” in the parking lot and know how to make fun of a run together. In a hectic and often unkind world, we can create our own celebrations and moments every day. We have so much more than we often recognize. Today, I am grateful for Lily and Molly and good friends that make life fun, silly and deeply meaningful all at once.

Today’s a new day. Get your party hat on!

Aug 3

4 Comments

Plop

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” – Guillaume Apollinaire

A few miles in to our daily run or our walk to visit the neighborhood chickens, Lily strays off the path to plop in a patch of grass for a momentary rest. Molly patiently waits by her side until she’s ready to move on. They take in the moment. The moment is enough.

Pause each day and plop long enough to rest, reflect and ready yourself for those next steps. Accept and appreciate the joy to be found in each moment.

“The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach

“The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach

“Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies.” – Erich Fromm

Jan 27

7 Comments

A New View

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” – J. B. Priestley

“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” - Dr. Seuss

“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” – Dr. Seuss

Search for delight this week. Pull the weeds of anxiety that you plant in your thoughts. “Schedule” some fun into each day, lighten up and put that smile to work. A new week, a new view.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!” – Dr. Seuss

Jan 19

9 Comments

Make Your Day

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney

Take your day back. Slow down. Play. Explore. Discover. Have fun. All right in the middle of daily pressures and deadlines, many self-imposed. Put your heart and time into what’s truly important. We too easily surrender control of our day. Transform the noise of busyness into music of meaning. Molly and Lily remind me everyday to lighten up, party a little, laugh alot and keep buying toys they can shred. Now go make your day, your tomorrow, your life.

Jan 1

6 Comments

Make Your New Year Happy

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”  – Mahatma Gandhi

Life unfolds a step at a time. Only make resolutions that you are serious about and go get them, a step at a time. Always getting back up when we fall short. This year, this day, we have the power to create our happiness, to achieve our purpose and potential.

A few resolutions on my list:

No complaining, assume the good in all.
Health and well being – Insanity workout (4 days in, ouch), quiet, contemplation.
Give more than I receive, knowing I will receive more than I give.
Second marathon.
Be mindful and grateful for the many gifts I have been given and to recognize what is to come.
Slow down and savor.
Quality time with family and friends, appreciating each memory created.

Molly and Lily’s resolutions:

Play.
Keep having fun.
Run everyday.
Keep me laughing.
Play some more.

“Fun is good.” - Dr. Seuss

“Fun is good.” – Dr. Seuss

Dec 12

10 Comments

Choose Happy

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” – Earl Nightingale

“The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.” – Isaac Asimov

“The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.” – Isaac Asimov

Dec 9

2 Comments

Just for Fun

“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.” – Heraclitus

“Life must be lived as play.” - Plato

“Life must be lived as play.” – Plato

The first real snow brings heavy thoughts of shoveling, slow travel, shoveling again and being stuck in the house. Watching Lily and Molly wrestle in the fresh snow today and hopping through the drifts brought me back to the pure joy of being a kid again.

Building snow forts, sledding down dead man’s hill again and again, ice skating at the playground for hours. No complaining, just fun and frolic, delighting in the simple. So as a new week starts, be as light as the snowflakes floating in the air instead of the heavy pile at the end of the driveway that’s left by the snowplow right after you finish shoveling.

Lighten up, just for fun.

Nov 29

4 Comments

Spend It All

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.” – Erma Bombeck

Invest your time, talent, creativity and passion in people and activities that matter. Build others first, and you will build yourself even more. Spend yourself, all of you on what’s right and true. Taste the sweetness of life. Share, laugh, work hard, play harder, carry others when they can’t, let them go when they can. Take the training wheels off and ride full speed ahead. Put your party hat on and celebrate this day.

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