Today’s post is a short one, because sometimes it can be refreshing to read just a little bit of something. Mostly, I wanted to share this picture of Amsterdam’s Red Light District with you. It was taken by a very dear friend of mine a couple of days ago… which means, she’s all the way over there (and I miss her).

This image reminded her of me, not because of the brothels and tawdry streets (I hope!) but because of the beautiful swans in the canal. It just shows that even in the ugliest and most unlikely places, there is always beauty to be found. We each choose what we want to focus on.

So try to spend today looking for the beauty in every little thing.

Posted in beauty, present moment, simplicity 4 Comments »

Recently I have been writing about my version of the hierarchy of needs: Just Be, Be Safe, Be Social, and Be Strong. Having met those lower level needs as simply as possible, we now have the luxury to explore the highest level, our need for lasting happiness and fulfillment: Be Happy! Yay!!!

There are a couple of things I like about viewing my needs as an inverted pyramid. One is that the biggest level, where I spend most of my time, is all about finding happiness. The other is that, since this is the top of a cone, there is no upper limit. I can spend the rest of my life stacking “scoops” of happiness on top. If you knew how much I love ice cream, you’d understand why this analogy makes me happy.

Posted in balance, happiness, inner peace, needs 9 Comments »

The fourth level of my version of the hierarchy of needs is: Be Strong. I wrote about the previous three levels here: Just Be, Be Safe, and Be Social.

Once we get to this level, we are no longer concerned about survival necessities, or finding others to connect with. Now we begin to turn inward and assess how far we have come on our journey. This includes concepts like self-esteem and confidence, achievement and success, and respect of and by others. Let’s look at each a little closer.

Self-Esteem & Confidence

All of us start off with some degree of insecurities, guilt and shame. There are all sorts of reasons for this, but you could spend a lifetime trying to isolate and analyze those reasons, without getting any closer to happiness. What does matter is that we acknowledge these feelings so we can get past them.

Posted in choices, happiness, needs 8 Comments »