https://www.happyherald.com/articles.sec-8488-1-from-the-editor.html Tina was an award-winning photographer for weddings, events, people, and our favorite, PETS! She was passionate about animals, literally saved thousands of animals’ lives, and loved to raise butterflies and set them free.]]> I wrote my first newspaper column in Happy Herald in 1995. At the time it was called The Happy Times Monthly, and later we changed the name to Happy Herald because people got us confused with High Times Magazine.]]> For the past couple of Decembers, I’ve created a lot of spaciousness and slowness for myself. It’s a beautiful way to wind down the year and reflect on my life.The holiday season can be a rushed affair for many people, but it doesn’t have to be. I’d like to share a few ideas about slowing things down for the holidays.]]> Many days, I try to humble myself and hold a two-minute gratitude session. I simply sit with no distractions, close my eyes, and think about what I’m grateful for and who I’m grateful for.]]> So many of our difficulties can be entangled with our sense of self-worth – from whether we take care of ourselves with good habits, to how we are in relationships, to how much confidence we have at work. ]]> “You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head of how much time has already gone by. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last.”]]> Bored or lonely Nothing in the basic reality of life makes us feel these things. It’s our stories about our reality that create the feelings. Let’s look at how this works in our lives, and how we can use the power of story to change everything we want to change.]]> I’ve found nearly all of us make things harder and more complicated, by adding a mental layer of difficulty. We make simple things complicated:]]> Sometimes, our heads won’t stop thinking about something. Our thoughts will spin around and around, not willing to let go, obsessing. It might be about another person, a big event coming up, or about ourselves. It might be overthinking a decision, big or small.]]> If you’re a hyper-parent, you might not even know it – parents tend to be in denial about that sort of thing. But if you are, you might want to learn to relax – for your kids’ sake, and for yours.]]> So many of us feel a scarcity of time: we feel rushed, like there’s not enough time to do everything, always behind, never feeling like we’re doing enough.]]> This never-ending situation hasn’t been the best mental health environment for many people – it has created raised levels of uncertainty, anxiety, loneliness, unhappiness, procrastination and feelings of dreariness for large numbers of people. That’s understandable, and I feel tremendous compassion for everyone who is suffering right now. I strongly believe this is an opportunity for us all, to use this difficult environment to shift something for ourselves. ]]> The way we view life is usually invisible to us, and yet it is probably the most powerful thing in our lives. For example, one person might hear the words of another and feel incredibly hurt, stressed and angry, and it ruins the entire week. While another person might hear the same words and feel compassion and love for the person.]]> We are entering the New Year and it can be traumatic, thinking of all the shopping, fantastic as well as crazy family gatherings, money spent, and the many gatherings of the prior month – OR it can be a simpler, more mindful period of closing out the year and getting ready for the coming year.]]> Christmas and surrounding holidays are pretty merry holidays, and for many it’s a time to count their blessings. However there are many who go through these holidays without family, without anyone perhaps, and that can be extremely rough.]]> It’s funny to have two days with such opposing spirits come back-to-back in our calendars here in the U.S.: Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. One is about being thankful for what you have, and the other is about getting more of what you don’t have.]]> “Just because life is full of craziness doesn’t mean you must go crazy. You can experience outer chaos and still find inner peace. Nothing even needs to change outside of you for you to find calm inside of you.]]> As I’ve been diving into my bucket list, I’ve been introduced to some key ideas for training ourselves. It’s time to shift our habits, as well as the patterns that get in the way of our meaningful work.]]> Have you said thank you to someone to show how grateful you are for them today? It’s such a small thing, but it can have a huge impact on your life and the life of that person. Find little ways to incorporate gratitude in your life, and you’ll be much happier, and make the people around you much happier as well.]]> Okay, so the title was an attention-grabber, I’ll admit eating healthier meals won’t necessarily make you sexier. But that’s because most of you are as sexy as possible already. Still, eating a healthy diet packed with plants, fiber and nutrition is great for your health.]]>