Some beautiful music in celebration of Itzhak Pearlman

 It's the violinist, conductor and music teacher Itzhak Pearlman's birthday today and in celebration,  I thought I'd share this clip of him playing some lovely music with Yo Yo Ma. It made me feel at peace and I hope it has the same effect on others. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Comfort in help from friends

 "It is not so much our friends' help that helps us, as the confidence of their help." -Epicurus

 There really is something nice about simply knowing that when you're in need, there can be friends out there to help. For me, it's not so much about whether friends are there for me immediately or for sometime in the future, it's just a great comfort to know that they're accessible should I need something.  I've always enjoyed being there for people and working to help them makes me happy. So just as other people are there for me, I'm more than happy to be there for others. Wherever you're reading this, I hope you have friends in your life who you know are there for you, especially in times of need. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.  

How to have a better tomorrow

“You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” -Charles Kettering

Wherever you’re reading this, I hope that you can focus on the here and now and find many things in the present time that help you feel happier. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

May you always find peace

“He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goeth

Wherever you’re reading this, I hope you find peace in many places in your life and that you also have places where you feel most at home. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Sending best wishes

 I’m just writing to send everyone best wishes and much love now and always. 

Happy Firday

Happy Friday to everyone from me and all my Minions!!!

Challenge

 "There is nothing like challenge to bring out the best in man."-Sean Connery

I like the idea that challenges bring out the best in people. I've found that although there have been events/things in my life that have been difficult,  in some ways going through those difficulties has helped me to be better as a person. Wherever you're reading this, that you can look back at all the things you've gone through in your life and feel good that you've come a long way because of going through those experiences. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Beach fun

 Today I went to the beach with my Mum which was really fun. I've always liked the sea because for whatever reason it makes me feel peaceful. Wherever you're reading this, I hope you can go to places that make you feel most at peace. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Home

 I was just thinking about how it’s lovely being home. Wherever you’re reading this, I hope you always have places or people around you that make you feel at home. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

The key word is love

“Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.”-Ray Bradbury 

Even if writing isn’t your thing, wherever you’re reading this, I hope you can find things to do in life that you’re passionate about. I also hope you put a lot of love into doing things that you’re passionate about. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Good friends

 I was really happy today because my friend came to visit and it was really fun to laugh and talk with them. Plus, it was especially nice since I haven’t been able to see my friend in person for a long time. So it was an especially nice time. I hope that wherever you’re reading this, that you have many opportunities to visit friends. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Character

 “Character is a journey, not a destination.”-Ogden Nash

I like the idea that you can always build  on your character until it’s the best it can be. I hope wherever you’re reading this, that you do see character as something that can always be improved and that you continuously work towards improving it. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Sweet Pandas

 I saw this video of some pandas playing with and hugging a zookeeper that was feeding them. For whatever reason it made me smile so I decided to share it here in the hope that it brings some cheer to others. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always. 

The steps of eating ice cream

 I saw this really funny video that explains the various unique stages of eating ice cream according to  babies. The video made me laugh and so I had to share it here. I send everyone (especially those who like ice cream) best wishes and much love now and always.

Exciting things

 I was thinking today about how surprises, either big or small can be really nice sometimes and exciting. For example, today it was a surprise to me that I still had some frozen blueberries in my freezer. I rather like frozen blueberries because when you put them in your mouth it's like eating a very small popsicle that melts in your mouth. They're really good.  Anyway, wherever you're reading this, I hope that you have many happy surprises either big or small in your life. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always. 

Look back and smile

 "Look back and smile at perils passed"-Walter Scott

Wherever you're reading this, I hope you can look back on your past and feel good about the fact that you've gotten through many experiences, both positive and negative, and I hope you feel stronger because of having those experiences. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

The remedy for anger

 "The greatest remedy for anger is delay."-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

If and when I get angry I find that sometimes it does help to wait before I do something to act on that anger. Most of the time when I get angry, if I can find something else to do, then I forget why I'm angry and it feels better. I hope that wherever you are reading this that you don't allow anger to overcome you and that you find peace within yourself. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always. 

Embrace your weird

"Embrace your differences and the qualities about you that you think are weird. Eventually, they're going to be the only things separating you from everyone else."-Sebastian Stan

 I've always felt as though I was rather strange but after a while I think I have become more accepting of this because that strangeness has shaped part of what I've become and in some ways I think it's helped me to focus on the good things in myself and in other people. Wherever you're reading this, I hope you can embrace the strange things about you and see how those things shape who you are and love yourself more for those things. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always. 

On Watermelon

 I've always rather liked eating watermelon just because it makes me feel refreshed. It's nice to eat it cold in the summer and drink its juice. So I was really happy that I was able to have some watermelon today because the weather was hot today and it was nice to have something cool to eat. Anyway, I hope that wherever you are reading this, I hope you are feeling refreshed. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

An interesting experience

 So today I tried mixing coffee with hot chocolate and after drinking it I kinda felt like this guy in the clip below for most of this morning. It was um...an interesting learning experience! Wherever you are reading this, I hope have you have many experiences, especially good ones. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

 

 

 

Tango

 It's the actor Anthony Banderas's birthday and this makes me think of a movie he starred in, which was called Take The Lead where he plays a ballroom dance teacher at an inner city school. In one scene, as a way of getting his students to see that ballroom dancing can be cool, he surprises his students by dancing the tango for them with another professional dancer. I share the clip here because I think it's fun and dancing always makes me happy.I hope that wherever you're reading this, that you have many opportunities to dance in your life. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Good things in my day

 As I'm continuing to identify good things that happen in my day, here are some good things that happened in my life today.

• I was able to spend time with my Dad which is nice because I love him very much and he's currently visiting me.
• I went with my Dad to eat dinner at a restaurant I haven't been to in a long time. It was a restaurant that specializes in tapas and the food was very good.
• I started to de-clutter my apartment which was good because I feel more relaxed when things aren't cluttered and instead are in their rightful places.

Wherever you are reading this, I hope you were able to find many good things in your day as well. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

When one must

 “When one must one can.” -Charlotte Whitton

If there’s something you feel you need to do, especially if it helps other people, I hope you pursue that activity and never give up. I’m cheering for you and I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Love anyway

 “We love even when our love is not required.”-Mortimer Adler

To me, love is one of the nicest things to feel and give. Even if it’s not returned, I still find I feel better when I show love to others in my words and actions. Wherever you’re reading this, I hope you have many people in your life that you can love and that people love you in return. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

1440 opportunities

“In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a
positive impact.” -Les Brown

Wherever you’re reading this, I hope you can take as many minutes as possible to do things that help people. I also hope that each day brings you many opportunities to feel happy. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Directionally challenged

 It always puzzles me why people ask me for directions to go places. Since I have no sense of direction, if someone misguidedly asks me how to get somewhere I start by trying to tell them roughly where things are by the help of landmarks. For example, if I were to try to direct them to my apartment I'd tell them it's next to a supermarket and a gas station. If that instruction didn't help them find my apartment then (providing they have a smartphone)  I'd resort to instructing them in how to use their map app on their phone and hopefully that will empower the person to use said app to get to wherever it is they're going. I personally may not know where anything is direction-wise but I pride myself in my ability to instruct people on the finer points of using map apps! I send much love and best wishes to everyone, and most especially to directionally challenged people everywhere.

Some lovely music in celebration of Louis Armstrong

 The trumpeter and singer, Louis Armstrong was born today in 1901 and this fact makes me think of a song that I really like that he played and sang called "You Go To My Head".  It's not necessarily a happy song but for whatever reason, it does help me feel more at peace when I hear it. Wherever you are reading this, I hope you have many things in your life that give you peace. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

 

Baby laughter

 I saw this really sweet video of a baby laughing at a dog and I felt I had to share it here because it made me smile. I hope it has the same effect on others. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

A lovely garden

 Today I was able to go with my parents to see some lovely gardens at Michigan State University  by my parents’ house. It was rather nice to walk around the gardens because seeing flowers always makes me feel more cheerful. It was also really nice to be there with my parents as they know a lot more about flowers than I do so they were able to point out things about some of the plants that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. All in all it was a really nice outing. Wherever you’re reading this, I hope you have many opportunities in your life to see and enjoy many flowers and plants. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.

Finding things to enjoy

 "If you're able to enjoy something, to devote your life to it or a reasonable amount of energy, it will work out for you."-Jerry Garcia

I've found that when I found something to do that I enjoyed, even if it took work to do it, it didn't feel like work.  In some ways I've found that if I can find something to enjoy in doing difficult things, then they didn't seem so hard.  To all who read this, if there's something you're passionate about that you can do, especially if it can help other people too, I hope you pursue that activity. I send everyone best wishes and much love now and always.