Day 6 Happiness

Today I gave with surprise.

I ran across an interesting quote by Michael Gates Gill from his book "How to Save Your Own Life".

"Happiness is not the absence of pain but accepting the pain as part of life that occurs at every age and every circumstance."

I realize that this is pretty much how it seems to me too. I feel truly happy these days, but that does not mean that I am not experiencing some painful circumstances in my life right now. I regained my footing when I stopped struggling against the pain and let it be okay. Through some mysterious transformative process I also let go of attachment to a particular outcome and my judgment around it. Well actually the process wasn't all that mysterious, but suddenly turning the corner and coming into the sunshine took me a little by surprise.

Gifts I gave:

- I was talking to my landscaper/gardener (who used to be a veterinarian and is a very cool lady!) this morning. She was commenting on her need for reliable help in her thriving business because she is having to turn away work. It suddenly struck me that another friend might be interested, so I mentioned it to her. She was delighted! I called my friend to see if he might be interested and he was! Landscape matchmaking! Never done that before. I have no idea if anything will come of it, but it sure seemed like a potential win-win to me.

- I made Elliott, who did in fact have to stay home from school today) a protein shake. His throat is so sore that he is miming things to me instead of talking. Kind of like playing charades.....

- I emailed some fun and inspirational stuff to friends and family.

- I picked up all the residual dog poops in my back yard before the aforementioned landscape gardener mowed my lawn with her ride-on mower. She assured me it was okay if missed some as she was used to mowing lawns that were similarly adorned. She said when people ask her why her complexion is so good, she tells them it's from the doggy doo-doo facials she gets regularly. So I, in fact, did not contribute to this particular beauty regimen.

Gifts I received:

- My yard got done today. Hooray!

Gifts I gave myself today:

- I had 3-4 cups of "ginger-peach" green tea throughout the day today. Relaxing. I seem to have stopped drinking coffee somewhat spontaneously about five days ago. It's not that I won't drink coffee again. I just stopped wanting it. Hmmm.

- I'm going to go lay down for a quick nap. I realize that because I live in Hawaii, by the time I post a blog at the end of a day, it's the middle of the night for everyone else. I'm posting early today because I'm really tired.

- I cleaned up the house "some" today. I've decided to pace myself and do a little each day instead of feeling like I have to tackle the whole thing at once. That's difficult for me. Moderation is not something I've mastered yet.

Blessings.