Category Archives: happiness

Carpe Diem

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Yesterday was my first day off in a couple of weeks.  My house is covered in dog hair, my laundry is slowly crawling across my bedroom floor looking for a means of escape and the collection dirty dishes is beginning to outweigh the number of clean dishes, but yesterday I didn’t care.

Being able to leave those chores behind is something I am unaccustomed to – I like having a clean, orderly house and it bothers me when things go unattended.  After having worked a copious amount of hours over the last two weeks I wanted nothing more than to restore some order under my roof, but that didn’t happen.

I hit the driving range in the morning and soaked up some sunshine in the process.  And then something even better happened.  I was invited out for a boat ride, something I haven’t done in over a decade even though my town is surrounded by three lakes!  It was glorious and possibly the best thing about being in the open air and catching some more rays is the fact that I didn’t let my mind become consumed by thoughts of the jobs that were waiting for me at home.

The boat ride was fantastic.  We cruised around the lake, had a few cocktails (if the police are reading this, they were actually Ginger Ale) and pushed the throttle forward to make the last few minutes of the ride home a little quicker.  I was like a dog holding its head out the car window, minus the tongue hanging out.  My feet were firmly planted on the floor, two hands clutching the windshield and air rushing towards my face at great speed.

The boat ride turned into a great dinner with lots of laughs and when I returned home I didn’t even notice the dishes that await my attention.  Instead of being lost in mundane tasks, I allowed myself the opportunity to seize the day, to make great memories and enjoy life rather than letting my life control me.

Today I am playing my first round of golf in two years.  The dishes will still be here when I return and the laundry will continue to tie itself together to create an escape ladder, but I have given myself the nod of approval to seize yet another day.  I’m going to add a little more life to my life and enjoy every minute of it.  Perhaps the dish fairy will arrive in the interim and surprise me with clean dishes but even if they are still in the same place on the counter, I don’t care.  This day is mine!

carpe_diem_by_markfellows

Carpe diem – seize the day!!

Reach out and touch someone

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For those of us old enough to remember, this was a slogan for AT&T that was coined in 1979.  It simply encouraged people to pick up the phone and call their friends and family, to reach out to those who meant the most to them.

As I was driving to work this morning I was thinking about all of the great friends I have that I never get to see, or talk to, during the busy summer months.   For me, working in the hospitality business is great.  There is an influx of people with a myriad of personalities that make each and every day a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment.  But at the end of my shift, as I ease my wearied bones into my car, the cacophonous thunder of voices that surrounds me during the day is quieted.  I am soothed by the sounds of silence and the last thing I want to do is go out to a noisy bar or add to the number of hours I have acquired on the phone during the day.

I lose touch with those familiar voices for a few months, but instead of wondering why my list of recent calls never displays their number, I get it. They, like me, see countless people day in and day out and, after a long day at work, want only the dulcet harmonies of nature to fall on their ears and nothing more.

reach-out

(image credit: telephone.com)

The madness of summer is now a distant speck through the rear-view mirror.  As we forge ahead into fall, the friends that I have not seen begin to come out of their hibernation and we slowly assimilate to life as we remember it.   This morning I came out of my cave, yawned and stretched and went in search of the sustenance that my friends provide.  I reached out, touched someone and reconnected with those voices from my not-so-distant past.  Soon the wine will be opened and those soothing voices I have longed to hear will once again infuse themselves into my reality.

Throwing Rocks at Airplanes

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A good friend of mine posted this line on her Facebook a while ago and, although I thought it odd at the time, it seemed like an interesting title for a post.  I had absolutely no idea where I would go with it but figured something would strike me – and it did.

It seemed like such a bizarre thing to do, throwing rocks at airplanes (and I’m sure she probably did it), but then I realized we all need that crazy outlet – an activity that nobody else would understand, yet would make us revel in that childhood delight that makes us feel silly.  So often we get lost in the grind of day-to-day life, going to work, paying the bills and just being an adult, that we forget that there is a child inside us that still needs to occasionally thrive.

There are moments that you just feel like doing something frivolous and absolutely meaningless. In the chaotic scheme of our existence, spare time is fleeting.  We need to take that moment for ourselves and just – live.  Breathe in the essence of that younger version of ourselves and do something completely inane.

An activity that is profoundly useless allows us that break from reality.  It may not happen on a regular basis but, if given the opportunity, spend that time doing something inconsequential and completely idiotic.  There are many idioms for this very practice – dawdling, killing time, hanging around – but not many people feel that they can give themselves permission to have a moment of lunacy for absolutely no reason at all.  It may be exactly what the doctor ordered.

If you live somewhere that is still engaged in mid-winter, make a snow angel.  If you are in a warmer climate, jump in a puddle of rainwater.  Whatever it is that will satiate that moment of recklessness, grab onto it and don’t let go.  Ride that wave of memories from your youth and hold on for dear life.  When you allow yourself that brief moment of freedom, throwing rocks at airplanes may not seem so silly after all.

The blessing of blogging

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I had a voice message yesterday on my phone that was overwhelmingly special.  A dear friend who has been struggling with some health issues left a message for me that brought tears to my eyes and I listened to it a few times because it was so sweet.  She had been having a bad day and, without getting into detail, she was directed to my blog and phoned to tell me how much she loves what I write.  She has been a follower for a while, but for some reason she was drawn to it yesterday and called to tell me how much it means to her to read what I have written and how my words seem to mirror her own.

During those times that I am consumed with words, when I am overcome with the desire to write, I never really take the time to consider how my writing can affect other people.  I’ve always written to free the ideas but never thought about how those ideas are absorbed on the other side of this blogosphere.  It was really heart-warming to get that message and realize that words convey many messages to many people.

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Linda, thank you for your message.  I hope God hears all of your words, and the ones I added in, and I hope the sun shines on your beautiful face for a very long time.  xo

Turning left

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From mid-June to Labor Day weekend, for all intents and purposes, I live in a city.  Our dormant, sleepy town of 1000 grows exponentially with the summer residents who flock to Muskoka and our numbers burst at the seams sometimes feeling like 50,000 residents.  Unfortunately, unlike a city, we are not blessed with more than one lane of traffic in each direction so something as simple as turning left onto the main street is most often unforgiving and arguably frustrating.

To keep up with the non-stop stream of unfamiliar faces, local stores expand their business hours to keep up with the ever-increasing population.  Faces I recognize can only be found shopping for groceries after 9:00 pm long after the collective band of tourists have closed themselves behind their expensive doors for the night.

I wrote a post about how life changes in our little gem of a town but yesterday my world regained some semblance of normal.  Yesterday I drove away from work knowing that my drive home was going to be different.  My car meandered through the canopy of trees that mark my way home and when I got to the end of the road something magical happened.  The echo of my car signal bounced through the car as I looked left and right and saw nothing.  There was no waiting, only foot to the gas, the easing out of the clutch and a seamless entry onto the main street.  I felt my demeanor change instantly because I knew we had survived another summer.

empty streets

(image credit: margaretperry.org)

As I drove through town I looked at the lakes on either side of the bridge.  There was no congestion on the lakes or a myriad of boats fighting for docking space.  I’m sure if I stepped out of my car there would only be the distant hum of a lone engine or two.  Peace had swallowed our town and digested any remnants of the craziness from the last two months.  The silence will be short, however, as the masses will return for weekends until Thanksgiving, but, until then, locals can finally have a chance to regroup, to de-stress and to enjoy the sounds of nature that have evaded us for two months.

The lazy, hazy days of summer

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The first of September is tomorrow which can only signify one thing – summer is coming to a close and the long weekend has arrived.  I find sad irony in the term long weekend – the only people who truly find it long are the people who work on those weekends.  For the people who reap the benefit of being able to enjoy that three-day holiday, the time sails by and the weekend seems much shorter than it should.

I am one of those people who works the whole weekend, but at the end of that three-day craziness lies the light at the end of my sanity tunnel.  The days that travel by in a whirlwind slow their pace and I can reconnect with the long-lost principle of spare time.   The thing I honestly miss the most are the hours that are set aside for writing and reading blogs.  I feel a part of me has been missing and I feel a strained connection with my blogging friends.

In a few short days (who’s counting?  Oh, right….I am) I will be able to snuggle up on the couch, wine in hand, and lose myself in the words that have eluded me over the past few months.  I miss the humor, I miss the satire and I just miss the words.

I apologize to all of you who are enjoying your long weekend, but bring on Tuesday!!

Our senses

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We are a species of senses.  We rely on sight, touch, taste, sound and smell to allow our perceptions to travel to our brain where they are realized and understood.  And when we see something that we find pleasing to the eye we are immediately captured by the look of it.  Whether it be a piece of art, the car of your dreams, a stunning photograph or the look of another person, our brain reacts to the ocular stimulation and we become mesmerized by the vision.

More often than not we become so focused on the things that are evident to the naked eye that we forget to take into account the sense that our heart feels when it is equally captured by something.  It is simple to covet things we see –  a random object that catches our attention and we want so badly to have it for our very own.  But the things that catch your eye can be deceiving – they can change over time and ultimately hold none of the rapture that they once did.

The things that capture your heart are worth a million of the trinkets that once held your visual attention.  Life is about passion and harnessing that ebb and flow of energy that makes our hearts full.  By pursuing the things that truly capture your heart you are embracing the genuine happiness you feel when you follow that intense feeling.

Believe in that passion, whatever it may be, and know that the special things that capture your heart are well worth the effort to pursue.  We get one chance at this life.  Never forget that the five senses will create lasting memories but make this life the best you can by trusting your gut and following your true passions.

State of mind

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I am in a very zen state right now.  I’ve just come back from having a Hot Stone Massage and the tension that used to ride shotgun on my shoulders has dissipated to nothingness.  Although the August temperature is a mere 15 degrees, my body feels warm and I can feel the blood coursing through my newly relaxed muscles.  I am gelatin.

I had a blog post in mind when I left my house but the words have just fallen away.   I have a writing deadline looming, but I cannot conjure the idioms that are required to complete the task.  And the most glorious thing is – at this precise moment I don’t care.  I want to bask in this feeling of nothingness.  I want to close the laptop and absorb the sounds of nature that soothe and enhance this suspension of reality.

The wine is poured, the windows are open and I am on a journey to seek nothing.

Putting the driving back in my driving

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I have a new hero.  He doesn’t wear a cape, nor can he leap tall buildings in a single bound (at least not that I’ve seen).  He works at the Honda dealership I have been frequenting for many years and, each time I want to start shopping for a new car, he is always there to welcome me with a smile and a hug.

With my mother’s recent illness, we have been saddled with car payments for a car she was unable to drive.  My Uncle has been using the car and helping with the payment but the car was a giant noose around our necks and we had tried almost everything possible to sell it or get out of the lease.  Almost everything.  A random call to my hero last week put the wheels in motion, pardon the pun, and in 5 short days we traded in my vehicle as well as my mom’s car and I drove off the lot in a 2013 Civic with manual transmission.

I have been driving a 5-speed since I was seventeen years old.  I live in a small town with no bumper-to-bumper traffic so driving a stick-shift makes driving fun.  I wasn’t sure if I would stall heading off the lot yesterday but managing a clutch and shifting gears is just like riding a bicycle – it all came flooding back.

Thank you Peter Morrison for being the most caring and genuinely sweet people I have had the pleasure of doing business with.  And thanks for getting me into this!!

new car

Missing: one monkey

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The progression happened so slowly I could barely recognize the stages.  The large binding knot that continued to grow in my shoulder had begun to dissipate and unknowingly I was on my way to happiness again.

I have always been able to handle stress, on the outside, but inside my body was storing all of those tense moments and creating a winding path of pain and discomfort that made it difficult to sit or sleep comfortably.  It was a normal occurrence to wake with a headache and try my best to avoid taking pills to assuage the soreness at the base of my skull, but that monkey continued to sit on my back and weave the dull ache throughout my shoulder blades.

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(image credit: globeandmail.com)

Two months ago I made the decision to change jobs after almost twenty years of being part of a resort family.  It was a monumental decision for me but one I do not regret.  The monkey, however, may have other thoughts.  With the change of employment came a sense of relief for me and that monkey no longer had the string to weave whenever he wanted.  His hobby became non-existent and he made the climb down from my back to seek refuge on another back that gave him something to work with.

I wake these days rested and free from pain, without having to drown some pain relievers with my morning coffee.  The monkey no longer dictates how I feel or insinuates its opinion on my range of motion.  I feel free.  I feel happy and, although there is some stress involved in the new job, I will not be filing a missing persons report for the pint-sized primate.