Perceptions are everything in life. How we perceive what is seen heard and felt, emotionally and physically. We should not be quick to judge. There are some situations that are not quite as they seem on the surface when we are on the outside looking in. We have to take a step back at times and assess the situation. If you are interested in drama and controversy then that message is not for you to adhere to. You will be always quick to judge. You will hang someone for a fart tagging it a Chernobyl event. For those of you that do not know history…an ultra tragic event causing death and destruction, contamination, fear etc…..

I try to be careful when listening to people vent to me to not quickly judge the situation or the person they are speaking about. I go into the situation with an open mind listening to the facts. I want to fully support a loved on or a friend making sure my focus is on them. I cry with them, I laugh with them…I do not give bandwagon opinions. I just listen.We need to be as subjective as possible when dealing with peoples personal lives. Perceptions are everything. We see what we choose to see in life. We make our assumptions based on the way we feel about the world. Right now the news is playing a critical role in our society and they are shaping the opinions of our children by what they report and how they report it. In most cases they are just taking a picture. We make the assumption based on the image we see on the screen. The media produces commentaries from a bias point of view based on the stations agenda. Are we educated enough in a popular opinion to watch? What is another source of information that gives us options? The internet? The internet is driven by our preferences. WE do not go to the RIGHT search query for the correct opinion….. We choose what feels good, what stimulates us. I would hate to describe what most men and women search for as a source for information. Our external influences as children are the environment we are raised in. We are shaped there.

Parenting. All of our perceptions are formed in the early years. Our bad habits are carried over to our children. We are the cycle. We watch and view what we created. If we sit by and blame others for the state of affairs in our surroundings, Can we do anything about what has already been created? We change our perceptions. We change the way we treat one another. One by one we love one another. We teach our children and grandchildren the right way to live. The right way to live is to just love one another. The rest takes care of itself. I honestly believe that. At least we can start there and open a dialogue of peace. If nothing else we begin to heal by getting along. So many wrongs can be undone by taking on that philosophy.

I wrote some entries yesterday and everyone was messaging me asking me if I was OK, if I was upset, if my life was in shambles….Yes my life is in shambles, I am happy and I am choosing everyday to be grateful. If you have followed anything I have written before I have written stronger entries and it is all to maybe help someones perception of life. I want to help you by anything I can trigger in you to love and appreciate one another and love. I write to heal. If I can reach one person I have succeeded. The hell with the rest of you! I love you!

I am so happy to be alive today to see my loved ones and enjoy my life for what ever is left. We can have one day or ten years or more. I am sure we should all live our lives the same. Happy content with ourselves and our choices. i have resorted to accepting certain situations that in the past I would normally have sworn back at. Now I embrace change and the uniqueness of others. I do not have to accept or agree…but I embrace their differences. I can learn from others, Let it go, or let it bother me. I have no control over others. I have control over my perceptions and my expressions. I am a very empathetic person, I am human. I hurt and sometimes hurt others. We all do this unknowingly. Or sometimes we do it to protect ourselves and yet we are sad at the result even if it is for our own good. Let go. Have peace. Love. Laugh and Live.

1. Your default belief is that life is hard.

Happy people know life can be hard and tend to bounce through hard times with an attitude of curiosity versus victim-hood. They take responsibility for how they got themselves into a mess, and focus on getting themselves out of it as soon as possible.
Perseverance towards problem-solving versus complaining over circumstances is a symptom of a happy person. Unhappy people see themselves as victims of life and stay stuck in the “look what happened to me” attitude versus finding a way through and out the other side.
2. You believe most people can’t be trusted.

I won’t argue that healthy discernment is important, but most happy people are trusting of their fellow man. They believe in the good in people, versus assuming everyone is out to get them. Generally open and friendly towards people they meet, happy people foster a sense of community around themselves and meet new people with an open heart.
Unhappy people are distrustful of most people they meet and assume that strangers can’t be trusted. Unfortunately this behavior slowly starts to close the door on any connection outside of an inner-circle and thwarts all chances of meeting new friends.
3. You concentrate on what’s wrong in this world versus what’s right.

There’s plenty wrong with this world, no arguments here, yet unhappy people turn a blind eye to what’s actually right in this world and instead focus on what’s wrong. You can spot them a mile away, they’ll be the ones complaining and responding to any positive attributes of our world with “yeah but”.
Happy people are aware of global issues, but balance their concern with also seeing what’s right. I like to call this keeping both eyes open. Unhappy people tend to close one eye towards anything good in this world in fear they might be distracted from what’s wrong. Happy people keep it in perspective. They know our world has problems and they also keep an eye on what’s right.
4. You compare yourself to others and harbor jealousy.

Unhappy people believe someone else’s good fortune steals from their own. They believe there’s not enough goodness to go around and constantly compare yours against theirs. This leads to jealousy and resentment.
Happy people know that your good luck and circumstance are merely signs of what they too can aspire to achieve. Happy people believe they carry a unique blueprint that can’t be duplicated or stolen from — by anyone on the planet. They believe in unlimited possibilities and don’t get bogged down by thinking one person’s good fortune limits their possible outcome in life.
5. You strive to control your life.

There’s a difference between control and striving to achieve our goals. Happy people take steps daily to achieve their goals, but realize in the end, there’s very little control over what life throws their way.
Unhappy people tend to micromanage in effort to control all outcomes and fall apart in dramatic display when life throws a wrench in their plan. Happy people can be just as focused, yet still have the ability to go with the flow and not melt down when life delivers a curve-ball.
The key here is to be goal-oriented and focused, but allow room for letting sh*t happen without falling apart when the best laid plans go awry- because they will. Going with the flow is what happy people have as plan B.
6. You consider your future with worry and fear.

There’s only so much rent space between your ears. Unhappy people fill their thoughts with what could go wrong versus what might go right.
Happy people take on a healthy dose of delusion and allow themselves to daydream about what they’d like to have life unfold for them. Unhappy people fill that head space with constant worry and fear.
Happy people experience fear and worry, but make an important distinction between feeling it and living it. When fear or worry crosses a happy person’s mind, they’ll ask themselves if there’s an action they can be taken to prevent their fear or worry from happening (there’s responsibility again) and they take it. If not, they realize they’re spinning in fear and they lay it down.
7. You fill your conversations with gossip and complaints.

Unhappy people like to live in the past. What’s happened to them and life’s hardships are their conversation of choice. When they run out of things to say, they’ll turn to other people’s lives and gossip.
Happy people live in the now and dream about the future. You can feel their positive vibe from across the room. They’re excited about something they’re working on, grateful for what they have and dreaming about the possibilities of life.
Obviously none of us are perfect. We’re all going to swim in negative waters once in a while, but what matters is how long we stay there and how quickly we work to get ourselves out. Practicing positive habits daily is what sets happy people apart from unhappy people, not doing everything perfectly.
Walk, fall down, get back up again, repeat. It’s in the getting back up again where all the difference resides.