The Pursuit of Happiness is both the answer and the challenge to those of us seeking it.
Pursuit implies an end. Yet, our “pursuit” does not end in this chapter of our journey until we close both the book and our eyes for the last time. However, there is a VERY simple solution to this VERY real dilemma, friends.
No grass is as green as the envy on the individual looking over the fence.
Continue reading ““Happiness: Contents of Content” Loophole”
“personal development plan: act once; think twice;
give yourself some space & go from novice to no vice”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.19.2012
“Life’s a journey in adversity; yet we keep seeking more;
but what would be the reward if it was easy before?”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.18.2012
“Healing others takes patients; healing ourselves takes patience.”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.17.2012
The Good begets Good Loophole
Good breeds good. One good turn deserves another. Karma.
This post will be as short & sweet as our actions ought to be.
Yesterday I made a “Help Wanted” Post called “Take one for the TEAM“.
In general, I highlighted the unfortunate order mix-up at Starbucks where I had ordered my usual White Chocolate Mocha, got a Mocha (which couldn’t taste MORE different), but due to the tension in the environment, the fact there appeared to be a new employee who was struggling to get into the swing of things, and the long line/wait I was already apart of — I opted to just move on and be thankful for a hot beverage.
It may seem a bit prima donna, but it truly is all about the little things!
Less than 24 hours later, I placed my morning coffee drink at the same Starbucks. They recognized me and said “you waited a long time yesterday, this drink is on us!”
Patience and kindness IS rewarded, friends. We tend to miss the opportunities all too often because of the latency involved. Be good because it makes sense to be good, but also know that things DO indeed come full-circle.
I am now enjoying, and am thankful for, another warm beverage this morning…
But this time it was my favorite kind, it was free, and it tastes like magic.
Until next time, friends, be good! 🙂
Anyone familiar with the delicious sweetness of a Starbuck’s White Chocolate Mocha and it’s sharp contrast with the chalky flavor of their traditional Mocha can understand the disappointment of my first sip this morning (after an extraordinarily long wait in the line no less).
It was clear that the individual on hook for crafting my drink was new and was also having a rough go of it today. The order right before me had been messed up as well (part of the longer-than-normal wait). I by no means encourage people to “always be complaisant”, your order is your order, and at some juncture it is important to provide feedback to ensure an individual can acknowledge a misstep, work on their accountability, and grow as an employee and person themselves…. HOWEVER, we all make mistakes, and sometimes when we’re bombarded with a series of them we are emotional wrecks which are unlikely to perform any better by ‘new knowledge of a misstep’…. sooo, if you can find the right opportunity this week:
Help Wanted! Take one for the team, and take it to the grave. Let a misstep slide, no matter how small or big – bear the cross for yourself, just this once. Sometimes the smallest ‘non-escalations’ can have the biggest impacts.
I really do not like mocha’s, I’d rather have a hot chocolate at this point. Yet I am using this example, of something so small and sooo insignificant, to be a more patient person myself. I may not like the taste of a mocha, but I am blessed to have a warm drink on this beautiful Sunday morning – and in another situation, that could be more than a person could ever ask or hope for.
Life is not a race, it is a journey that we travel at our own pace.
This post is about overcoming the ‘battle within’, the lyrics in this song were originally dedicated to a couple individuals that I thought needed it the most at the time — but by no coincidence, it ended up summarizing the story of all those ‘trying to find their way’, and I learned a lot about myself in the process…In fact, the last line of the second verse ultimately inspired the motto for this blog. 🙂
As we each travel down separate lanes on the same highway of life, “Getting up Now” is about our individual roads to redemption, a verse for each phase:
Chorus:
We tumble and fall… but we’re getting up now!
We stumble and stall… but we’re getting up now!
We set ourselves up, just to let ourselves down;
But we’re NOT letting up; we’re getting up right now!Continue reading “The Journey to Awakening Truth & Happiness – “Getting up Now””
“Just because mean describes the average of numbers in math, does not mean it describes the average person in society.”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.16.2012
Since the day we were born – we’ve had the answers to, and the loopholes on, life readily available for us.
They have been bestowed upon us through EVERY generation, and their words tend to transcend both space & time.
The message has always been clear. The message has been delicately carved into cave walls, thoroughly crystalized through parable & poem, and carefully captured through lyricism & music. Not to mention the diligent documentation of the Bible (#1 best-seller, one hundred and four thousand weeks strong, take that New York Times!).
But how do we receive this message for ourselves, overcome the mental manipulation that pollutes our society, and change both ourselves and the world for the better? Continue reading ““Redemption Song” Loophole”
“Good retrospective is 20/20; good introspective is 24/7.”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.14.2012
If that was the case, why do so many people with such propensity to be happy…just…seem…to…eventually…self-destruct?
The trick to being happy is NOT to “obtain” happiness! By doing that, we are really putting our happiness in the “obtainment of whatever it is that was obtained”. The REAL secret to securing happiness is to… Continue reading ““How to be Happy” Loophole”
“Depression is a state – but so is Happiness… so find the right inspiration & be moved by it.”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.13.2012
“How does a pacifist fight for what they believe in?”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.12.2012
“Many people in need would give an arm & a leg… just to be lent a hand.” ~LoopholesOnLife.com
11 years ago marks the date of one of the most tragic events to fall upon American soil.
Many hard-fought debates and questions emerged from the wreckage, “Does the action justify declaration for war?”, “Who is truly responsible?”, “Was it an inside job?”.
The questions are to be expected, but the truth is that, in a life of “cause and effect”, the real conspiracy we were slowly trained to accept is:
Continue reading ““9/11, was it a conspiracy?” Trendy Question”
“The deceit of politics is that voting left or right has a direct influence on our ups & downs.”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.09.2012
Life is more similar to a computer program than many of us tend to think. We make the program what it is, and the program makes us what it is. Surround ourselves with stimulus which pique our interest. We surround ourselves with people which are “of like mind”. We mold them, and they mold us.
Continue reading to learn how to manage the inputs & maximize YOUR outputs…
“So much time is spent teaching us what to learn;
…yet so little is spent on how to discern.”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.08.2012
Forgiveness is not easy – but it is MUCH easier when first asked for it. Forgiving someone after being asked for it is important – but it still leaves room for personal validation of our egos to say “see, I was right after all, so now that you acknowledge it, okay – I forgive you.”
Help Wanted! If you were hurt long ago in the past, or in a small way today, close your eyes, take a deep breath, breathe out slowly and forgive the individual by name (and/or by face). The world is more connected than we think. There is more power to forgiveness, especially when the individuals ‘know not what they do’.
Few gifts worth giving rival proactive forgiveness — it will make the forgiven, the forgiver, and the world, better.
Traffic… There are few opportunities to exhibit a SIMPLE SELFLESS ACT more timely than on your morning or evening drive! Each individual is likely “rushing to get somewhere” – yet – most of us fail to recognize the fact that everyone else is in the same exact boat!
Help Wanted! When traffic is backed up – and you see someone trying to take a “left turn” onto a busy street – take a moment to let them in if you can. We’ve all had someone go out of their way to do it for us – more often, everyone ignores us – which means we likely tend to ignore them when the shoe is on the other foot.
Let someone in – give a stranger ‘the unexpected’ help that we would not expect but at the same time truly appreciate. Let a stranger take a left turn, and help the world take a turn for the better!
“Hang up positive pictures;
but don’t get hung up on the negatives.”
~Loopholes on Life, 09.07.2012
