It was a scary time On the Bog! Lightening struck, and thunder shook the very walls of Starry Cottage!
Dark skies roiled. Heavy rain blew and blustered, drenching everything in sight and obscuring the usually chipper sights of the Bog. All the creatures were silent and still, hiding in their homes and shelters, hoping for the storm to pass quickly.
Inside Starry Cottage with a candle lit in the window for hope and light, Kat, Bear, and Wogs huddled closely together, holding each other tight.
Kat(shuddering in response to a loud, nearby lightening strike): I’m scared.
Wogs(hugging Kat tighter and gently stroking Bear’s head for comfort): Me, too. But it’s scary outside, so that’s normal.
Kat(cuddling in closer to Wogs and petting Bear with calming love): I’m so grateful we have each other!
Wogs(loving Kat and Bear big time with gentle comforting hugs): Me, too!
Bear(loving Kat and Wogs so big and thankful for their comfort in such a scary time, snuggled deeply into Wogs lap and felt calm with Kat’s gentle touch): <3
It would be great if scary times didn’t happen, but they do. They can throw us off-center and disturb our calm. They can bring tremendous upset and upheaval. We can struggle to navigate these difficult times.
But navigate we must. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. One breath at a time.
They help us be a little braver, be a bit calmer, and help us find the strength we need to get through the scary time with less soul scorching … less fear … an in a way that helps us feel not alone, … and simply better.
Nourishing positive relationships with others, growing love with friends and partners, and investing in meaningful connections all take time to flourish, but these bonds are gifts in our lives! They brighten our days! We have goodness to share! Support to lend! Hugs to hold us!
Together, we celebrate the good times, and comfort each other in the scary and difficult times!
Together, we make life happier, healthier, PINKer, kinder, more loving, more caring, … simply filled with more goodness!
I am filled with gratitude for this shared time with you! Thank you for being here with me as we navigate the good days and the bad days! Thank you for sharing your brightness with the world!
May any scary times you face pass quickly and without lasting debilitating impact. May you have the love and support you need to hold you, comfort you, and guide you safely back to brighter days! May you always feel my love holding your heart!
I’m a week late and a cherry dessert Danish recipe shy, but
my dad died last week, and between coping with his loss, family drama and
trauma, and my chronic fatigue, I find I’m struggling. So for now, let’s talk about the message that
beats loudest in my heart, body, and soul:
Be Love.
I promise I’ll get you
that recipe, but for today, in this month of love, let’s talk love.
To me, there are 3 big hearts in Being Love:
Surround yourself with love
Share your love with others
Love yourself
Surround yourself with love
There’s a saying out there that says you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. It’s an interesting idea, and one I believe in. People who stand by you and bring you up help you be your best self; whereas people who do the opposite, make it so much harder for you to be your best self. Living in POSitivity, happiness, love, kindness, and support is heartwarming, smile making, and energizing; whereas, dealing with criticism, angst, sadness, frustration, and drama drags us down and saps us of our energy. So pick your people well.
Find people who love you and who you love. Create your world of love and support by filling it with people who care about you and love you!
Share your love with others
Be it friends. Family. Your special human. Fur babies. All of these.Grow your love by giving it to others and sharing it. Build on commonalities. Experience new things together. Strengthen your relationships with POSitivity and acts of kindness. Be thoughtful and learn more about each other.
And in this month of love, I challenge you to grow your love even more by giving of yourself to someone in need.Make someone’s day. Pick any person who you feel needs a little extra love, help, kindness, and be an expression of love for them. Brighten their day. It doesn’t have to cost money. Just do something that is thoughtful for them. Something that lets them know they are not alone. That someone cares about them. That they are worthy. Quite simply, the difference we need to make in the world starts with each of us.
Imagine how much happiness we can make by being thoughtful for someone in need, giving him or her some love, kindness, and attention. It’s a beautiful thing!
Love yourself
This is the one I think is hardest for most. We’ve been taught to be self-critical to succeed and excel in a competitive world. I feel like we’ve learned not to be patient with ourselves. We’ve learned to be excessively critical and unforgiving. We say mean things to ourselves. Undermining untruths. Have you ever said to yourself things like: I’m so fat. I’m not pretty enough. I’m not that smart. Or maybe you’re a little craftier about it and less direct. Perhaps you say things like: She’s so thin. She’s so pretty. She’s so smart, … all the while using those statements as quiet comparisons to judge yourself by.
It’s amazing and daunting how automatic we can be in self-degradation.And the thing is, in actuality, it’s self-abuse. There’s a destructive effect that comes with constantly telling ourselves negative things about ourselves. If we tell ourselves these negative things long enough, we can start to believe them. It works the same as if someone else is saying negative things to us.
We haven’t really been taught to approach ourselves with kindness, love, and patience. We could instead say things like, “I’m going to find ways to eat and live healthier,” if we feel we are overweight. Or, “I am going to find a haircut that highlights my striking cheekbones, or brightens my eyes,” if we don’t feel confident about the way we look. Or even, “I’m going to learn and experience something new to grow my knowledge-base,” if we feel we could know more.
If repetition breeds belief, then start telling yourself positive things. Good things for you to know and believe about yourself. Reaffirmation is POWERFUL!!! Use it to grow your self-love and self-confidence. And in the areas where you feel you need growth and improvement – give yourself the patience and time you need to grow and learn new things. To become the reality of yourself you want to become. Love yourself!
So in this month of love, I challenge you to tell yourself something positive about yourself each day, even if it is the same thing every day, all month long.Find something you like/love about yourself and tell yourself out loud every day this wonderful thing. It can be something you’re good at like, “I am kind kind to others!” Or it can be something about you physically like, “I have a bright smile!” Or even something emotional/mental like, “I am resilient!” Pick anything – one thing or even many things – and keep reminding yourself every day of the goodness in you. Reaffirm yourself. Love yourself, even if one little bit at a time … because I promise you, you are worth your love!
Until next week …
Loving you Big Time and Hugging you Tightly!!! Remember, surround yourself with love, share your love with others, and love yourself. Together we will make life a happier place to be!
Love and Big Hugs,
More Happiness from Mary Kate
Find more happiness, love, big hugs, support, gratitude, POSitude, and Self-Care in these POSitude cards!
Needing some self-care, love and support? Wanting hugs? Treat yourself or someone you love to these Big Loving, Big Hugging daily inspirational, motivational, and empowering POSitude cards! They really can make a big difference in your day!!!
Get Your POSitude On!
Feel happier! Supported! Loved! Hugged!
Bring brightness and goodness into your day, and into your life!
What beautiful souls like you think about their POSitude cards!
These cards are colorful and cheerful! They stay on my desk at work and have made for great conversation with colleagues. I look forward to choosing my daily pick me up. I reflect on my current mood or what inspiration I need for the day. I do have a few favorites that I’ve used more than once or have displayed longer than just a day.
These cards remind me to stay positive and believe in myself!
Stephanie Shay, 4th grade teacher
I love my POSitude cards! I pick one to display on my refrigerator for the week. Reading the card makes me happy and gives me a variety of ways to stay positive in my daily life. It has also become a conversation piece for all who enter my kitchen.
Karen Henry, Retired 4th Grade Teacher, Personal Assistant
The Positude
cards have
made a difference for setting the
tone during meetings. I have set them in the middle of
the meeting table and while we are settling in, people pick them up and read
them. This small gesture makes a huge difference in the
quality of the conversations we have during our 1:1 meetings.
Mary Freer, University Research Department Administrator
I love my POSitude cards! They are so cute, and the messages are very uplifting and inspiring!
Mary McMurtry, Retired Bookkeeper, Mom, Grandmom
Get inspired every day with a deck of my new POSitude cards! Each deck has 35 different full-color, fun, happy POSitudes (36 cards total, with one card sharing suggestions on how to get the most out your POSitudes.) Available in my Etsy shop. Check them out and learn more, now!
You can find these POSitude cards in my new ETSY shop!!!
Looking for self-care to share love and big hugs for all ages?
Lub’s Very Happy Day! is filled with delightful brightness and big huggy smiles!
Lub is the happiest, PINKest, most love-filled monster, Ever! Her big, PINK heart is always with her, and it beams brightly in everything she does!
Lub loves you!
Join Lub as she shares with you her love and very happy, monster-ifically delightful day! Feel playful and bright, smile big, and be happy! Have fun and be cheerful!
You can find copies of Lub’s Very Happy Day! to adopt at Amazon!
I
haven’t always been strong. For a very
long time, I wasn’t very strong at all.
And there are still times when I don’t feel strong.
But
there’s this thought in my head, this guiding principle I use to grow:
What you give power, has power.
This guiding thought is an offshoot of a quote:
“It all begins in your mind. What you give power to, has power over you.”
Leon Brown
Thank you Mr. Brown! I find his original quote helpful to me when thinking about facing my anxieties, and I am grateful for his words. To me, they tell me my anxiety is in my mind, and I can control it … which I try very hard to work on. This quote is a part of my Happy, Healing Place Toolbox of Goodness!
But today, I want to talk about my offshoot thought … What you give power, has power! To me, this version isn’t about something having control over you. This version is about growing. Taking something important to you and investing in it, so that it will grow and grow and grow.
What you give power, has power.
And I’m talking about you!
Me. You. All of us!
If you grow your love, your love will be powerful!
If you grow your self-confidence, your self-confidence will strengthen and become powerful!
If you grow your ability to self-care, your self-care will be powerful!
If you grow your self-worth, your self-worth will be powerful!
When you invest in you, you invest in your values and what you can do for yourself. You make yourself stronger, more self-reliant, more capable. Better prepared to handle life and its obstacles and challenges. You will be more open to the gifts of life. The goodness for you!
It doesn’t mean you won’t stumble or even fall, ever again. But that’s okay. You keep investing, learning, and growing. What you give power, has power.
When you give yourself power, you will have power!
It doesn’t mean you will always have to stand on your own if you don’t want to. You can surround yourself with people who will love you, care for you, grow with you, support you, and who will bring you up and walk forward with you. That way when life throws the hard curve balls, you don’t have do it all on your own. That’s just you being strong and knowing what you need, when you need it, and doing your best to be prepared for when life happens.
Live with POSitude!
We aren’t born knowing how to be strong, but as we face life and learn the lessons it is teaching us, we can grow our strength. We learn who we are and what we are capable of. We learn what we need and want to grow – what we want to be better at or stronger at. This is all good!
In the process, we’ll fail, make mistakes, and need time to heal and grow. That’s okay. It’s how it works. What’s important is not letting our failures or mistakes bring us down (at least not for too long). Look at them for what they are, life’s learning and growing moments. Learn and grow, and become stronger. Also, it’s vital that we give ourselves the time we need to heal and grow. (No one else gets to determine what that amount of time is. It’s up to each of us. It’s individual. And it happens when it happens.)
The
bottom line:
What you give power, has power.
So … will you give YOU power, so YOU have power? The power to love, laugh, be happy, be kind, find joy, feel gratitude, be healthy, be strong, be confident, be whatever you value … be your best you. It’s up to you, but for sure, what you give power, has power!
Ready to take my Arting It Up for Happiness and Healthiness: Color Me Happier 7 Day Challenge?
Each day support your healthiness with feeling less stress, less anxiety, more happiness and more positivity!
Easy, fun, happy, silly, adorable, and totally supporting you!
7 days of Love and Big Hugs!
Delightfully cheerful & colorful art will lift & brighten your smile!
11 loving, big hugging, and supporting pages include proven happier and healthier promoting strategies:
