The following is a scientific and personal article written by CAH member Troy Campbell about happiness.
One lovely afternoon, I began chatting to my grandpa. I was completely unaware he was about to say something that would change my view of happiness forever.
In the middle of our conversation, I felt a lull so I pulled out the classic question. “If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be?” I couldn’t wait to talk about my long list of dead presidents, dead Beatles, dead scientists, and a really cute living movie star. But I was also really eager to hear what he’d say.
Then he simply answered, “My wife.”
I immediately assured him it’s not necessary for him to answer like that. We all knew he loves his wife, whom he eats dinner with every night and was currently over in the other room…
Every day beautiful photos such as this arrive in my inbox from JUMP FOR JOY!’s WordPress blog. Each photo guaranteed to make me smile and change the course of my day. And I think that is her whole point… “I hope to contribute to the shift of our collective focus from the negative to the positive.” Eyoälha Baker “captures the beauty of the human spirit in mid-air through the simple act of taking photographs of people jumping for joy.”
I feel I have found a way to reach the true joy and child-like playfulness within people by having them jump for joy in front of the camera lens. This playful, child-like joy is why I’ve launched the project — Jump for Joy!
“Surrounding yourself with images that uplift your spirit is as important for your health as nutritious food.” – Deepak Chopra in Origin Magazine
Besides the joy of finding these photographs in my inbox every day, Eyoälha also has two major projects happening:
She is raising money via Kickstarter to cover costs of creating an epic public art mural with photos of 100+ people jumping for joy around Vancouver on a 9000 sq. ft. building wall in the Down Town east side. — Jump for Joy Photo Project + Murality Vancouver
And…
All pledges OVER the $5000 mark will go towards completing a book of 10000 people jumping for joy around the world!
We’re going skydiving tomorrow. Oh my! That sounded very nonchalant, now didn’t it? Ho hum! Just another Saturday in the life of me. La-tee-DA! What shall we do? It is not, though, just another Saturday because on this particular Saturday we’re going skydiving. (“Skydive” aka “fly, Fly, FLY like a bird” if you’re inside my head … or if you’re 4 years old.)
I have wanted to skydive (::cough:: FLY) ever since I was about nine or ten years old. And we are going. Tomorrow. In the Morning. To skydive. Obviously I am beyond the moon excited about this little adventure and when I came across the word “vorfreude” {FOR-froy-dah} earlier today, I thought…“Could there be any word more perfect than vorfreude to describe how I am feeling?”
I’m turning 50 years old soon. Oh no, I don’t mean “next week” kind of soon. I’m talking about the “soon enough” kind of soon. It is “soon enough” that I think about turning 50 every. single. damn. day.
But… here’s the thing. I figure that if I’m going to have this thought in my head all the time, well then, it’d better be a good one. So… I’m choosing to be happy about this upcoming birthday. (My daughter says I’m weird about this ‘happy’ thing but I don’t mind that she thinks that.) This birthday is a big milestone and it is NOT necessary to be sad about the occasion. I mean, come on?! We only get to turn 50 once in our lifetimes, right? Therefore, let’s have some fun!
I am “taking the road less traveled” (aka “You’re weird, Mom”) and I am celebrating my birthday every single month of the year 2014 because… one 50th birthday? Au contraire mon frère!
And beginning on January 1, I put action to words and started celebrating my 50th Birthday by choosing JUBILANT as my “One Word” for 2014. Words have always mattered very much to me. I am an empath, an introvert, and a voracious reader. Truly, you wouldn’t believe the vibrational impact words have on our psyche. So… three years ago I decided to stop making New Year’s Resolutions in favor of the “One Word” approach. One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long. In years past, I’ve chosen KIND, GRATEFUL, and MINDFUL. They were wonderful choices and did indeed color my whole world for that year.
This year, the year 2014 and the year in which I will turn 50 (my jubilee year if you will), I chose JUBILANT and it has been extraordinary the impact this one little word has had on my mindset. I AM overjoyed, exultant, triumphant, joyful, rejoicing, exuberant, elated, thrilled, gleeful, euphoric, ecstatic, enraptured, in raptures, walking on air, in seventh heaven, and on cloud nine!
Tomorrow… I am skydiving for the very first time and I am jubilant! But I am also savoring the anticipation like a fine wine… or a good Kombucha. And to think that it is only May. What’s in store for the rest of the year? Oh my but there are so many wonderful things yet to come!
Here’s to moving forward in our journeys with much Vorfreude!
That’s what the little plaque on my wall says and that’s exactly what my grandmother said too. It’s a motto that I’ve heard/lived by my whole life. This is a great article that explains why it might just matter to you too.
“You’ve heard it all your life: Being humble, kind, and calm is the “right thing to do.” But if that isn’t enough to convince you, consider this: humility, kindness, and calmness can actually help you get ahead in life.”
“One is happy as a result of one’s own efforts, once one knows of the necessary ingredients of happiness — simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and, above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain.” — George Sand
The following is a scientific and personal article written by CAH member Troy Campbell about happiness.
I’m turning 50 years old soon. Oh no, I don’t mean “next week” kind of soon. I’m talking about the “soon enough” kind of soon. It is “soon enough” that I think about turning 50 every. single. damn. day.
The Serene One 