Do You Live In A Happy State

January 8th, 2010 By: Brittany

People in sunny, outdoorsy states – Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida – say they’re the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why. A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine.

New York, Connecticut and Michigan coming in last for the lest happiest states.

Maybe the sun really does make a difference in making us happier overall?

The state-by-state list (including Washington, D.C.), from happiest to least cheery:

1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. South Carolina
7. Mississippi
8. Montana
9. Alabama
10. Maine
11. Wyoming
12. Alaska
13. North Carolina
14. South Dakota
15. Texas
16. Idaho
17. Vermont
18. Arkansas
19. Georgia
20. Utah
21. Oklahoma [ continue reading ]

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Happy New Years 2010

January 1st, 2010 By: Brittany

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

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Merry Christmas

December 25th, 2009 By: Brittany

Sending everyone much love, peace, and joy this Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Sunday Inspiration

December 13th, 2009 By: Brittany

Happy Sunday Everyone. Once again it is Lily of Light’s morning inspiration. This is a sweet video with wonderful music and gentle pictures. It will surely open your heart!

Inspiration from TFFDavid on Vimeo.

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Stories Of Success During Hard Times

December 8th, 2009 By: Brittany

At Lily of Light we like to help people stay inspired and motivated. A many of you have may experience this past year or even in 2008, the economy has hit home for many people.  I read this article on Reader’s Digest, that they call ” Recession Success Stories.” The one that I have included was one that I found to be very interesting, and also inspiring. It makes me realize how much we can be in control of our lives, and not stuck having to always worry about what to do next.

My husband, Michael, an attorney and a co-owner of a real estate development company, came home from work one day and said, “It’s not looking good.” In the middle of the night, I’d wake up and see him sitting in a chair, with his hand on his forehead. I was worried. I wanted to cheer him up and help us financially.

I’ve been a corporate consultant for years, brainstorming ideas for top companies such as Campbell’s and Mars. I also teach creative thinking at the college level. I thought, What if we embarked on an adventure and monetized it? As a family, we’d always talked about traveling more, but we’d been tied to routines. Now I saw no point in sitting around worrying when we could see the country. We’d take our kids, Aidan, 11, Charlie, 8, and Rosie, 6, out of school and teach them on the road. It was the perfect time, before they reached high school. We’d rent out our house. [ continue reading ]

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Giving This Holiday Season

December 7th, 2009 By: Brittany

Tis the season for giving. It’s the holiday seasons again, and with it comes the time to offer peace, joy, and love. Dispite the economic struggles that many of us have when thru this year, many are still making an effort to help others who may be less fortunate. Our family is a huge supporter for toy drives and other organizations like Loaves and Fishes. If you would like to give this year here are a few great ideas!

Toy Drives – What Are They?

Toys are collected by volunteers and are distributed to a variety of different charities such as women’s and children’s shelters. Toy drives are often run by non-profit organizations such as the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots and the United Way. They’re held in communities all over North America during the holidays, usually a few weeks before Christmas. Ideally, toys are donated unwrapped so that organizers can give them to the appropriate children.

Toy Drives – Help Out in Your Community

Visiting your local community center is a great way to find out where the toy drives are happening this year. Alternately, search the web for a site which allows you to type in your zip or postal code, finding the toy drives in your area. If you don’t have the money to spend on buying a toy, offer to donate your time by helping to sort and hand out toys at a church or TV station, which often hold toy drives at Christmas.

Toy Drives – Help Out at Home

Many children help give a toy to a local charity instead of buying you a Christmas present. It makes a huge difference in one child’s Christmas.

Adopt a family

This is always a rewarding way to give back. I have done this a few years in a row, and have always had a great and rewarding time helping. Make sure you do some research about reputable organizations that help these families. A good source is Salvation Army.

Give your help for homeless and seniors

Ever city has an organization such as Loaves and Fishes, or Meals On Wheels that help feed the homeless and also help nourish the seniors.

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Don’t Worry Let Wisdom Guide You

December 5th, 2009 By: Brittany

“Don’t waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour’s duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Norman Vincent Peale said, “You are not what you think you are; but what you think, you are.” If we follow this philosophy, then most of us are certifiable worry machines. Worry is our greatest energy drain. It distorts our thinking and stops all forward action. Can you control worrying?

First let’s make a distinction between worrying and concern. Concern is acknowledging a problem and taking steps to correct it. Worrying is going around in circles, fretting, not thinking, or taking action.

Changing your behavior is a good thing. But sometimes changing your behavior is merely changing what you are doing, and what really matters is changing what you are thinking. Our thinking directs our emotional reaction, which in turn directs our behavior. The way we react to a situation is not just a representation of the events; our reaction also depends on what we think the events mean.

In an article on cognition and behavior, Dr. John W. Bush illustrates how thinking affects our behavior as follows. A friend is an hour late to meet you. Depending on what you think happened (i.e., she was in an accident, she’s rude, I wanted to do something else anyway), you might be worried, annoyed, relieved, etc. These feelings (ignited by the thoughts) will then dictate how you react, i.e. calling the police, having angry words for her, or being glad she bailed on you. Notice how directly your thoughts affected how you felt and then directed the actions you took. [ continue reading ]

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