Happy moments

It has been a long time since I sat down and wrote a blog. I have had the idea for this particular blog on my mind for a few weeks now, I just wanted to make sure I gave it enough thought before I sat down and put it into words. This blog is about, what my wife and I call "Happy moments". Have you ever had a moment in your day when you feel an over whelming sense of Happiness or joy, and your not really sure why you feel it? For my wife and I they usually happen when we are just sitting around watching television or just spending time with our kids. But they can happen almost anywhere or anytime. You never know when or where it's gonna happen, it just does.

It's as if all the troubles, aggravation or worrying you have in your life just goes away for a short time. You feel only Happiness, you live only in the moment. You are not worried about the future and do not dwell on the past. This, in my opinion, is like having a moment of awareness. A real moment of enlightenment. You have unconsciously awaken to your inner-peace. You are no longer bogged down with negative emotions, like anger, fear, resentment or worry. You have let it all go, you have seen what it feels like to be truly Happy. The only problem with this is, it only lasts for a short time. But if we are mindful, if we can remember how these feelings make us feel, we can decide that we want to feel that way all the time. It is possible.

Waking up to your inner-peace, feeling that Happy for the rest of your life is a possibility for each and everyone of us. For many people, meditation is the path to feeling that way every minute of every day. We must train our minds not to place emphasis on the negativity of the world, but to really embrace all the positivity that we have surrounding us every day. Meditation doesn't have to be something that takes an hour or two every day. You could start out slowly, by when you are feeling negative, you just close your eyes and be mindful of your breathing, just a few moments of this will put you in a more relaxed frame of mind. And when your mind is relaxed, you can handle life's little troubles a lot better.

Negativity and anger clouds our judgments. It pollutes the way we see the world, the way we perceive others, even the way we experience our lives. But Happiness on the other hand, makes every thing better. The world is a much more beautiful place, our food tastes better and our relationships are more meaningful. I am pretty sure if anyone of you reading this have ever felt this kind of happy moment, you have the desire to feel that way all of the time. The first step is understanding that the power to have this ever lasting feeling is inside each and everyone of you. It will not be an easy or over night accomplishment, but with a little work each day, it will become more accessible. We all deserve life long Happiness. Good luck on your journey and know that I wish you many more Happy moments in your lives. Blessings and Love to you all.

I would expect more from you.

The past few weeks I have heard some very disturbing things. For all of you that don't know I work part time at a Catholic church. Even though I was born and raised Catholic, I had drifted away from many years ago, and had not been in a church for a very long time. During my time there I have gotten to know many of the parishioners and staff very well. I have had some pretty deep conversations with everyone from the little old lady who irons the altar covers to the nuns, all the way up to the Pastor of the parish. During these conversations, the things that I heard these so called "good catholics" say really sent me through a loop. Most if not everyone that I talked to was racist in some way or another. I had talked to one nun, a woman maybe in her late 60's, where she informed me that all the blacks and Spanish are the reason why this country is in the shape it is now. I was floored by her bluntness. If that was the end of it, I would chalk it up to just one or two people's ignorant opinions, but that is just the beginning. I have heard derogatory remarks about everyone from gays, to the Jews, to the homeless and even the "colored" president. It was hard for me to swallow that people who believed in Jesus and God would treat other human beings like this.

But hold on, the worst is yet to come. I was sitting in the back room with the Pastor one day, and he told me a story about how he looked out his bedroom window and saw a homeless man sleeping on the steps of the church. I was expecting him to tell me that he invited the man in for a good meal and maybe some spare cash he had laying around, but that wasn't the case. He continued to tell me that he had the groundskeeper of the parish chase the man away. I had admitted to this "man of God" that it had become shocking to me to see how many young homeless people you see on the streets now a days. i had said that it was a shame that they didn't have any friends or family that could let them crash on their couch or go to their home for a meal. Then out of no where this priest told me that "Maybe their friends and family feel that, hey they screwed up their own lives! They ain't going to screw up mine.". How can a man that calls himself a preacher of love and peace have such little compassion for another human being? It boggles my mind.

My grand father always told me, "If you want the world to be a better place, you have to lead by example.". In my eyes so many religious figures are doing the complete opposite of that. Honor is not a birth right or something you get from a title. It is defined by a man's actions. I have lost a lot of respect for too many people these past months. We have a lot of work to do if we want to make this world a place worth living in.

What's the difference?

I have heard so many people this past year say that they were neither pessimist nor optimist. They all claim to be realist. It's true most people know the definition of the first two words, but it has become apparent to me that not to many actually know what a realist is. And the reason is that they don't know what REAL is. So the reason for this blog is to try and shed some light on the differences between the three different states of mind. Now I'm sure some of you will disagree with my opinion and that's fine, but from the readings I have done over the past so many months, I really do think I have a grasp on what I am talking about. So here we go.

For the sake of not sounding negative, I will start with optimism. When some one is an optimist they always see good in any subject. They always try to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the silver lining around those dark clouds. This may sound like a pretty positive way to view the world, and in some aspects it is, but you can't be so optimistic that it blurs your vision on the pain and suffering that goes on outside your door. Some people believe as long as their own little corner of the world is happy, that's all that matters, and they couldn't be more wrong. Every living being on this planet is interconnected with each other. What happens in the middle east does have an affect on our lives, whether you want to believe it or not. Closing your eyes and minds to the troubles in the world, is like turning your back on the ocean, sooner or later it's gonna knock you on your face.

Now for our Debbie downers, these people spend their lives always waiting for the bubble to burst. They always expect the worst to come out of any situation and they can never see anything good in their lives to be happy about. This is definitely the wrong view of the world. If this is the way you see your life, you are robbing yourself of so much. You will never find happiness and your life will never feel complete. I don't care who you are, if you are able to read this blog right now, you have somethings in your life that you should feel thankful and happy for. But most pessimist's would rather use those things as an excuse to feel miserable instead of happy. And the reason why they do that is because they feel if they let themselves feel to happy, when the bubble bursts, they will feel ten times more depressed. So they are content with just remaining in this emotional void, depriving themselves of real happiness. And that is a very sad life to live.

Now for you so called realist out there. You claim to see the world and the people in it for what they really are, but what you think is real is basically just your opinion. An opinion that you have created from your limited experiences. First, lets talk about all those little bumps in the road that make you so angry at the world. Lets say you get a flat tire, on a busy highway, that is enough to get most of you really pissed off. But that just an everyday occurrence that 99% of the population has been through at least once in their life. But now it has happened to you, and you are pissed. Did you really believe that it wasn't ever going to happen to you? Are you so special that your tire should be indestructible? Life is filled with all kinds of little surprises, some good some bad and if you were a realist you would see that that is just how the world works. You would except it for what it is and go on with your day, not letting it affect you mentally or emotionally. Then there are the people that we see in our everyday lives. Maybe some of these people annoy you, maybe they don't have the same mannerisms or beliefs or work ethic as you do. But if you were a realist you would know that out of all the billions of people in the world ,we are all different. Are you really going through life expecting everyone to be the way you think they should be? Are you really going to let those little annoyances cause you to see them as not being good people? That's not very realistic is it?

To be a true realist, it takes a lot of observation of life from every angle. We can't just continue to view the world from our own perspective. We have to take time and try and see where the other guy is coming from. We have to train ourselves to see the whole picture from a wider scope. It's not all that hard to do, but it does take a lot of effort on your part. Next time something happens to you, take a minute to consider how many other people in the world are going through the same exact thing at that very minute. Knowing that you are not alone, makes it easier to deal with. And the next time you are dealing with someone who annoys you, stop and remember that we are all raised differently, we all have our own personalities, and even if you don't agree with the way they are, maybe there are people in the world that don't agree with how you are. In the end, the world is a lot more real then the way most of us see it. So try and look for the good in others and don't sweat the little things. Life is way to short for that nonsense. Blessings and Love to you all. ~ BUBBA

Take a look around.....

It amazes me how so many people don't realize how their environment affects their attitude.The more negativity that you surround yourself with, the more negative you will become.Whether it be negative people,angry music or violent movies.The more of these things we are subjected to, the more normal it becomes to us.It is as simple as the people you choose to be friends with on Facebook.I have seen friends post a status describing a hard time they are going through, and their "friends", instead of trying to be supportive and help them get through it, they add to the trouble by telling about their problems and describing how pissed off they are at the world.Trying to solve a problem with negativity and anger has never accomplished anything.

I am speaking from experience, for the longest time I was a very negative person. I became so jaded from watching violently disgusting movies, that when I saw something terrible in real life it didn't even affect me.I carried around so much hatred for certain groups of people, just because I grew up hearing family members voice their opinions.It really is scary how much we can be like robots, being unknowingly programed to be hateful or negative just by listening to the things around us.I really fear for the next generation. I watched a few music videos from some bands that my 15 year old daughters boyfriend listens too. I have to admit it is some of the most disturbing music I have ever heard. The videos were filmed so dark and depressing, it reminded me of someones nightmare.I really don't see how watching something like that can make anyone feel anything but angry or depressed.Then we have RAP, which I really don't consider music at all, it's just a bunch of profanity laced hatred towards anything that's in authority. Where have all the musicians and singers gone that tried and spread a good message ? This world needs a Bob Marley type more then ever.

I don't want to sound like I am being preachy. We all have the right to listen to, watch and be friends with whom ever we want. But if you don't like being angry or miserable any more, you really need to take notice to the things you allow in your life.Take notice to the message that is being sent out in the songs on your i-pod, try and take notice of all that unnecessary violence in that movie you just watched and last but not least open your eyes to how negative some people you know can be.Negativity creates nothing, but more Negativity, and what good has that ever done anyone.All it does is cloud our vision of how great life can be, of how Happy we all can be.Stop letting the messages and actions of others program you.Take a good look inside yourself and find that Positive Happy person inside. You'll be so thankful that you did. Blessings and Love to all.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not always an easy thing to do.Whether it is forgiving someone who has hurt you, or maybe it is forgiving yourself for making a bad decision.Whatever the case may be, carrying around resentment wears you down, like a river wears down the rocks in runs over.Regardless of whether the pain caused to you was accidental or on purpose, by not forgiving , you are inadvertently allowing others to continue to hurt you.You are allowing that person to determine how you feel and act. Holding onto anger and resentment makes you a bitter and miserable person.The old saying goes "It's better to forgive and forget", I not really sure which one is harder.But I do believe that it is almost impossible to forget, unless you first forgive.

What if the person you can't forgive is yourself, how damaging is that? So you have made a mistake or maybe used poor judgment, it caused you some sort of pain or suffering, but instead of learning from it and letting it go, you continue to punish yourself.What good will that ever do? We are only human, we all make mistakes. But not learning from your mistakes is just as foolish, as not forgiving yourself for making them.I have made my fair share of mistakes in life, but I have accepted them and moved on. I have also learned how to forgive others who have hurt me. It was like a huge heavy weight had been lifted off my chest.

Life is all about learning the lessons that are put in front of you.They say that you have to first lose, before you can ever really enjoy winning, and the same goes with Happiness. You have to first know sadness before you can know how to be really Happy.One of the major steps towards Happiness is Forgiveness. Don't carry around resentment and anger, instead transform it into forgiveness and compassion.You deserve to be Happy, we all do. The thing that most people don't understand is that, we hold the key to our own Happiness, in our hands.It is up to us to let go of the negativity and concentrate on the good things in our lives.Once you can do that, you are on your way to living the life ,we all wish to have.Love your life and it will Love you back. Blessings and Love to all.

Trust

Trust is one of the most intimate gifts we can bestow on another.Without it relationships can become strained and friendships are shallow.How can we ever say we care for someone unless we can also say that we trust them fully?Why is it so hard for some people to put their trust in others?There are different reasons why some people can't bring themselves to Trust.Maybe they Trusted someone who they cared about and that person betrayed them.Maybe they saw their friends get their hearts broken and decided they wouldn't let that happen to them, or maybe they themselves betrayed someones trust and they are worried about that person doing the same.Regardless of the reasons, if you never Trust others, then how will you ever have someone close to you?

Putting your Trust in another is a wonderful sign of respect. You are giving someone the ability to hurt you, but showing them that you have enough Faith in them not to. Trust is needed for any kind of relationship to have a chance to grow.When you show or tell someone who cares for you that you don't Trust them, you are basically telling them that you don't think to highly of them, that you have no faith in them. You are telling them that you see them a the type of person who would hurt you, and that is a hurtful message to send out.I have done my fair share of betraying people's Trust in my life, and it is something that I wish I could take back. I saw how much it hurt those people when they found out.I have also had my Trust betrayed and have been on the receiving end of the hurt.But I would never let my past experiences stop me from putting my Trust into others.Just because someone may have betrayed you doesn't mean they will do it again. Just because you have been betrayed by some doesn't mean everyone will, and just because you have betrayed someone ,it doesn't mean they will do it in return.

We can't live our lives being afraid of people hurting us.When we build walls around ourselves to keep from getting hurt, those walls also keep out any chance of finding real Happiness.Only by putting your Trust in others will you find out who are the ones worthy of keeping around.It's like when we were children and we would go outside to blow bubbles, we didn't blow them with the expectations of seeing them POP. We blew them to watch and see how long and how far they would float. Don't live your life waiting for bad things to happen to you,for your bubbles to pop.Enjoy your life and don't be afraid of what might never happen.Blessings and Love to all.

What do you believe?

I am getting the feeling that some of the people that I have known for a long time think that I have lost my mind or are on drugs of some sort because of my new beliefs and new outlook on life.Most of them are Catholic, who went to a Catholic school for 12 years as I did. So I know the kind of mentality that is instilled in them, that the Catholic beliefs are the correct ones and anything else is "Blasphemy". I don't have any bad feelings towards them because they see me as some kind of weird-o. I think the main problem is that so many religions brainwash their followers to look down on or even dis-like anyone who doesn't believe what they do.Is that really a reason to not like someone? Is that really a reason to harm or even KILL someone? I have done some studying on a lot of the different world religions and no where in any of them do I get the message that we should hate anyone for any reason. Especially for their beliefs.

I truly believe a major problem with the world today is, there is very little religious tolerance.Let's look back at history, how many millions of people were murdered in the name of GOD? How many wars were fought because of different beliefs? Why are people so afraid of what they don't understand or what they have no knowledge about? During the Holy Crusades the Catholic church sent warriors out to KILL or CONVERT the people of the surrounding countries. The Salem witch trials, hundreds of woman were killed because they were found to be unholy by the church.I not sure how many of you know this but Witch craft is the oldest religion on this planet. It is not old green women with pointy hats standing over a boiling cauldron. They worshiped the Mother Earth and use herbs for healing purposes.Buddhism (which technically is not a religion) is thought to be some sort of Hippy drug induced state of mind that forces you to love everything. And lets not forget those EVIL Muslims!!! The actions of some radical lunatics that hated America so badly that they killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 have branded all Muslims as terrorist.Well let me assure you that no where in the Quran does it tell any Muslim to kill Americans.

I really believe that in their simplest forms all religions are good. They teach us how to be better people and how we should treat each other.They teach us morals and ethics, not hatred and anger. Stop over analyzing it and just take it for what it is. Don't let some "elder" try and convince you of what you know in your heart to be true.Treat others as you would want to be treated, plan and simple.As for all of you out there that think I'm off my rocker (lol) it's OK, I like where I am now and the mentality that I have. I have never been Happier or more at peace with myself ever. So don't worry about me, worry about yourself. Open your Hearts and Minds to all those things you don't understand, you may just find something you can really connect with. Blessings and Love to you all.