One Word… Happy

It was late December, sitting on my deck in the late afternoon sun – admiring the view, listening to the birds – when I realised I had actually achieved success with my 2014 Focus word, “Abundance”.

Maybe not so much in the financial sense, although that had at least made a turnaround during the year. But in pretty much everything else, I was blessed with abundance.

• Christmas had brought an (over) abundance of good food and cool stuff.
• The library had provided a year’s worth of brain food – anything I could ever wish for.
• I had received an abundance of friendship, support and opportunity through my business networking groups (Motivating Mum, She Will Shine and The Happiness Hunter).
• There was an abundance of client work for the New Year, once I was ready to get back into it.
• My little family had provided an abundance of cuddles and laughs and good times. We’d even had an abundance of holidays throughout the year!
• My home provided an abundance of comfort and joy, nestled amongst a garden abundantly producing herbs and beetroot and co-dependent carrots. An abundance of eggs will soon rock up from our gorgeous chookies, who have already provided us with an abundance of entertainment. Not to mention the abundance of nature – the trees, flowers, birds, butterflies, frogs, bats, dragonflies, mosquitoes – that is right here at our doorstep.

All in all, my life was pretty darn ABUNDANT!

As I sat there, I also realised that the word “abundance”, like “success” has largely been hijacked – to be associated only with money – and that it deserved a much broader definition. Sure, money is part of it, but it is not the most important part.

To come to that understanding, by the simple task of focusing on the one word for the year – researching and reading, highlighting, exploring, actively pursuing, meditating – really did feel like success. To be grateful for all this, meant that I had also benefited from the previous year’s Focus Word, “Grateful”. One word, building on another, to create a real shift in my life.

My, this Focus Word thing is powerful stuff!

So it was with some surprise that I discovered my 2015 Focus Word. It had been rocking around in my head (non-stop) for a few days in the form of Pharrell Williams’ song, “Happy”.

HAPPY – of course!

In many ways, it feels like “going for broke”! After all, isn’t happiness the ultimate goal – what we actually hope to achieve by choosing these words in the first place?

That won’t stop me from actively focusing on it though with more reading, researching, exploring and meditating. What you focus on grows, right?

And while I see this as my own personal focus, I also hope to pursue it on a broader scale too – to focus on helping others – to be happier people, happier clients, happier parents, happier kids, happier communities and hopefully, a happier world.

Wishing you a HAPPY 2015 everyone!

PS. Blogging is something I know makes me happy, so I am hoping to get back into in 2015… Hold me to that, OK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM

Volcanoes in the Sky

It’s an average Tuesday evening. The sun is setting. It’s post dinner. It’s really not that warm on the deck!

Hubby has promised the Munchkin a Cheetah story for the first in time in what seems like forever. However, he’s taking an age getting ready for bed and making himself a hot chocolate.

I peek in the door and call out… “Everything OK in there?”

A little voice calls back, “Yes, just making my hot chocolate. Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?” (Proud Mummy moment right there – my night is made!)

He soon joins us, and settles down to be my lap warmer, sipping hot chocolate as we watch the last rays beam from the incoming storm clouds. The top edge glows gold, then fluoro orange until only a few tips are still glowing bright orange. “Volcanoes in the Sky” someone declares.

Naturally, it led us here – possibly via “Chickies in the Sky… Chickies flying high”!

The Munchkin and Hubby head upstairs to explore to the latest instalment of Cheetah Story while I scour YouTube.

The Doors’ classic song plays while I do the dishes, looking out at the last remans of the sunset. The benefits of a broken dishwasher (again!)

The song eventually finishes (it’s over 7 minutes) and I hear new strains coming from the Munchkin’s bedroom… gravelly, earthy singing…

“Cheetah hunt gazelle,
Cheetah hunt gazelle.
Hunt them ’cos they’re yummy
Put them in my tummy”

And giggles, lots of giggles!

An average Tuesday evening.

Today I am grateful.

Male Cooking Zone

We’ve recently started a new tradition in our house… On Sunday nights the Munchkin and Hubby hit the kitchen for some culinary creation goodness.

How awesome is that!

Not only does it give me a night off cooking, it allows us to enjoy some different meals that I don’t always cook AND the Munchkin is getting some hands-on cooking lessons from someone happy to teach him! Plus, I get some time to myself. I think I might have to declare Sunday nights Tiny Moments night!

Tonight, while they’re preparing spaghetti and meatballs (done in a totally different tomato sauce than my usual one), I’m sitting out on the balcony, glass of wine in hand, typing away.

The sun has just set. The birds are chirping. The warm breeze is slowly cooling as evening drifts in.

Really, can life get any better than this?

Learning to cook is such an important part of life. It takes incredible patience (which is why Hubby has the job in our house!), but the life lessons learned by our kids are so incredibly valuable. Kids learn how to take risks, and use knives and stoves and saucepans safely. They learn how to plan, so that everything is ready at the same time. There are maths skills in measuring, reading skills in following a recipe, and sensory learning by discovering what flavour goes with which.

And then there is sense of achievement at the end, when a yummy meal is enjoyed by all.

I’m looking forward to my spaghetti and meatballs, lovingly prepared by the two people I love most in the world. Yummo!

Today I am grateful.