The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: happiness

  • Come On, Get Happy!

    I’m currently in the longest running good mood I’ve ever experienced in my life. Granted, the bar is set pretty low because I am prone to depression, but here lately it feels like the hills are alive with the sound of music. What can I say? I’m just happy. It feels fantastic. I hope it’s…

  • You Don’t Have to Understand

    The media firestorm that’s surrounding Bruce Jenner’s gender identification is predictable. People love to scrutinize things that they don’t understand. Based on a lot of public commentary, many feel as though he’s a freak. For those people, focusing on him is the news equivalent of slowing down to check out a traffic accident. People want…

  • “You Deserve to be Happy.”

    I saw that tag line in a Facebook advertisement for therapy, and it made me think of a conversation I had with a friend from Burma. He said, “In the West, you think you deserve happiness, so you get upset, depressed, anxious or bitter if you don’t have it. In the East, we don’t expect…

  • Raise Your Head

    I used to know someone who was so pessimistic that it was draining to be in his presence. I’m not exactly Little Mary Sunshine myself, but I do have a fundamental philosophical difference with that guy that we were never able to resolve. I believe your attitude can dictate your mood. He believes that you…

  • Dammit Robin WIlliams!

    Well, the news just broke that we have lost another amazing talent. And it’s quite obvious that the world was unaware of the depth of his suffering. That makes me sad. Robin Williams was successful, creative, extremely intelligent, talented, funny, and full of life. He was so loved. He had so much going for him.…

  • Late Spring Fever

    Yeah, I suppose it’s a little early for this, but I’m feeling fidgety. I wish it were May. I want to get outside and feel the sun on my face and watch the flowers bloom. I want to curl my toes in some wet beach sand and taste the salt air on my lips. I…

  • Don’t Mess with the Plaster

    Back when I still owned a house, I got it into my head to completely remodel my bathroom. I mean, I ripped out everything down to the studs and started from scratch. Two words: Never again. But I do try to learn something from every experience, and I learned quite a few things from this…

  • How to Become a Battered Woman

    My whole life I’ve looked at battered women with sadness and pity, but I have to admit that I always viewed them with a certain level of disdain. I’d never let that happen to me. Never. How do you get in that position? How do you let someone disrespect you like that, harm you like…

  • Embracing Negative Emotions

    “Few situations –no matter how greatly they appear to demand it – can be bettered by us going berserk.” Codependent No More, Melody Beattie Most of us have been taught that there are negative and positive emotions. Anger, sadness, grief and frustration are bad. Happiness, love, joy, and bemusement are good. Because of this, we…

  • When the Punishment for a Good Deed is a Lifetime of Regrets

    Everyone probably has a story about trying to help someone and instead unintentionally making things worse. This is one of those stories. But if you’ve been reading my blog, you probably know I don’t ever go half way. I strongly suspect I may have ruined someone’s life, and the worst part about it is that…