Little magical things like..playful friends, finding a penny on the sidewalk, or just the right book at just the right time. I AM happy when the sky paints pictures with the light or when someones words touch my heart, and when I see the twinkle in the eye of someone old. I find lots of happiness when a painting comes out the way I intended or a photo as I'd hoped. Watching birds and squirrels or other small  creatures brings me a moment of joy too.
Happiness is more like a state of being than a single individual experience, but these are a few of the things that are fun about being happy. They are things that open my eyes to the happiness within, which is always there when I allow myself to acknowledge the feeling in my life. Sometimes it can be a challenge to open my heart to the feeling. I tend to close down when I focus on hurdling over lifes daily obstacles. I am a worrier sometimes and get carried away from living inside my happiness space. These "little" things are the conduits that bring me back to center and into the world of my inner joy. Sometimes I just need togo 'poof!' and let my little light shine. PE

Absolutely I would! I am the Activities Director at a 32 unit Assisted Living residence. It is a wonderful place to work and a great career! Our facility is based on the Eden Alternative principle which advocates the elimination of boredom, lonliness and uselessness.  We have a menagerie of animals at the facility which the residents adore and bring children in from the local schools to bring smiles to their faces. I am their fitness coach as well, so I lead excercises twice a day, we do creative arts and crafts, storytelling, story writing, music, outings to many area events and the list goes on and on.  Many of my residents have Alzheimers or Dementia while others just can't walk, talk,see or hear. 
I work with residents who have lived all over the world for instance, Italy, India, Saudia Arabia, Asia, Africa, France and of course, all over the US as well. I have the unique opportunity to touch living history every day of my life.  We can learn a lot from our elders if you take the time to listen, even those who may have difficulty expressing themselves or fitting into what we call 'normal' society.  Many of my family of residents have been published authors, others were muscians, nurses and teachers.  All of us who work there consider these people our extended family. We love and care for them like they were our own.
The bittersweet of it is when someone crosses over.  I don't know how many of you have been in a room when someone has died, but sometimes you can actually feel the angels in the room. It is an amazing experience.  Although there is sadness in losing a friend, I find comfort in feeling that being one of the last faces a person sees before they die is a special calling in and of itself. Sending them light and love as they transit is a unique opportunity to bring peace to someones life.
It may not be for everyone, but I wouldn't trade this job for the world.  Peace..PE

85 lbs of hair and a wet nose on most days. Sometimes my internal clock wakes me up. I was noticing this week though that it is not working correctly right now.  I can usually set my internal clock before I go to sleep at night and it will wake me up when I want, my timekeeper is not working right.  I am wondering if my melatonin levels may be down.  We have had non stop snow in Idaho for weeks now and the grey skies really bring on the Seasonal Affective Disorder bigtime.  It may have affected my time clock.
 Good thing I have a big hungry dog in the mornings, right? Wish I had a photo to share, but a description will have to do.  Rowdy is a St. Bernard and Collie cross companioned with Chas-z who is a Chihuahua cross. Rowdy has the markings of the St. Bernard and the hair length of a collie and is about the size of a labrador. You know you're awake when he jumps on your side of the bed and washes your face in the morning!! Yuk! :9)))PE

This may seem like a simple question to most of you, but believe it or not I was 50 years old before I figured out its importance.  I was on the road doing speech contests with Toastmasters and found that early morning when I wake up is my clearest time to think and program my brain. Toastmasters teaches a lot more than just public speaking, you really learn a lot about yourself in the process.  I wish I'd known this about myself when I was in college, or at the very least when I was younger! What a difference knowing this one little piece of information can make in your life. Taking advantage of your best thinking time can change everything you do.  I found when memorizing speeches, I remembered the sequence and retained words better when there have been no distractions or physical output to fill my brain and make me tired.  Now, I lie in bed every morning about 5:30 and prepare myself for the day before I even get up.  Usually for about an hour.  Its kind of like meditation, but is more 3rd dimensionally centered. Good Question Siona! Peace Eagle

Seen it? Felt it? Live it!
go to
http://www.theshiftmovie.com
I couldn't get the video link to work on the blog. ;9) PE

be? IT would be an art colony! I have always wanted to have an art colony where artists could come to Idaho and stay in cabins in the woods with scenic views of mountains, wildlife and natural beauty from which to be inspired.  It would include a very classy gallery of their work and classes and/or art camps for kids of all ages 3-103! Let's paint, sculpt, write, compose, build pots, weave, U name it, Lets do it! Let's express art as a communication tool to encourage world change, peace, beauty and appreciation for life! Lets do it! Lets share talents, creative gifts and wisdom as the core tools of art. Lets do it! Art!

Dear Friends,
Old man winter and Sister wind are having a party in North Idaho! As is usual this time of year, they are telling me to start my hibernation cycle. Mercury went Rx on the 28th and will not go direct until the 18th of February. Those of you who were on my friends list in October will remember, I don't do Mercury in Rx well.  I tend to lay low and not communicate during the transition, but I do check the emails and keep up with what is going on even though I don't communicate and actually participate.
As of right now, my computer is being run on a battery as we are in a power outage that could last days. The temperature is a 34 degrees, with a wind chill of 22. The snow is about 4 ft deep on the flat ground with another 10 inches coming in today. Snow burms here are higher than buildings and trees. We are driving down roads between white walls of snow that block the view of buildings and the rest of the world. It's kind of like driving inside a labirynth or maze. I will post photos once they are developed, as I am old fashioned and still use a film camera.
There is much to be done should the temps go down without heat in the house. I am sure we will make it through somehow, the dogs and I always do. The roads are becoming impassable too. I am taking this as a sign from Spirit to look within. Take time out and warm my heart.
Have fun while I'm gone and I want to hear all your stories when I "get back" in February! PE