5 Rules

I was just looking through an online catalog and found this photo of a paperweight. I am not going to buy the paperweight, but I do buy what it says. How absolutely perfect are these 5 rules?! I have just this moment decided that instead of New Year's resolutions, I am going to try to follow these 5 rules. Let's see how I can incorporate them into my life....

1. Free your heart from hatred. I am proud to say that I don't hate anyone, but there are a few people in my everyday life that really irritate me or that I don't enjoy very much. I had already decided to try to adjust my attitude towards these individuals so I will definitely focus my efforts here.

2. Free your mind from worries. OK. This is going to be a real challenge for me because worrying is one of the things that I am REALLY good at! I think part of it is comes from being a mother but I also believe that I was born with a big "worry wart"on my soul. However, as I get older I do think it's a bit easier to let things go. For instance, although two of my children are living over 3,000 miles away from me and I don't know what goes on with them on a day to day basis, I am able to sleep at night and function in my daily life. That wouldn't have always been the case with me. I will keep working on this.

3. Live simply. This can mean so many things, but I am going to start with trying to downsize. I was really inspired by jb, Causten and Mandi and how minimally, yet beautifully they live in their small New York apartment. This will take some work. I have always been a "pack rat." I am a shameful collector of things and I go through phases of collecting specific things - books, fabric, teddy bears, cows, angels, Santas, Christmas trees and decorations and now bees. Throwing things away or giving thing away is very difficult for me because I am always sure that I'm going to need that "thing" someday. One way that I am working on this is to cut back on being such shameful consumer. I am also going to do some serious donating this year. Stay tuned.

4. Give more. There are so many ways this can be done and so many ways that I already do this - I have to  be very careful not to wear myself out. I do have some ideas about this rule and I will let you know how I do here.

5. Expect less. Hmmmmmmm. I have to think about what this means to me. What do I expect and from whom do I expect it? I expect A LOT of myself and don't really want to change that. Otherwise, this is going to require some serious thought.

So there you go. I have traded New Year's resolutions for 5 Simple Rules for Happiness. I am going to type them out and keep a copy at work where I can see it every day. I will also put a copy on the fridge.

 I feel really good about this.