Happiness is contagious!

A study of the relationships of nearly 5,000 people tracked for decades in the Framingham Heart Study shows that good cheer spreads through social networks of nearby family, friends and neighbors.  Knowing someone who is happy makes you 15.3% more likely to be happy yourself, the study found.

See, you DO have the power to make a change and it's so easy. All you have to do is to act HAPPY! 

Los Angeles Times reports on this study:

"Your emotional state depends not just on actions and choices that you make, but also on actions and choices of other people, many of which you don't even know," said Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a physician and medical sociologist at Harvard who co-wrote the study."

"The research is part of a growing trend to measure well-being as a crucial component of public health. Scientists have documented that people who describe themselves as happy are likely to live longer, even if they have a chronic illness."

Lovely!

“Love of beauty is Taste. The creation of beauty is Art.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

I wish I knew who took this photo, If you know please let me know. I love the elegance of this photo.

Give Thanks!

There are so many things great about America and one of my favorites is Thanksgiving holiday, and this is my favorite thanksgiving poem for you:

If I hear the Ocean roar
If I see the eagle soar
If I sense what flowers say
Then this is my Thanksgiving day!

If I catch the rain drop's kiss
If I feel the sunset's bliss
If I blend with natures way
Then, this is my Thanksgiving day!

If I hear you talk to me
If I see what you can be
If I love you on your way
Then, this is my Thanksgiving Day!

Let's not forget to count our blessings and give thanks.  So, I thank YOU for stopping by my blog and for your sweet encouraging emails.

By Women Civilization continue!

Of woman are we born, of woman conceived.
To woman engaged, to woman married.
Woman we befriend, by woman do civilization continue.
When a woman dies, a woman is sought for.
It is through woman that order is maintained.

~Guru Nanak and painting by Frederick Arthur Bridgman

I read this beautiful wisdom when I was helping my son with his homework on Sikism! He had to write a paper on this religion. 

It's just breaks my heart when many parts of this world, still, treats women so atrociously! Just today I got this news in my email, where I could not believe that I am reading it without being able to do anything!

How do you reconcile these two worlds together? Where in one, a Guru elevates a woman's status so beautifully about  400 years ago and then in our present time, where some men/regimes/some religions tear down women to nothingness?

Justice, Prayers, Valor

LOVE

Love where you've been.

Love where you're at.

Love how you think.

Love the power you pack.

Love all that you seek.

Love all that you feel.

Love your rocking emotions and the thoughts that make you real.

Ignorant Celebrities

If you don't know about Michael Ramirez's cartoons, I suggest you buy his book , Ramirez, a winner of Pulitzer Prize, is among the foremost artists and most astute political commentators of our time.

UPDATE:  Here is an excerpts from Ramirez's book that would like to share with you:

Albert Einstein once said, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." Einstein was right.  It is this axiom that makes political cartooning important. They people who ultimately govern will make mistakes.  They are human, after all. But history has demonstrated that power can turn leaders into monsters. Editorial cartoonists will gladly point out that shortcomings of the powerful in an effort to keep them human.

Smile though your heart is aching!

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Borrowed from HNN, thanks. Dr. Judith Apter Klinghoffer

"Whose bread I eat, his song I sing." -German Saying

People get over-excited or over-depressed during election times depends whose side wins or looses. I just have to remind them of this saying above. Let's not read too much into these elections.

To be tolerant of others requires great strength of character.  You must be secure in who you are not to be threatened by the differences you observe.  

The Golden Keys to Prosperity

1. BELIEVE. I believe that I Am prosperous.

2. FOCUS. I give my attention to prosperity and abundance.

3. INDEPENDENCE. Prosperity does not depend upon others. There is only one Source, God.

4. REALIZE. Worry, fear, anger & discontent impede my prosperity.

5. EXPECT. I expect the best and I receive the best.

6. GIVE. As I give, so shall I receive, ten fold and more.

7. DON'T GIVE UP. Be persistent in faith. There can be no limit to your possibilities.

~ Emmet Fox,One of the most influential New Thought Christianity authors of the 20th Century (1881-1951).

My all time favorite book is Ayn Rand's, Atlas Shrugged and I often blogged about her.  In these global economical turmoil, I wished everyone would take time to read Ayn Rand's books:

If you ask me to name the proudest distinction of Americans, I would choose--because it contains all the others--the fact that they were the people who created the phrase 'to make money.' No other language or nation had ever used these words before; men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity--to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created. The words 'to make money' hold the essence of human morality.

"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to be the tool by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of men. Blood, whips and guns--or dollars. Take your choice--there is no other--and your time is running out."

The above is an excerpt from Atlas Shrugged, © Copyright, 1957, by Ayn Rand

I just googled and not surprised to see Ayn Rand's name has been mentioned more lately in the news. Here is just a sample.

"When all is breaking up, something new is breaking through!" 

Dissidents Of The World

Something about these dissidents in the picture is inspiring and moving for me. They are courageous and brave. Each one of these dissidents are fighting for justice and equality for their people. That inspires, moves and touches me and they deserve our prayers and support.
On Governors Island President Bush and first lady Laura Bush yesterday hosted a lunch for political dissidents where they discussed how to advance the freedom agenda, the protection of human rights, and the dignity of all people. The attendees included, left to right, the head of the Other Russia Coalition, Garry Kasparov; the chairman of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies, Natan Sharansky; a special envoy of the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari; a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, Xu Wenli; a member of the European Parliament from Lithuania, Vytautas Landsbergis; the minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Zainab Hawa Bangura; the honorary chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), Alexander Kozulin; President Bush; Laura Bush; U Kovida of Burma; the president of Fighters for Free North Korea, Sang Hak Park; a journalist of Cuba, Omar Pernet Hernandez; the chairman and CEO of Radio Caracas Television, Marcel Granier; the director of international relations for Movement for Justice & Development in Syria, Ausama Monajed; the wife of Ayman Nour, Gameela Ismail, and Secretary of State Rice. At the United Nations, Bush said: ‘We must stand united.’

hmmm, Where is Iranian opposition leader? Where is Saudi Arabia's opposition Leader? Do they have one?

Great Men or Women

This line has been in my mind lately:

Shakespeare has a line about some men being born great, some men achieving greatness and others having greatness thrust upon them.