George’s Happiness Blog – Page 3

Smile. Go ahead, pass it on.

Written by George and Rachel Barker on April 12, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. Leave a Comment

You’ll be better off I am not always a fan of the insta-message posted on church signs, but I am a huge fan of smiling. Forcing yourself to smile can change your mood. Change it for the better that is. Now I’m not saying that it is always easy, but it is doable. There have been times when I’m having one of “those days” that I literally have to go in front of the mirror, and using my fingers, force a smile. I will stay in that position until I can walk out of the bathroom maintaining...

Have You Ever Wondered Whether You Were Coming or Going?

Written by George and Rachel Barker on March 24, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. Leave a Comment

A phrase often used when life becomes very busy and very hectic. When we are in these times, it can seem as though we are running in circles. And yes, if you were literally running in a circle, it would be extremely difficult to determine if you were coming or going. I am well familiar with this phenomenon as I have experienced it repeatedly in my life. Particularly over the last several months, hence I have missed my blogs the last two weeks. I have in fact really missed writing them. I remember...

Have you ever wished you would have “thought of that sooner?”

Written by George and Rachel Barker on March 3, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. Leave a Comment

Recently I was giving a “lunch & learn” presentation at a nationally-recognized corporate headquarters: Think “duck,” quack, quack. The presentation was connected to Arbor Day, which this year – for me anyway – feels like it’s happening every weekend. (Back to the movie “Groundhog Day?”) There was a good attentive crowd in attendance. I am always thankful to enjoy an opportunity to speak in front of an audience and spread a positive and...

Do you ever have trouble shaking an old memory or thought?

Written by George and Rachel Barker on February 24, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. 2 Comments

Mind over Matter I don’t know about you, but there are times when I get a thought from the past in my brain and I just can’t seem to let it go. It seems that most of the time it is something that I did – often that I’m not very proud of – and it just wants to go into replay mode over and over again. It’s like it wants to remind me how foolish I can be. The importance of getting rid of these types of thoughts is because if we are not careful, they can cause us to think less of ourselves....

Arbor Day – Do you know when it’s celebrated? And why?

Written by George and Rachel Barker on February 14, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. Leave a Comment

Although national Arbor Day is in April, many states and communities celebrate Arbor Day sooner to take advantage of a more suitable climate in which to plant trees. Yes, Arbor Day is about planting trees, but it’s also a time when we can celebrate nature. Nature is a great stress reliever, a great healer. (A repost from December 2017.) Related: When is Arbor Day celebrated in your state? Nature – in the backyard Nature’s way to speak to us all If only we stop, to absorb its awe! The...

Could you stand to laugh a little more?

Written by George and Rachel Barker on February 9, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. Leave a Comment

I was laughing so hard, I was crying. Last week, I mentioned that Groundhog Day was one of my favorite days. Now after seeing the Facebook Live broadcast of the spectacle on Gobbler’s Knob surrounding the emergence of Punxsutawney Phil, it has definitely moved into a top spot. I know there are those of you who are too serious-minded; those of you who think you are above such nonsense. How can you not laugh at the silliness? I believe that our society has become too uptight. We like to take...

Groundhog Day. It comes around year after year.

Written by George and Rachel Barker on February 2, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. 1 Comment

Groundhog Day. Like clockwork. What a day! All the hype surrounding a rodent and its ability to forecast the weather. We won’t get into accuracy levels. Apparently, accuracy and weather forecasting are totally unrelated anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I like all the hype – we can all use a little silliness in our lives from time-to-time – sometimes I think we humans like to take ourselves a little too seriously. This year, for Ground Hog Day, I want to focus on the movie. Yes, that’s right, the movie...

Quagmire – Getting Out While You Can

Written by George and Rachel Barker on January 27, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. 4 Comments

Although I’m not big on doing themes or a series with my blogs, my last few have all sort of tied in together. First, “Resolution or Realization,” points out that the reality of life is that it “just happens.” It does not matter what our great master plan is, things often beyond our control, just happen. From there, I asked, “are you following the easiest path?” When life happens, because of our need to control, we often allow life’s “happenings” to get us off our own path and onto the wrong...

Your Life Feeling a Little Ho Hum?

Written by George and Rachel Barker on January 20, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. Leave a Comment

As a forester, navigating dirt roads this time of year can be quite the challenge. This is one of our rainiest times of year and coming off a wet 2018 has made matters even worse. When dirt roads get soggy, they get soft especially in lower lying areas. When they get soft, tires will leave impressions or ruts. The soggier and softer the road, and the bigger the tire, the deeper the rut. Depending on the road (path) you’re on, avoiding ruts can be a real challenge. Often, life works in much the...

Are you following the easiest path?

Written by George and Rachel Barker on January 13, 2019. Posted in George's Happiness Blog. Leave a Comment

If the answer to this question is no, the obvious reply is, why not? Many people believe in the ole saying, “sometimes the right path isn’t the easiest one.” Maybe you fall into that category. If you do, let me expand on my previous question a little bit. If you believe you are on the right path, and that path is not easy, why in the world would you choose a path that is not easy? Unless you are some sort of masochist. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not against work,...

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