The happy and the sad

One

  Larry discovered a bird’s nest in the window of a small outbuilding beside his shop. He hasn’t seen a bird around it, but he was careful not to touch it. I was careful, too, when I snapped this photo of it.
  Look how much work went into building the nest.

 

(c) Tina Fariss Barbour

 

Two

  Lynchburg is a small city on the James River in Central Virginia. It’s located about 20 miles north of Altavista.
  I lived and worked in Lynchburg for years. When I was a child living on a farm, when we said, “We’re going to town,” it was Lynchburg we were talking about. That’s where we did our main shopping, saw the doctor, etc.

 

Three

  Recently, out of 189 metropolitan areas in the U.S., Lynchburg was ranked number 37 in well-being.
  To celebrate, the city of Lynchburg made a video of Lynchburg people dancing to Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy.” The video is HERE. It’s a lot of fun to watch. And the song itself is such a happy one.

 

Four
  Have you ever read an obituary or heard a eulogy about someone you didn’t know and thought, Wow, I would have liked to have known that person?
  I had that experience this week. I attended a memorial service for the mother of a co-worker. She died last week of cancer at the age of 55. I had met her but didn’t know her.
  The service was a sad but still joyful celebration of a life of a woman who, by all counts, was a true blessing to others.
  I wish I’d known her.

 

Five

  This is a photo of Chase Bird “polishing” the sofa table in the living room.
  When we took in Chase as a stray over six years ago, we discovered that his front paws had been declawed. He rubs and rubs the furniture like he’s scratching it, but he’s really polishing it.
  He’s our sweet boy.

(c) Tina Fariss Barbour

This is what my life looks like: Random 5 Friday

I blog about living with OCD, depression and anxiety. I write a lot about what OCD is like and how I deal with it, how I handle the resurgence of depression and what happens when anxiety seems to overwhelm me.

But part of what I want to do with my blog is to show that life can be full and happy regardless of the obstacles that we face. Everyone has obstacles, hard times, illnesses, troubles, pain. And everyone can find reasons to rejoice in life and to keep on putting one foot in front of the other, moving towards a life that gives them satisfaction and contentment.

With that in mind, I’m sharing five random facts again this week, linking up with Nancy Claeys’ A Rural Journal.

These random facts about me and my days are just a few examples of how even the little things in life add to its beauty.

April snow at dusk in our backyard.

1. On Thursday, April 4, in central Virginia, it snowed. I couldn’t believe it. It looked like large cotton balls falling from the sky. We only got a light covering, but it was still strange to see the snow mixing with the dogwood blooms, the flowering pears and the daffodils. The photo above shows the snow in our backyard. On the right side, about midway up, you can see a small stand of daffodils. I didn’t get close enough for a really good shot—still wearing The Monster Boot and using my extra paws!



My new haircut.

2. I got a long-needed haircut on Thursday. I haven’t gotten one in almost a year. Larry already had an appointment to get a haircut, and when I mentioned the other day that I thought I’d call the stylist to see if she had an opening for me, Larry said, “Well, if she doesn’t, you can have my appointment.” Yes, he was being sweet. He was also apparently telling me that, yes indeed, I needed a cut! Getting a new look always raises my spirits. Do you feel like that when you get a haircut?

3. Also on Thursday (a busy day!), Larry and I ate at a fabulous Indian restaurant in Lynchburg. They have a lunch buffet with many delicious foods, plenty of vegetarian selections for me and plenty with meat for Larry. Whenever I walk into the restaurant, the scents and sights take me back 25 years to when I lived in Ohio and had a good friend from India who loved to cook. I learned to love Indian food and hospitality by spending time with her.

4. I’m getting ready to start a new book. It’s Ransom River by Meg Gardiner. Gardiner writes exciting mysteries/thrillers that you don’t want to put down. And she’s an intelligent and talented writer to boot. I love the anticipation that comes before starting a book that I know is going to be good!

5. April is National Poetry Month. I plan to reread some favorites and discover some new poetry this month. My favorite poet is Mary Oliver. I read and reread her poems, always catching something new: a new idea, a new way of seeing. I memorize my favorites and recite them to myself some nights as I go to sleep. Reciting her poems is a way of praying for me.

To read others’ random 5 facts or to participate, go to Nancy’s blog.

What’s a small thing that makes life more enjoyable for you?

What do happy people do?

Recently, my therapist and I talked about the difficulty I was having in doing some of the things that we knew would help my mood, such as exercising.

He has told me before that action comes before motivation.

During this conversation, he put it a little differently.

He said people who are happy don’t go around feeling happy all the time.

What they do, he said, is choose to do things according to their values. They do things that are meaningful to them, that make their lives meaningful.

Which, for me, begs the question, what are my values?

Of course, I can tell you my basic values. I believe in loving my neighbor, in treating others with goodness, in not doing things like stealing and lying.

But how am I allowing those values to filter down into my everyday life, my everyday choices?

If I choose to exercise, what is my value behind that? If I choose to have a positive attitude, what is my value behind that?

I’m especially focused on this right now because of my new work schedule and the new choices I’ll have about how to spend my time.

I think I can work on clarifying my values in two ways. Both include writing.

I can write down what I think my values are.

And I can write down how I spend my time and how I want to spend my time, and see how my values align with that.

I believe that by being able to name my values, I’ll be able to make better choices in the things I do.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

How aware are you of your values as you make your daily choices?