Tag Archives: Happiness

Sadako Sasaki and All Children Affected By War


As I write my 2nd writing project, a fictional story with Sadako Sasaki and all children affected by war in mind, I reflect on how precious life is and the innocence of every child. I think of my two-year-old niece Elyse and four-month-old niece Sophie. I can’t help but feel sad inside.

On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima city when Sadako Sasaki was only two years old. She was blown out of the window of her home, and her mother found her lying on the ground. Her mother helped her and her four-year-old brother flee to a nearby river to escape the fire, where they huddled together as the “black rain” poured on them, the residual radioactive material that was propelled into the upper atmosphere following the nuclear blast and fell out of the sky with rain water after the shockwave. When Sadako was twelve years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia as a result of the bomb’s radiation. With determination to live, she folded paper cranes, but sadly the disease took her away.

I dedicate the song below called “Tracking Aeroplanes” by The Echelon Effect to all the children suffering or taken away to soon by war. The music expresses the deep feelings that I have inside. I feel so fortunate to be able to live this long, and to be able to play a small role in making this world better for the little ones.

Sadako Sasaki.

Sadako Sasaki.

Sadako Sasaki.

Sadako Sasaki.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Positive Living Practice #1: Reducing Stress in a Positive Way


As I mentioned in my “Positive Living Practice and Stages Practice” post, I’m creating a Positive Living Practice series that highlights products and services that can help us with our health, wealth, and happiness so that we can live a happy and fulfilling life. By “health,” I mean good physical, mental, and spiritual health. For “wealth,” I define it as time, knowledge, and ideas. And “happiness” is the wonderful joy we get from gratitude, compassion, and love.

Today, I’m discussing a challenge that we all face within our lives – “Stress.” Have you ever received another person’s wrath because of that person’s weakness in not being able to handle his or her stress? Or worse, have you ever directed your anger at another person and blamed your bad behavior because of the stress your were going through?

How often we experience stress is within our control. I personally believe that 99% of all challenges we face are either minor or can be resolved. In regards to the 1% of challenges that we can’t control, we can become stronger by accepting it, learning from it, and moving on.

Studies have shown that stress can cause us emotional and physical problems. Further, if we manage it in the wrong way, we could hurt our relationships and reputation. Instead of handling stress in a destructive way that hurts ourselves and others, we can address it in a positive way that spreads waves of positive energy to others. In this post, I will share with you my strategies to reduce stress. I also include a poster on how to beat stress and boost happiness by Happify, a company that helps you to develop happiness skills through its online activities and articles. You can check out Happify at http://www.happify.com.

If we can reduce stress, we will be healthier physically, mentally, and spiritually; and be stronger in our practice of gratitude, compassion, and love. With good health and happiness, we can make the best use of our time, absorb more knowledge, and come up with more ideas.

The following are some of the things that I like to do to reduce stress:

  1. Exercise: Run indoors or outdoors and lift weights.
  2. Dream of what I want to achieve.
  3. Type my ideas.
  4. Write down and update my goals.
  5. Envision the outcome of my goals.
  6. Listen to music.
  7. Spend time with my family.
  8. Be around positive people.
  9. Have gratitude for all the good things I have in my life.
  10. Meditate.
  11. Self-Reflect.
  12. See the positive in every failure.
  13. Try to get a good sleep and take a nap when I need a boost.
  14. Listen to podcast shows that highlight positive and successful people.
  15. Write fictional stories.
  16. Read novels.
  17. Learn through reading or practice.
  18. Watch a television show or movie that inspires me.
  19. Sensory Therapy – Sight: Vision boards, posters, & light from candles.
  20. Sensory Therapy – Sound: Music and sounds of nature.
  21. Sensory Therapy – Aroma: Scented candles and oil diffusers.
  22. Sensory Therapy – Touch: Shower or bath, swimming in the ocean or a pool, or a massage.
  23. Network.
  24. Enjoy events.
  25. Appreciate the beauty of nature.

Here is a poster from Happify that shows us how to take on stress in a positive way.

6cce011cff72ac942a99ec7de30149c9

#happy #stress #stressrelief #stressreduction #mindfulness #gratitude #empathy #compassion #mentalhealth #health #positivity #positiveliving #happiness #joy

Leave a comment

Filed under Compassion, Empathy, Gratitude, Life, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Positive Living, Positivity, Quotes, Writing