Love and Laughter - Celebrating the Gift of Life

Only you can call me into aliveness. Each time you try to understand and because you really care, my heart begins to grow wings, very small wings, very feeble wings, but wings. With your sensitivity and sympathy, and your power of understanding, you can breathe life into me. ~ Charles C. FinnLife is our brief precious time to feel-to experience love, laughter, and wonder-to design and contribute our unique creations and expressions of who we are and what we want to leave behind.

I paused to think about this gift of life, mysterious and marvelous. Filled with roller coaster highs and lows, each moment of life is exhilarating.

Our living energy continuously moves and changes, always seeking increase and offering abundance. I asked, "How do I celebrate this precious gift of life?"

Here are ten ways I like to celebrate being alive.

Walking though nature, and noticing the perfection in each intimate landscape.

Going to special places that fill me with energy; allowing that energy to wash away negativity; simply being instead of wanting or doing.

Hiking up the trail to a mountaintop in summer; skiing down from a mountaintop in winter.

Looking through an album filled with photos of friends and the places we have traveled.

Doing a favor for someone I have never met and making a new friend.

Enjoying the company of friends and family; laughing together and exchanging jokes, stories, and experiences.

Looking into a starry sky and imagining just how far it actually reaches.

Sharing experiences, joys, hopes, and future dreams with a friend.

Fully experiencing each moment and its emotions; remembering that all emotions are part of being alive.

Giving thanks to the Creator for allowing me to live on this planet, for friends and family, and for a gift so complete and perfect as life.

There is a beautiful quote by Frederick Buechner: Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis, all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. Allow your heart to grow wings. Savor every moment of life and reflect deeply on each experience. Celebrate the peaks and valleys. Become aware of the authentic joy that continually binds moment to moment, year to year, and generation to generation.

Most importantly, give life the best you have, and life will give its best back to you.

© Copyright by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com

MORE RESOURCES:

#39;I wish Pa much health and happiness#39; - Times of India

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3581149.cmscid=1256345862ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHq34awL7N4cybziJ5lRvK8fmLVXA#39;I wish Pa much health and bhappiness/b#39;/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTimes of India,nbsp;Indianbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Dad wouldn#39;t want anything else. I wish Pa health and eternal bhappiness/b. And if there#39;s anyone who deserves peace and bhappiness/b, it#39;s him!quot;/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Whos_no_1_AB_Rekha_and_Ash/articleshow/3579963.cmscid=1256345862ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNEjju_y5hSWM2n855_K-twdaWBByAWhoâ€™s no 1? AB, Rekha... and Ash!/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTimes of India/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256345862hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Release of abducted sailor brings happiness to family - Press Trust of India

Happiness Pops Up with Poppy in â€œHappy-Go-Luckyâ€ - eFluxMedia

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2i-0fd=Rurl=http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/movies/10happ.html%3Fref%3Dartscid=1255948746ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHZz1rZ0M3Sd0U8ZckWjlvv3X4O6Aimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=jZ9yPp7FnKYJimgurl=graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/10/10/movies/10hapy.xlarge1.jpg width=80 height=47 alt= border=1brfont size=-2New York Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Happiness_Pops_Up_with_Poppy_in_Happy_Go_Lucky_26288.htmlcid=1255948746ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHJYd1cTfjLlZ-86IWsS0WD84I-IAbHappiness/b Pops Up with Poppy in â€œHappy-Go-Luckyâ€/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6feFluxMedianbsp;-/font nobrOct 10, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1She understands perfectly that depression and gloominess canâ€™t possibly bring us bhappiness/b and, thus, she titters her way through any embarrassing or b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-1fd=Rurl=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2008/10/happiness_proves_its_own_rewar.htmlcid=1255948746ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHibj0E3X5uNBvb-oW1lCOyzfl4XAbHappiness/b proves its own reward/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Star-Ledger - NJ.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-2fd=Rurl=http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm%3Fnewsid%3D20158212%26BRD%3D2729%26PAG%3D461%26dept_id%3D569331%26rfi%3D6cid=1255948746ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNEXh1rVaHIl5Fz3WfOcEIgBp2qztgPollyanna Poppy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrGay City News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-3fd=Rurl=http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/10/10/features/encore/encore9.txtcid=1255948746ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNEaZEFNhZTUw0GJxzS4ygVLuh2aVwHawkins#39; bliss is infectious in #39;Happy-Go-Lucky#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCarroll County Times (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-4fd=Rurl=http://www.azcentral.com/ent/movies/articles/2008/10/09/20081009mikeleigh1009.htmlcid=1255948746ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHV3on6TSgxXV6deGlSpd0ao6N3fwnobrAZ Central.com/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-5fd=Rurl=http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/movies/10happ.html%3Fref%3Dartscid=1255948746ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHZz1rZ0M3Sd0U8ZckWjlvv3X4O6AnobrNew York Times/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255948746hl=ennobrall 62 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Schools rated on pupils#39; happiness - Times Online

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1076098/Five-year-olds-told-mark-school.htmlcid=1255460054ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNFa_mkTYidg_xkNZJqEAXZImEqZ-wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=uHy4rchjU-EJimgurl=i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/10/10/article-1076098-02F4983B00000578-163_468x303.jpg width=80 height=52 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Daily Mail/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article4919278.ececid=1255460054ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNFjY7m62Nr6NS5aMiNmrJFmoNE39wSchools rated on pupils#39; bhappiness/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTimes Online,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobrOct 10, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The plans are intended to fulfil the legal requirement on all schools to look after pupil wellbeing but say responsibility for the bhappiness/b of students b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1076098/Five-year-olds-told-mark-school.htmlcid=1255460054ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNFa_mkTYidg_xkNZJqEAXZImEqZ-wFive-year-olds are told they can mark their own school/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDaily Mail/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255460054hl=ennobrall 8 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Research shows gratitude a positive force - Toronto Star

A Closet Full of Happiness - KYMA

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.kyma.com/slp.php%3FidN%3D1097%26cat%3DLocal%2520Newscid=0ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHyfR8VHqu2eVY3yP647FzcbwJNdwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=NRo0Sq71CqIJimgurl=www.kyma.com/images/bradWillls.jpg width=61 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2KYMA/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.kyma.com/slp.php%3FidN%3D1097%26cat%3DLocal%2520Newscid=0ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHyfR8VHqu2eVY3yP647FzcbwJNdwA Closet Full of bHappiness/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fKYMA,nbsp;AZnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Bringing smiles one toy at a time is the motto for Andrea#39;s Closet, a non profit organization created to help ease the pain and suffering of children in the b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

#39;Music was a part of my health and happiness#39; - San Diego Union Tribune

19 ways to happiness, Tip #2 - Examiner.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-1161-Salt-Lake-City-Parenting-Examiner~y2008m10d9-19-ways-to-happiness-Tip-2cid=0ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHYo63sVD4gsACCO4JMrE-Nz9cjowimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=oeoAKC5LopkJimgurl=www.examiner.com/images/blog/author/img154rachael_lever_photo.jpg width=80 height=67 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Examiner.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-1161-Salt-Lake-City-Parenting-Examiner~y2008m10d9-19-ways-to-happiness-Tip-2cid=0ei=Q8fwSJPgKoLUyQS4kbzEBwusg=AFQjCNHYo63sVD4gsACCO4JMrE-Nz9cjow19 ways to bhappiness/b, Tip #2/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fExaminer.comnbsp;-/font nobrOct 10, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Tip number two in our journey to bhappiness/b is quot;Pretend to be Happyquot;. That is kind of the same as smiling when you don#39;t feel like it, but I think it goes a b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Time test predicts happiness, health - Calgary Herald

The Imprimatur of Happiness - ChristianityToday.com

Happiness - Google News

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