Be Happy

Regret #5:  Be Happy

This is a five-part series based on The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware

Are you happy? 

Do you enjoy life? 

Did you enjoy your life in your younger years?

Why or why not? 

Regret #5:

I wish I had let myself be happier.

How does one “become happier”?

The significant idea is to live each moment by being present and focused on what is happening in that particular time and place. 

I’ve had to learn this one, thanks to Carolyn’s help.  We are so aware of the precious moments we share together.  We savor them, acknowledge them, and enjoy them.

We are happy.

What’s the formula for being happy?

Do fun stuff that you and your partner both enjoy.

Be present – in the moment for those special times.

Plan special dates with your loved one.

Sometimes, do the unexpected and visit the unexpected places.

Savor the experience. 

Reminisce and relive the experience.

That’s what we do.  We take lots of pictures and we look at them and play “remember when” and relive those special times. 

We are happy.

We love our life together.

We look for ways to enhance our “happy” times together.

Happiness is not …

   -Wearing happy pants

   -Going to happy places

   -Wearing a happy hat

   -Eating happy food

Happiness is a choice. 

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Keep in Touch

Regret #4:  Keep in Touch

This is a five-part series based on The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware

Have you ever met someone and had the magic of friendship happen instantly?  What a nice moment that is, and if you are able to sustain the friendship, you have something of substance that stands you in good stead for life. 

And then you lose touch.  That is a real tragedy. 

Regret #4 is this:

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

There is no magic formula for this idea.  We just have to find the time and the avenues available to us for maintaining friendships that are significant to us. 

Here are eight ways to keep in touch, or get back in touch with someone who was at one time a significant friend in our lives.

US Mail – cards and letters

Email

Fax

Phone

Skype

Text messaging

Chat lines

Video conferencing

The manner matters not, it’s the doing that counts.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Expressed Feelings

Regret #3:  Expressed Feelings

This is a five-part series based on The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware

When words are left unexpressed, often they become the ones that sting the most in life.  Recently I've read a few accounts of individuals coming to their end with unexpressed feelings and what a burden and loss it is for those left behind. 

Sometimes it takes courage to say the words, but say them we must. 

Regret #3: 

I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings

Somewhere deep within us we must find the courage to say the words that matter the most in our key relationships.  Those heart-words are so vitally important and we must find them and use them. 

I was 19 years old before I ever remember hearing or uttering the words “I love you” with my parents.  It’s good to sort-of know one is loved, but it is absolutely imperative to express that phrase. 

What feelings do you need to express to someone today?  Find the time, find the words, and find the guts to say the words that will last a lifetime.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

I Worked Too Hard

This is a five-part series based on The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware

All of our lives we are taught that hard work is a good thing, and we will be so proud of ourselves if we give our best effort, if we’re the first one in and the last one out, and if we give 110% effort. 

And when it’s all over, look what you sometimes have. 

Regrets!

You missed a few games and band concerts of your budding star,

          but you gave it your all at the office.

You missed a few anniversary dinners,

          but you gave it your all at the office.

Your health is failing from all those long hours, long flights and long weekends,

          but you gave it your all at the office.

And on and on …

Regret #2 is this:

I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

From today forward, this I resolve:

To see more sunsets

To see more sunrises

To take more vacation time

To eat more ice cream

To appreciate the small moments

To love and express love at every opportunity

Life is a fleeting thing.  We have these few years on earth, and then …

Live your life and reach your end with abundant energy, great memories, exceptional health and no regrets.

Order "Top Five Regrets" HERE

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

True to Myself

Regret #1:  A Life True to Myself

January 22, 2013

This is a five-part series based on The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware

Who are you and what do you want out of life?  Are you following your own heartbeat, or is someone else dictating your direction and your destiny? 

In her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware begins with this:

Regret #1:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 

To know one’s passions and then to act on those passions is the greatest of all journeys.  People around us are standing in line to tell us what to do, where to go, how to act, and how to dress – but is it our way? 

We are individuals, and we have a creator who has instilled inside of us unique gifts, abilities, inclinations and destinies.  At birth, they are nothing more than seedlings.  But as we grow, we gravitate toward those ideas and areas that best fit us. 

The joy of discovering and then pursuing our best life ever is what this thought is all about.  What a tragedy when we allow others to dictate our destiny which takes us down a path that is away from our true nature and inclinations.

When we come to our end, I hope we can look back over the landscape and declare “I had the courage to life a life true to myself and my own calling.” 

That is a successful life without regrets.

Order "Top Five Regrets" - Click Here

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

The Teacher

Allow me to borrow a line from the movie The Emperor’s Club starring Kevin Kline, who plays the role of a teacher at an all-boys school.  As the character Mr. Hundert, he is given a plaque that contains this phrase.

His life goes over into other lives.

Teachers come in all sizes, varieties and genders.  Teachers teach, whether they are university professors or parents, TV personalities or T-ball coaches.  Teachers influence, and sometimes that influence lasts a lifetime.

So, what are we teaching?  We are being watched.  In every encounter other eyes are watching.  What do they see?

Recently, we were having breakfast with Eliot and Adia – two of our grand-kids.  As is my habit I picked up two packets of sweetener and added them to my morning coffee.  I always shake the packets so that the contents will settle more to the bottom and not spill out when I tear the top off.

Eliot, age three, picked up two packets of sugar and shook them just as he had seen me do.  I became the teacher and he the student. 

What else am I teaching him?

Good question for all of us?

We teach.  They watch.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Aim Carefully

Aim Carefully

Someone posted a document once titled Twenty Things a Mom Should Tell her Son.  Item #3 is “Use careful aim when you pee.  Somebody has to clean it up, you know.”

So true.  And not just for bathroom habits.

-Ever had a relationship go south?  Somebody along the way lost their aim.

-Ever lost a job?  Aim is the culprit.

-Ever made a dumb mistake?  Probably a result of a bad aim.

And the final word of advice from Mom – “Somebody has to clean it up.”

Every bad aim in life has to be dealt with by someone - either you or those who follow after. 

A careful aim is a useful axiom for all of life, wouldn't you say?

It matters.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time