Inherently Happy

Geoffrey Bennett Ulrich
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Quick reminders about Balance, Growth, and the Everyday Divinity within ourselves. More or less. With your pal Happy Lord Geoffrey. HaHaHappy.org

  1. 1d ago

    Happy Presence - Ep. 459

    Fully commit to whatever the task is at hand, join in, be mindful, and get into the swing,  Happy Presence is choosing to be aware of where you are, and deciding to do the thing. [full text below] Ep. 459 - Happy Presence We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! Whatever you’re doing, commit to it completely, be fully present,  Don’t wish you were somewhere else, it’ll just undermine what you have to do, Splitting your focus and attention, thus making life unnecessarily unpleasant, So, even if you don’t get to pick what to do, how you approach it is still up to you. As I was writing this, I started to get tired, but instead of wishing I could take a break,  I went ahead and took one, setting an alarm for an eight minute power snooze, Which turned out to be just enough to help me regain my focus and stay awake, And all because I didn’t try to fight it or wish for something else, all I did was choose. At right about quitting time at my day job, I was asked to help with a chore, I like to help whenever I can, in general, but I will admit the timing wasn’t great, I was trying to finish up some other stuff, but they needed my help a little bit more, So, I agreed--and as such I fully committed to the goal, as the deadline couldn’t wait. It would’ve been no good to grumble and drag my feet as that would help no one, Not them, not me, and certainly not the work at hand, so I set to it as fast as I could, But pretty soon it was clear that there no time to do all that had to be done, They needed half a dozen projects in thirty minutes--I’m good, but not that good. I had to let them know that it’d be tough to even complete one--let alone all, I wasn’t splitting my focus, or trying to quit, I was doing it, but the clock was ticking, Then someone realized that even if we missed the deadline the sky wouldn’t fall,  The projects would auto-renew and so there was no need for us to be nit-picking. So, all of that was for nothing, you may well say--but no, that’s my point, you see, By fully committing to the task at hand, by joining in and getting into the swing,  I was helpful, fully present and not thinking there was somewhere else I should be, Happy Presence is choosing to be aware of where you are, and deciding to do the thing. Haha Yowza

    3 min

  2. Jun 10

    Good Happy - Ep. 458

    The world is full of humor, some bad, some good, But a lot of that depends on which stance you take, And I don’t mean pretending for I don’t believe you should, I’m talking about genuine levity, something you don’t have to fake. [full text below] Ep. 458 - Good Happy We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! I may have my low stretches, My times of trouble and strife,  When I feel like one of them wretches Who’s losing at the game of life. But that’s when my imagination kicks in, That’s when I daydream and create, That’s when I take my Inherently Happy spark for a spin, And allow my heart, mind and spirit to activate. The world is full of humor, some bad, some good, But a lot of that depends on which stance you take, And I don’t mean pretending for I don’t believe you should, I’m talking about genuine levity, something you don’t have to fake. Today at work someone wrote to ask if I’d been impacted by a new regulation, I did a little research to see, but it turned out it doesn’t apply to me, I kept the conversation going since she clearly wanted to talk about the situation, After venting for a spell, she said there was never a dull moment-- I had to agree. So, I responded by saying that I dream of dull moments--which is silly, I know, But sometimes things can get a bit hectic and so uneventful times can seem nice,  She said that made her laugh and so a work email turned into a comedy show, She agreed that life could get complicated and society often exacted a heavy price. I long ago realized, even while bullied for years, that some good could still be found, I could find occasional points of connection, share a joke or even help them out, Bullies are people too--it may not seem like it, but all of us are equally earth-bound, And so we share far more than we may think we do, something I will never doubt. Those moments of ceasefire in their warfare against me, we few and far between, But every once in a while I made a lasting friend because I always look for the good, You might say I’m Good Happy, determined to find what others may not have seen, For I know the true tragedy is denying your own humanity, something you never should. Haha Yowza

    3 min

  3. Jun 3

    Bad Happy - Ep. 457

    You deserve love even if it's hard to come by, You have value even if it's tough to find, There's a spark deep inside you that refuses to die,  An Inherently Happy source of your spirit, heart and mind. [full text below] Ep. 457 - Bad Happy We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! Have you ever felt that you were bad? Not as in a failure, or in a foul mood, But that you’d gone completely mad, Where something was fundamentally wrong with your attitude? I used to feel that way because I was bullied for years,  Every support system I thought I had failed me, My school, my neighborhood, my family, my faith, my peers, I couldn’t understand why nothing helped to even the slightest degree. Everything felt like a personal attack, And I started daydreaming of vengeance on my own behalf, Of increasingly gruesome ways to fight back, And instead of bothering me, they made me laugh. I was turning bad, when once I had been so good,  Once I had been popular and well-liked, Never imagining any darkness could cloud my golden childhood, So that when it did, the pain and terror spiked. And it came out in destructive ways, I broke things, I burned things, I cut myself too, In order to impress others--but to prompt fear, not praise, Which only isolated me further, which didn’t help my point of view. I convinced myself that bad was good, that being mean was fun,  I didn’t need friends, faith or family, I smoked and hung out in a graveyard at night, I pictured scenarios where I would destroy just about everyone, But even at my lowest point, I still felt that it was unfair, that something wasn’t right. That I still deserved love even if it was hard to come by, That I had value even if it was tough to find, That there was some spark deep inside me that refused to die,  An Inherently Happy source for my spirit, heart and mind. And I’m so glad I never let go of that notion, I’m ecstatic that I never completely gave up hope,  Because the Happy that connects all of us is an endless ocean, And acknowledging and embracing it is what gives life infinite scope. Haha Yowza

    4 min

  4. May 27

    Shame Happy - Ep. 456

    Shame Happy means taking every mistake as proof that you're the worst, Instead of treating them as a chance to grow, You have to believe that you deserve good things first, And accept that you're Inherently Happy, because you are, you know. [full text below] Ep. 456 - Shame Happy We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! Life can be a lot, but we can control our reactions like they’re on a dimmer switch,  Where we regulate our responses, turning them down when they try to go too high, It takes practice, and an intentional mindset to soften the scream of that fever pitch, But it’s well within the power of the Balance and Growth we all have to hit that bullseye. Part of the trick is not being afraid of the extremes, so that you don’t panic, This is why I recommend training your emotions through roleplay or art, For it helps you teach yourself to recognize the moment you begin to feel manic, Allowing you the time and confidence to adjust those patterns before they start. All the feelings we think of as good can turn bad if we let them go long-range, The same way the bad ones can be manageable if we don’t let them go that far, So, something like shame, for instance, can help nudge us towards change, Or it can turn toxic if we internalize it and mistake it for who we really are. Then we become Shame Happy, taking every mistake as proof that we’re the worst, When literally everything that happens to us can be treated as a chance to grow, But that’s only possible if you believe that you deserve good things first, And accept that you are Inherently Happy, because you are, you know. Haha Yowza

    2 min

  5. May 20

    Form Happy - Ep. 455

    We don't have to be so Form Happy, we can just let life be messy and live it anyway as best we can. [full text below] Ep. 455 - Form Happy We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! It’s nine-thirty at night as I write this, I often start late, that’s kind of the norm, But I still usually finish writing, recording, drawing, and posting by midnight, I usually make the lines rhyme, which forces me to keep it nice and tight, Changing the content, while staying on message, but rarely playing with the form. But life isn’t always so consistent--for example, not fifty miles away there’s a wildfire, I get alerts on my phone and there’s evacuations already, hundreds of acres burned, What can you say to a person whose whole life has become so dire? Is Balance and Growth really what they need when their world is upturned? Well, maybe, I’ve been through fires myself since moving to the West Coast, Been evacuated, even burned out of my home, and keeping perspective can help, Learning to let go of what doesn’t matter, looking for joy where you can find it, Kindness can come from unlikely sources, connection and compassion can be found. We don’t have to be so rigid, We don’t have to be so strict,  We don’t have to be so Form Happy, We can just let life be messy,  And live it anyway  As best we can. Haha Yowza

    2 min

  6. May 13

    Mood Magic - Ep. 454

    If you see moods as tools to help you process the Human Condition,  You won’t worry so much about letting yourself feel all the feels, It doesn’t make you weak but resourceful, like a Mood Magician, Instead of someone who fights their feelings, white-knuckling all their ordeals. [full text below] Ep. 454 - Mood Magic We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! They say that if you want something done you need to give it to someone busy, Because they’re able to handle it, they already know how to keep things going, So, they can just add more stuff to the mix at full speed without getting dizzy, Staying active means you’re better able to keep life flowing and growing. And this applies to more than just workloads, but to emotional health as well, Emotions can sometimes seem like work, when life gets heated and a little too much, The tendency is to want to shrink everything down when things start to swell, But the more you shut yourself off the more you train yourself to lose touch. But if you see moods not as burdens, but tools to help you process the Human Condition,  Then you won’t worry so much about letting yourself feel all the feels, It doesn’t make you weak, it makes you resourceful, like a Mood Magician, As opposed to someone who fights their feelings, white-knuckling all their ordeals. Me, I’m able to handle what comes at me not because I’m a calm individual, no,  But because I’m a mood juggler, keeping all my moods always on the move, I can switch ‘em this way and that ‘cause I always know where I’m at in the show, And I always know that no matter what, no and, if or but, I can always find the groove. Haha Yowza

    2 min

  7. May 6

    Happy Quarter Million - Ep. 453

    Being able to mark time and observe accomplishments, no matter how small,  Is a good way to boost motivation, encourage growth and enhance well-being, For myself, I write every day, but the longer projects can feel like hitting a wall, So, I do smaller ones, like this podcast, proving I can finish things, which is freeing. [full text below] Ep. 453 - Happy Quarter Million We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! The Inherently Happy podcast has hit yet another itty bitty milestone, You know, if you go in for that sort of thing, as it doesn’t really change much, Just that we can rest assured that those of us who know about it aren’t alone, And if others find out what you listen to they won’t think you’re out of touch. A quarter million downloads of this Happy human’s weekly schedule of posting,  Of reminding myself about things that occupy my mind in any given week,  Of my intention to try to actively aim for Balance and Growth without coasting, Not that I can quit my day job or that most people have ever even heard me speak. But that’s okay, it’s for me, and anyone else who can get something out of it, So, this tiny celebration of a benchmark is just an appreciation of progress, It tells me it’s something other people can relate to, and that’s nice, I’ll admit, But I’d do them anyway as they help me hone my skills, reflect, and decompress. Being able to mark time and observe accomplishments, no matter how small,  Is a good way to boost motivation, encourage growth and enhance well-being, For myself, I write every day, but the longer projects can feel like hitting a wall, So, I do smaller ones, like this podcast, proving I can finish things, which is freeing. So, why not commemorate the things you do, especially if it helps you do more things? We can all get stuck in a rut, wondering if anything we do changes anything at all, But something as simple as noticing a checkpoint and the gratification that brings, Can be just the thing to keep you going till you hit the next stop on the long haul. Haha Yowza

    3 min

  8. Apr 29

    Happy Safety - Ep. 452

    Happy Safety is that feeling we carry within us that tells us that we’re okay, Even if other people say otherwise, put us down or try to control how we feel, They can’t touch that part--it’s not theirs, and they have absolutely no say, It belongs to us, as theirs belongs to them, being common doesn’t make it less real. [full text below] Ep. 452 - Happy Safety We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! Do you feel safe? Safe in your relationships, your workplace, your home? Do you feel like you’re allowed to make mistakes, to be imperfect, to fail? Or are you constantly worried you’re being judged, giving you a syndrome? Where your most embarrassing moments will be used for emotional blackmail? When I was seven, I was pretty darn carefree. I was popular and life was good, But then I had a growth spurt, got bit by a dog, lost my cuteness, and all my friends. I grew nervous and sickly, becoming more of a target than I ever thought I could, I tried to turn invisible, go unnoticed, but still became a means to villainous ends. No place seemed safe after that. I was burned by the sun, and frightened by the dark, Only when I was chased into the cemetery one night by bullies did I finally calm down, For they were too scared to pursue me, turning a terror zone into my very own park, A safe haven from the cruel world around me where I could be mayor of death town. Granted, that may not be everyone’s idea of a safe place, but it certainly was mine, It was free from angry people who made me feel small, a place I could just be me, There I didn’t feel overly sensitive or moody or weird, everything I did was just fine, I could talk to the trees and the headstones and they’d listen to me very quietly. I eventually went other places, made friends again, grew up, and got on with it, But whenever I was yelled at, or made fun of, or told I was too much or not enough, I thought of my safe space where no one could hurt or exclude me or call me a misfit, Where I was strong and wise and smart and fair and fun and nice and all that good stuff. Happy Safety is that feeling we carry within us that tells us that we’re okay, Even if other people say otherwise, put us down or try to control how we feel, They can’t touch that part--it’s not theirs, and they have absolutely no say, It belongs to us, as theirs belongs to them, being common doesn’t make it less real. So, yes, people can be triggering, situations can be scary, Our hearts can take a beating, and our fears can become extreme, But having an inner sense of peace doesn’t mean it’s imaginary, Just as finding comfort in your thoughts doesn’t mean life is but a dream. Haha Yowza

    4 min
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About

Quick reminders about Balance, Growth, and the Everyday Divinity within ourselves. More or less. With your pal Happy Lord Geoffrey. HaHaHappy.org

Information

  • Creator
    Geoffrey Bennett Ulrich
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    459
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Inherently Happy