Inherently Happy

Geoffrey Bennett Ulrich

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

  1. 4D AGO

    The Happy Challenge - Ep. 445

    The Happy Challenge is trying to keep your cool when someone else is running hot, It’s not for the idle player, you have to be ready to take charge of your own fate, The one thing each of us has is the ability to choose how we face the life we’ve got, Do we let it run us? Or do we take control and decide whether we show love or hate? [full text below] Ep. 445 - The Happy Challenge 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! One of the greatest tricks you can learn is how to stay calm when things get wild, And even simply knowing this trick, doesn’t mean you can always pull it off, Like anything, it takes practice and intention, you need to be mindful to be so mild, Because the ability to not take things personally is a superpower--so don’t scoff. I’m not even saying I can do it all the time, I try--for sure, but I sometimes slip, I prepare myself for, say, driving by accepting that there will be challenges in store, Not just maybe, but to expect them with my plans in place before I start my trip, That way the inevitable difficulties arrive as predicted and I can avoid a war. I come off as rather silly, high energy--someone you’d never think of as being Mean, But that’s intentional for I know that even a single bad mood can be destructive, Especially if that’s someone’s first impression of you--not exactly peachy keen! And even if no one’s around, bad moods tend to be highly reproductive. So, here’s a challenge for you--the next time someone is Mean to you, be Nice, I know you won’t want to--they cut you off, they were disrespectful and rude,  Are you supposed to just get pushed around? Forget it, pal! No dice! People can’t just go through life thinking they can give you attitude! But that’s exactly the whole mindset I’m trying to address here, don’t you see? Part of the Meanness you attribute to them is actually just a guess on your part, They might not’ve even noticed you, and were just trying to avoid a bumble bee, But since the world revolves around you, of course you take everything to heart. So, maybe it’s better to start small, Take note of people acting carelessly, but don’t engage, Start a running count--try to collect them all! Make it into a little game instead of flying into a rage. Then build on that practice so that the next time you encounter trouble You can be ready, you can almost expect it, so it doesn’t turn into a fight, You’re not the only one who can take things personally--not to burst your bubble, Are they striving for Balance and Growth? Are they Happy? Or hurt, and filled with spite? Can you be Nice in the face of someone Mean? Is it too much to ask? The hardest task you’ve ever seen? Conversely, have you been Mean in the presence of someone Nice? It’s okay, I have too, I just try not to do it twice. The Happy Challenge is trying to keep your cool when someone else is running hot, It’s not for the idle player, you have to be ready to take charge of your own fate, The one thing each of us has is the ability to choose how we face the life we’ve got, Do we let it run us? Or do we take control and decide whether we show love or hate? Haha Yowza

    4 min
  2. FEB 25

    Happy Outcast - Ep. 443

    Have you ever felt excluded? Did you scramble to fit in again to avoid being left out? Or take it as an opportunity to see what your own heart and mind was about?   [full text below]   Ep. 443 - Happy Outcast 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 was a popular kid when I was very young and super cute, But that all went away as I grew up awkward and weird, My ability to make friends disappeared making me destitute, And leaving me open to bullying, loneliness and all the things I feared. I fought against it as best I could, of course, trying to make friends on the sly, If I could just get people away from the crowds, I thought, they’d see I was cool, But it never lasted, the peer pressure was just too strong for them to defy, Something that lost its power over me as a general rule. If nothing you do has any effect on how others treat you, then you’re free, I could dress how I liked, act how I liked, and be who I liked, It didn’t change the frequency of the bullying, just the ammo they could use on me, But it stopped hitting the same way it once had--my fear and anger no longer spiked. Oddly, it was also a relief to not have to conform anymore, Conformity didn’t help and nonconformity didn’t hurt, So I chose nonconformity, which is quite a thing to explore, There’s a freedom in being a Happy Outcast out in the cold and down in the dirt. I’m not saying it’s ideal by any means, community is very meaningful to folks, Myself included, but when that’s not an option, finding out who you are alone Is an important discovery to achieve even if it’s just the broad strokes, It can grant you self-confidence beyond what you may previously have known. Have you ever felt excluded? Did you scramble to fit in again to avoid being left out? Or take it as an opportunity to see what your own heart and mind was about? Haha Yowza

    3 min
  3. FEB 4

    Stay Happy - Ep. 440

    The way you Stay Happy is by balancing work with play,  Making sure you find the fun in each and every day. [full text below] Ep. 440 - Stay 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 tread water? Like, rather than swimming you stay vertical instead. It can be an endurance test to those who see it that way, or even a survival skill. It’s also a way of saying you aren’t moving forward, just stuck in your own head. Or it can be a way to keep active and disciplined as you let your thoughts distill. Perseverance, tenacity, and stick-to-itiveness are all well and good traits, But putting them into practice may feel like a drudgery when it comes time, As human beings we have to put up with a lot, being the playthings of the Fates, And it can be hard to keep balance and growth when you might feel past your prime. The secret to maintaining it, the way you Stay Happy, is you balance work with play, That can be a hobby, an artistic expression, or just turning something into a game, When you were a little kid, you could come up with activities that could last all day, But as we mature into adults we devote more time to work, and life just isn’t the same. So, make sure you find the fun every day, play a little game in your head if you have to, Notice patterns, try talking backwards, count pairs of things, make shapes with your hands, When I’m out walking in town, I balance on the edge of the curb, a game I never outgrew, It’s why I was such a great babysitter, because playing is something every kid understands. Haha Yowza

    3 min
  4. JAN 28

    Happy Venting - Ep. 439

    Happy Venting just means that you’re choosing a safe outlet for what bugs you,  As opposed to a full-blown battle royale every time you get a tad bit upset, Keep things in perspective, let off a little steam without too much fuss or to-do, Because if you make it an obsession, you’ll get stuck wallowing in emotional debt. [full text below] Ep. 439 - Happy Venting 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 value of venting while various is by no means universally valid, Sure, it can be a great release, but it can also become a nasty habit, Constant complaining can turn the song in your heart into a bitter ballad, Transforming even the sweetest of bunnies into a vicious and angry rabbit. And who’s going to want to listen to someone with nothing positive to say? Sure, it feels good to talk about what bothers us, especially if people agree, But there comes a point when it makes everything look like doomsday, ‘Cause if relationships get strained enough, even goodwill has no guarantee. Besides you may start feeling like the worst version of yourself too, The more you make a stink, the more you surrender your ability to cope, But reframe the blame, and accept that others make mistakes just like you do, And if they can avoid their own downfall, then maybe you too can dare to hope. Happy Venting just means that you’re choosing a safe outlet for what bugs you,  As opposed to a full-blown battle royale every time you get a tad bit upset, Keep things in perspective, let off a little steam without too much fuss or to-do, Because if you make it an obsession, you’ll get stuck wallowing in emotional debt. Haha Yowza

    2 min
  5. JAN 21

    Assume Happy - Ep. 438

    Sometimes we think we know what’s going to happen before it does, And start moving in that direction before giving things a chance to play out, We’ve already decided, we know how this ends, it’s always the same as it ever was, But if you’re so certain about assuming the worst, that’s the very curse you’ll bring about. [full text below] Ep. 438 - Assume 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! Sometimes we think we know what’s going to happen before it does, And start moving in that direction before giving things a chance to play out, We’ve already decided, we know how this ends, it’s always the same as it ever was, But if you’re so certain about assuming the worst, that’s the very curse you’ll bring about. Here's an example about the time I went asking for a manager on a quiet afternoon, Not trying to cause a stink, just looking for a boon, Something happened at the hotel, you see, a couple days before, And I felt that some consideration should really be in store. You see the elevator broke down, on the way to meet friends for brunch, I doubt it was the first time it broke, though that’s really just a hunch, I told the Wednesday clerk about it and asked her to leave a note, In their guest computer files, which is exactly what she wrote. Then three days later when I checked out I asked for a better rate, Because missing brunch thanks to their elevator is a feeling that wasn’t great, The Saturday clerk didn’t know me and so doubted my every word, So, I said perhaps the manager would allow me to be heard. The Saturday clerk did not like that, but begrudgingly complied with my request, The manager approached and, while much taller, was similarly dressed, She asked me, with a practiced smile, what she could do for me, I told her about the elevator ride that took an e-ter-ni-ty. She said she’d heard nothing about such a case as this, And the fact that I hadn’t reported it, to her, seemed quite amiss, “But I had,” I said, “to whom,” she asked, so I told her the Wednesday clerk’s name, “Was she working?” She asked the Saturday clerk who was eager to gripe and blame. “I believe she added a note,” I said, “if you’ll check your computer there,” She did and said “oh, yes, she has--I think a discount’s only fair,” The Saturday clerk was shocked and sorry and apologized profusely to me, I said I wasn’t angry, I just wanted a smaller fee. Now, it’s true, I could’ve started by saying a note was on my file,  But the Saturday clerk was oh so huffy, so I thought I’d stretch it out a while, Sometimes it pays to have some patience and not assume you know it all, Because over-committing to laying blame may just set yourself up for a fall. 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