When were you last happy?

Pitching this question to my parents and brother at lunch today, neither of my parents could remember and my brothers reply was 'now, because i'm cooking sausages'.

I am someone who gets happy easily. The prospect of sometime not remembering the last time I was happy, for me, is a frightening thought. I have two best friends who I am so grateful to have, and just being with them makes me happy. Last night I went bowling, that made me happy. I love having people over, never for anything terribly exciting, I just enjoy the company and chatter of other people.

Happiness is more than just hanging out with friends though, the Oxford Dictionary definition of happy is 'Feeling or showing pleasure or content'. 

My challenge for you make a list each day of a few things that made you smile during the day. Even if the list is full of small things, when you look back at the end of the day maybe it wasn't so bad after all. This could be especially useful if you have had a bad day, are feeling really down or just need a little pick me up at the end of the day.

Some people say they have nothing to be happy about, ultimately every person faces different struggles and hardships but it is up to them to look at the individual beauty that can be found in simple every day life. e.g. the sun, the landscape, the person they share their life with. 
This picture found on Pinterest shows some of the ways people can find happiness in their lives.
As a self assessment things I do from this top half are; have gratitude, live with balance, forgive, accept others as they are and for the most part I live simply.




Not everyone can be happy 100% of the time; it's just not possible. As well as getting happy easily I also get worried or sometimes can feel quite down. As I acknowledge this happens to me I have learnt how I can deal with it and/or the mood will pass. Often just trying to turn the situation on it's head and looking at the positives rather than the negatives will help.
To balance my positive elements of happiness things I do that have a negative impact on happiness are; I compare my selves to others, worry about money, don't do what I love.
Sometimes I feel held back to be myself incase those people I hang out with think i'm immature. I have a longing to be adult, grown up, I have my own house and can host a dinner party, but sometimes am still afraid to let my guard down.


So while I would judge myself as a happy person, I know there are still plenty of things I can do to make me happier. I strive to care less about those things that could make me unhappy and concentrate more on the negatives.

Last night I ate pizza and went bowling. That made me happy.
Last night I was walking in the dark only own at night while it was raining, I sang out loud. That made me happy.
Last night I was with 4 good friends. That made me happy.

When were you last happy?

Ed Sheeran Concert - 8/10/14

Photo from music scene.ie

Have you ever seen anything so great?

On Wednesday the 8th of October I had the absolute privilege of seeing Ed Sheeran perform live at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. We only booked tickets a week before, and therefore got restricted seating however even despite this fact the view was pretty good... It just meant that we couldn't stand up.

His whole performance was absolutely breath taking from the the minute he stepped on stage. Using a guitar loop pedal he recorded the different bits needed and layered it up (amazing use of technical language) to make one amazing sound.
The first time I saw a loop pedal being used was at the trans festival in the Waterfront Hall back in 2011, and to be fair, they didn't make the best use of it.  Ed on the other hand was flawless.

Until next year Ed.
p.s. marry me?

Some of my Favs

It's been almost 2 months since i've returned home from Cambodia and i've only just got myself sorted out. University is upon me and while I am enjoying it I see pictures on Facebook of people who are still touring about SE Asia or other wonderful places around the world - and by joe am I jealous!

I've posted most of my favourite pictures already but these are a few that are special to me. I'm not going to post a description of each photograph, let your imagination run wild.

So that's it. Cambodia is officially over - no more will be said about it... ever...