23rd October 2020

In this email:

• Food for thought: Decide What You Want
• Picture of the day: The Colour of Red Wine
• Daily Funny: Moment of Despair
• Daily Happiness: Basil (and a tortilla recipe)
• Daily Quote by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Writing Blog: Stealing minutes

Decide What You Want

"The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want."

- Ben Stein

The above should be a given. But often this is not the case. We have all seen our share of people complaining that they are not happy with their life - but not stating in clear terms what it is they want. What would make them more content again.

"I hate my job..." 

Yes? So what kind of a job is it exactly that you would want instead?

"Our marriage lacks romance..." 

Aha. And how do you define romance? Is it the everyday little deeds that show the significant other that they are respected and loved? Or a fancy dinner every now and again at a restaurant? Does your idea of romance match that of your spouse? Have you stated to your spouse you would like such a thing? No? Well then, don't you think something positive might happen if you did? 

"Of course I get a lousy pay, I haven't had a chance for higher education when I was young."

All righty then. Go ahead and start searching for the options to get one.  Plenty of possibilities to educate yourself and show your employer you are interested in your field of work. Maybe your employer would even pay a part of the fees?

These were just a few examples. But the gist of the thing is: if you are unhappy with any given situation, stop complaining and state how things should change for you to be happy. Decide to do your best to work towards that goal. Without that decision you'll just keep on complaining, and that makes no one happy. 

Two children tried to solve a crossword puzzle.

"Four letters. Something you shout at a moment of despair..."

"I know! I know! It is Mom!"

"But that is three letters."

"Three letters and an exclamation mark!"

The smell of basil (and a tortilla recipe)

Tonight we are going to cook tortillas on a frying pan. For that we need basil. It smells divine in the kitchen...

If you are interested in the recipe:

Take a tortilla and spread chunky salsa on it. Then very thinly cut tomatoes (side by side - the thinner the better). On top of that the cheese of your choice (I prefer blue cheese and mozzarella). On top of that fresh basil leaves.

Warm a pan and place the tortilla on it, and another tortilla on top. Keep a few moments and then slide the tortilla to a plate. With the help of a small plate or spatula or your hand, flip the tortilla carefully over (take care the fillings won't fall out) and warm again in the pan until the cheese (which is not at the bottom) has melted. Then slide to a big plate.

Do as many of these tortillas as you like, and place them on top of each other on the plate. Then take a very sharp knife and cut the whole pile into four sections. The tomatoes tend to leak juice at this point (which is why it is good they are very thin), so be prepared to either dip the plate to pour it away, or use kitchen paper to absorb the excess liquid.

And then... eat. Yummy. A bit like a mini-pizza. Doesn't take too much time to make once you figure out how to flip the tortilla when warming it on a pan. 

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What made you happy today? Send a note and tell, if you wish to share your little happy moment with others.

The email address for this daily post is happinessjournal@yahoo.com