April 17th 2020

I hope this little email will uplift and encourage you to see the good things all around you. In this email:

• Thought for the day: Is your light on?
• Picture of the day: Happiness journal with a clock face
• Daily Funny: Dumbo ears
• Today's Happiness: Flower candle
• Daily Quote from Oprah Winfrey

Is your light on?

"I once read a story about Marilyn Monroe which said that she was conscious of turning the light on. She could walk down the street with her light turned off, and no one would even notice her. Then, she would consciously turn on her light, and could be seen like a brightly flashing neon. I read this many years ago, and think about it often. I tried it, and it works."

This quote by Carmen Colombo made me think. I work on the phone with customers who have suffered some unpleasant event (can you guess I work in an insurance company?). Many of them phone with the attitude that some dreary official is on the other end of the line, bored with everything and definitely not interested in helping them. And I admit sometimes the days are not all that pleasant, but I try to use this "putting on the light" -method on purpose. When the phone rings I take a deep, calming breath and decide this will be a good call, and I will help the customer to the best of my ability. And apparently you can hear that decision in my voice. Angry and nervous customers relax and quite often I even manage to make them laugh as well. 

Also the funny thing is that this works with animals as well. When I see a dog in the street, I don't say or do anything visible. I just "put on the light" and think what a beautiful dog it is. Most dogs react to this immediately. They start pulling their leash and head my way. I have done this while sitting inside a car in the traffic lights and a dog walking by suddenly jumps against the window, tail wagging. 

So switching on this inner light of empathy and kindness can be surprisingly effective.

Have you ever noticed the effect of switching your inner light on? Would you like to share your experience in this daily Happiness Journal? If so, send your story to 

happinessjournal@yahoo.com

I was at a local swimming hall years ago, and I'll never forget this little incident. So, there I was in the shower, and in the shower next to me was a mother and a little child. The mother's body was round and "motherly" and you could see she probably had breastfed more than one child.

Her little son looked at his mother in the shower, and his gaze stopped at the chest area. 

"Mom!" he said, "You know you could fly with those, like Dumbo!"

With the corona virus epidemic all around, the restaurants are in trouble. So we decided to buy takeout from a local Thai restaurant - its owner is a lovely, positive lady who just bought the place before the trouble began. While she makes the food, we have time to spare. I admire the elegant little details of her restaurant. This little flower-candle in so tiny and you only see it when you look right down the candle holder at her window. It is these little beautiful details that make me happy (as you can see from my photographs in these letters).

What made you happy today? Send me an email so I can add your little joy to future daily mails to bring happiness to others as well.

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