The Meaning of Life

John Lennon absolutely nailed it on the head with this quote. 

This Mothers Day, I've been reflecting on all the complexities of happiness & how amazingly versatile it is. Happiness is like playdough, it moulds into many shapes & forms, and is entirely up to the artist at hand. To some, happiness could mean seeing your dog when you get home from work, or taking a stroll in the sunshine, or listening to your favourite song, or baking, or it could simply mean sitting in a completely still & silent state for five minutes a day. 

To me this Mother's Day, happiness means to still have my wonderful mother here with us, to have two healthy & happy babies, to be well slept, to be planning a wedding with the love of my life, to walk to the park in the sun, and to feel so loved and needed from three wonderful human beings. 

This is the epitome of happiness to me, my family. 

At times, I feel happiness can be cleverly disguised by other emotions such as; exhaustion, stress, jealousy, frustration, or even anger. Everyone in this household knows I've had my fair share of all of the above feelings lately, exhaustion mostly- and it has left a huge gaping hole upon my happiness. The thing is, even though it is totally ok/ normal to feel these things occasionally, it is also really easy to change your mindset to view them all differently & therefore make light of a shit situation. Yes, I'm exhausted- but only because I'm looking after my two healthy bundles of energy, and I know it is slowly getting easier. Yes, I've been jealous of people with one child or none at times lately, but I should feel lucky to have my two at all. Anger, stress & frustration all came about due to the extreme exhaustion, but if I let them get the better of me, all that does is create a big black cloud over our entire household- and therefore affects everyone negatively, particularly the kids. I've noticed whenever I'm feeling really grouchy, Oscar will be grouchy- and whenever I get stressed out and upset, Blake will start acting up. It is amazing how strongly my emotions can affect Blake and Oscars emotions, so I feel like to at least try to look at the glass as half full rather than empty is the least I can do. 

The cool thing is, anyone from anywhere in this world can have a happier life solely from viewing things from a different perspective. You can get up in the morning, and see the rain beating down on your window pane & think "look at how the water makes everything glisten" rather than "urgh rain, shit". That there will instantly start your day off chirpier. I'm not preaching that we should all be happy hippies who are forever hugging strangers (and trees), and never feel anything other than euphoric- just think about how you react to situations & see if you can deal with it in a healthier way is all. Making an effort to do this everyday has made my life a lot happier lately, and having a much sleepier baby helps too. 

In my experience, negativity spreads like wildfire- being around a negative person instantly creates a negative environment. I've definitely been that person before & felt myself bring an entire room down by barely saying a word. How f'd is that? Don't be that person, that guy sucks. 

Just be happy. It's way more fun. My remedy for instant happiness is chucking on a great song that floods you in glorious memories and emotions, yesterday I turned on the radio to hear "give a little bit" by supertramp which is one of my all time favourites and it instantly took me back to Olis brothers wedding last year. This was their first dance song (great pick) and I recall feeling so overwhelmingly happy for them whilst watching them dance, and when Oli and I joined in we waltzed around whispering about how this will be us one day soon & how excited we were. Not only that though- it is a double whammy as we saw Supertramp live last year & it was the best live act I've ever seen, it literally touched my soul and will forever be one of the greatest nights of my life. So I well up everytime I hear it & I love how it can automatically make my day.

What's your 'instant happiness' remedy? 

For me on a personal level rather than the family, it is; having a wine with my girlfriends,  dancing (whenever, wherever), writing, reading, having a bath, exercising, and reaching the top of the Mt instantly gives me a glow. 

I truly believe in what John says, happiness in its many different shapes & forms is what life is all about...  find it, enjoy it & embrace it friends.

Have a lovely Sunday , and for all you mothers- have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Thought of the day "7 hrs straight from Oscar last night, best Mother's Day present ever" 

Gemma