Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
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Hello world!
“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.” Viktor E. Frankl
Hello world: Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Respite Reminder: I’m Taking My Advice. Will check occasionally. Back soon!
Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
This is a Lifestyle/Motivational blog offering an eclectic mix of mirthful and motivational pieces: Life Tips / Advice, Affirmations/Wellness, Women’s Lives, Food, Travel, Interviews, Inspirational posts, Reviews, Peace, AND Social Media ruminations on people, places, and events that shape our lives. That said, I invite you to stay awhile, read some posts, and share your thoughts with this growing online blog community.
I started this blog 15+ years ago, as a way to help agents/staff at the company I worked for stay motivated. This was my first blog post on this site, hence the dodgy title. After the market crashed and we were downsized, I decided to keep it going. Therefore, the main goal was, and remains, to encourage myself and others to keep moving forward. It has been a long and rewarding journey.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?
Over the years, I have learned a lot about blogging, its many positives, and pitfalls, and how important it is to stay focused on our own Why or raison d’être. We can choose to focus on one of the fundamental rules of blogging which is to make connections with others by adding value through our message/content, comments, and social interactions. We can also choose to turn our attention elsewhere. It is entirely up to us.
Nevertheless, one thing I know for sure is that if your heart is invested in what you blog about, you will stay the course. Remember to stay true to who you are and why you blog. It can’t just be about monetization. Add value. Help others. Stay Encouraged.
Another thing I know for sure is that we all want to be heard, appreciated, and respected; I know that empowering messages are far more appealing than incendiary angling for blog attention. If your blogosphere surfing brings you here, relax, kick back, and share a positive tidbit on your worldview.
HOW DO WE STAY MIRTHFUL AND MOTIVATED?
Read more…
Happy Lunar New Year: Welcome the Fire Horse
“May the horse’s energy carry you to new adventures and successes in 2026. mǎ dào chéng gōng (马到成功).”
Happy Lunar New Year: Welcome the Fire Horse
Gong xi fa cai!
Wishing you luck, love, and health this Chinese New Year.
May the Lunar New Year bring you abundance.
Xin nian hao!
May good fortune be abundant this Lunar New Year.
Wishing you wealth and health this Chinese New Year.
Kung hei fat choi!
From: 105 Chinese New Year Wishes to Honor the Lunar New Year
Happy Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year – The Year of the Fire Horse began on Feb 17th with great energy and power. We are in for a year of tremendous movement and action, so buckle up and stay focused. Some traditional New Year greetings are Gōng hè xīn xǐ (Happy New Year), Wàn shì rú yì (May everything go your way), and Gong hei fat choy. “May the horse’s energy carry you to new adventures and successes this year.”
An NPR article encouraged readers and listeners to share their lists of new and old traditions they practiced each year to ensure a lucky year ahead. The top six were:
1. Lucky envelopes – give/receive red and gold envelopes with money inserted for joy and happiness in the new year.
2. Start the Lunar year with a clean slate – clean and declutter your home to open it up for new good fortune to flow in.
3. Set yourself up for Success – start the new year day with intention. Do productive things that will bring you joy for the year.
4. Lucky color red – dress in red and decorate your home in red and gold to bring good fortune to your family.
5. Eat for good fortune – eat foods that symbolize good fortune, like fish, crunchy veggies, dumplings, long noodles, and special sweets and treats on Lunar New Year, to invite good luck and/or prosperity.
6. Dress for success – wear a new outfit to symbolize a fresh start. (Another tip is Don’t cut/wash your hair on New Year’s day)
Why so much RED? Red symbolizes happiness, luck, and celebration. Its origin comes from a folktale about The Legend of Nian. Nian was a folklore monster who used to terrorize and eat people in a Chinese village. One day, a wise old man gathered the villagers and advised them to make loud noises, decorate their homes in red, and create bright lights to ward off the monster. They did, it worked, and Nian was defeated. The legend remains today.
The luckiest Chinese zodiac signs in the fire horse year are the Horse, Dog, Sheep, Tiger, Rabbit, and Snake.
Since 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, we can expect it to bring a powerful, dynamic, action-oriented energy and good fortune in the areas of career and finance. It will be a time for transformation, creativity, and breaking from routines.
“The Year of the Horse is not a year for passivity; it is a year for galloping toward your dreams.”
Happy Lunar New Year: Welcome the Fire Horse
I hope the lunar new year brings you joy.
May the lunar new year bring you prosperity and happiness.
Wishing you abundance, health, and happiness in the lunar new year.
Wàn shì rú yì.
May the lunar new year bring peace, joy, and comfort to you and your family.
Wishing you good luck and good fortune in the lunar new year.
From: 105 Chinese New Year Wishes to Honor the Lunar New Year
Below are more ways we can learn about the new shift from the Year of the Snake 2025 to the fast-moving Year of the Fire Horse. What do we need to know? What lessons must we learn? How do we pull it all together to make this a productive, prosperous, dynamic, and satisfying year in 2026?
What the Fire Horse means for 2026
Action-Oriented: Expect increased motivation, speed, and a push to implement ideas and break old patterns.
Intense & Dynamic: The energy is fiery, encouraging independence and self-expression while challenging limitations.
Lucky for Some: Horses, Dogs, Sheep, and Tigers are predicted to see significant good fortune. The other zodiac signs will reap benefits too, so do not be discouraged if you don’t see the Chinese Zodiac Sign Animal that represents your birth year here.
How Do We Harness the Luck?
Be Diligent: Your own hard work (“sipag”) is key to attracting opportunities and wealth.
Balance Impulsiveness: Take action, but avoid risky financial decisions or dramatic career changes without proper planning.
Embrace Change: Use the energy for growth, but manage the potential for upheaval and conflict.
Focus on Joy: For those in their own zodiac year (Horses), focus on happy milestones to control the year’s major shifts.
Advice for Horses in their own year (Ben Ming Nian)
Be Visible: You are the protagonist of 2026, with big changes coming in career, relationships, and family.
Control Change: Counteract shake-ups with positive actions, such as getting married or starting a family.
Financial Caution: Opportunities exist, but be careful with investments and avoid rash spending.
General Themes for 2026
Fire Horse Energy: Brings dynamism, independence, and a call to action for pursuing ambitions.
Mindful Action: The year favors decisive action but warns against chaos, requiring focus to achieve goals.
Lucky Colors
Blue: Helps balance the fire element; light blue for opportunities, dark blue for stability.
Metal Hues (Silver, Gold, White, Gray): Represent joy and clarity and are considered lucky.
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“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet.” Rumi
Happy Valentine’s Day: 14 Uplifting Ways to Celebrate
Happy Valentine’s Day! What are you doing for Valentine’s Day? This is the mantra we will hear and repeat until the 14th comes and goes. For those of you with great romantic plans with loved ones, I say go out and enjoy yourselves. Carry that feeling into the rest of the year and to people outside your inner circle of family and friends. To those of you who don’t celebrate it, for whatever reason, I say bravo. I hope it means you have conquered the commercialization of this formidable emotion we call LOVE. I hope it means your loved ones implicitly know that you are the love god/goddess of your household; you don’t need one day of the year to prove it. On the other hand, if you aren’t celebrating because you don’t believe in love or you think it’s overrated, think again! Did you miss the memo on Self-Love? Love truly begins with us and how well we care for ourselves. To EVERYONE: Here are 14 tips to help you appreciate and celebrate the life you have.
❤️1) First and foremost, if you are single, send yourself a Valentine’s Day card and a bouquet of your favorite flowers.
❤️2) If you have a partner, send each other a special delivery of flowers and a favorite/cherished keepsake.
❤️3) Surprise a few folks by sending secret Valentine’s Day cards, flowers, or chocolates to struggling friends and neighbors you know could use some hugs and love
❤️4) Make a list of all the things you LOVE about YOU. Type it up and frame it on your wall.
❤️5) Make a donation to your local Foodbank, favorite Charity, and friend/neighbor in need.
READ: Motivation Mondays: Beyond Valentine’s Day
“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.” Maya Angelou
A Great Need By Hafiz
Out of a great need, we are all holding hands
And climbing.
Not loving is a letting go.
Listen, the terrain around here
Is far too dangerous for that.LOVE Is…
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. Aristotle
Love is metaphysical gravity. R. Buckminster Fuller
When love is not madness, it is not love. Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Love is being stupid together. Paul Valery
Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination. Voltaire
Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence. Vincent van Gogh
Love is like an hourglass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties. Jules Renard
Love is when the desire to be desired takes you so badly that you feel you could die of it. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Loving is not just looking at each other; it’s looking in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Love is a condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Robert Heinlein
“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves- alone we find it with another.” Thomas Merton
Happy Valentine’s Day: 14 Uplifting Ways to Celebrate
Do you remember your first Valentine’s Day? Your memorable or saddest Valentine? Valentine’s Day can be a trigger for both good and not-so-good memories of unrequited love, shattered dreams, and long-gone lovers. All of these memories count for something and add to our bag of life stories we carry with us; sometimes tucked away as scars or as sacred events. What matters most is that we motivate ourselves to create healthier, more positive, and more fulfilling experiences and memories. While love can be exhilarating and enervating, it can both heat us up and leave us cold, and we must learn to move forward with life without getting stuck. We can take the experiences, bundle them up, tie them with a glorious bow, and offer them to the Gods, asking for a compassionate lover, a lasting companion, gratitude for loved ones, grace for future loves, and above all, blessings for fulfilling love. Happy Valentine’s Day!
❤️6) Invite your closest friends on your favorite video conferencing platform to enjoy some virtual comfort foods and gift exchanges, and call it a Just Because Of Our Love Party.
❤️7) Treat yourself and your family to a special meal and have each person share at least one thing they love about everyone in the family.
❤️8) Have each family member write down all the accolades and positive feedback they shared about each other, and use the information to create individualized Valentine’s Day cards for your family members.
❤️9) Listen to your favorite love songs and create a song list on Spotify or Apple while indulging in a spa day
❤️10) Search for the top Love and Romance Movies of the last decade and have a Movie-watching-marathon
READ: Motivation Mondays: Happy Valentine’s Day
“Each time you love, love as deeply as if it were forever.” Audre Lorde
In Former Days We’d Both Agree By Bhartṛhari
In former days, we’d both agree that you were me and I was you.
What has now happened to us two, that you are you, and I am me?The Gardener By Mary Oliver
Have I lived enough?
Have I loved enough?
Have I considered Right Action enough? Have I come to any conclusion?
Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?
Have I endured loneliness with grace?I say this, or perhaps I’m just thinking it.
Actually, I probably think too much.Then I step out into the garden,
where the gardener, who is said to be a simple man,
is tending his children, the roses. via thenaturewithinus
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“Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. It’s a third of our mothers, sisters, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and more. It’s a third of the women we can’t bear to live without.” GoRedForWomen.org
Heart Health: Why Go Red For Women & American Heart Month Matter
Up to 2.4 million Americans alive today have some form of congenital heart defect. This means they were born with heart disease. Of these people, about 1 million are children and 1.4 million are adults. Critical Congenital Heart Disease accounts for 25% of infant deaths. Pulse oximetry screening is a low-cost, effective, and painless test for newborns
Go Red For Women/American Heart Month: This Friday, February 6th, is National Wear Red Day. How is your heart health? Do you know anyone who has had a heart attack or suffers from heart disease? Do you know anyone who suddenly passed away from an attack? I do, and I almost did. Since 1984, more women than men have died from heart disease and stroke. Whether we choose to take care of our health or stay in denial, the fact is that each of us will be affected by heart issues; it could happen to a friend, a family member, or to us. This is one of the fundamental reasons why Go Red For Women & American Heart Month matter. They matter because of the research, tips, alarm bells they sound, and the education they provide to help us save lives. It saved my life!
My Personal Journey: In 1999, my life took an unusual turn I never expected. I was a young mother of 5-year-old twin girls, living in Westchester and teaching at Hunter College in NYC. I had always exercised, had quit smoking many, many years before, plus I was a yoga/meditation enthusiast and a vegetarian. So why was I feeling breathless and out of sorts? Why was I having more irregular heartbeats? Was it anxiety attacks or work stress? Was I imagining all of this? The fact is that I wasn’t experiencing any work-related stress, but I was trying to find answers to help me understand what was going on.
In the United States, 59 percent of Black women over the age of 20 have some form of Cardiovascular disease – CVD, compared with 43 percent of Hispanic American women, 43 percent of Asian American women, and 42 percent of White women (Exhibit 4).33 American Indian and Native Alaskan women have a prevalence of type 2 diabetes—up to 72 percent in some communities—that’s three times higher than that of White American women. GoRedForWomen.org
What were the signs? Initially, I ignored the dizzy spells and shortness of breath, putting them down to classroom stress. I needed a reason, but in retrospect, I wasn’t dealing with any stress at work. Over time, I felt tired when walking up the stairs at home, so I visited my doctor and got checked out. The focus was not on my heart, as I did not think I “fit” the typical profile of a candidate for heart failure. Even though there was a family history of heart disease – my dad died suddenly of an attack, and my mom had a massive stroke and never recovered fully – I believed that because I lived a healthy lifestyle, I was not a classic case study for heart failure. The tests didn’t show anything significant, but I continued to feel out of sorts. My doctor ordered more tests, and nothing unusual came up. I continued to feel fatigued and, eventually, I was sent to a cardiologist. The cardiologist ran additional tests and finally decided to refer me to another specialist.
By November, I was referred to a children’s heart specialist, and he diagnosed heart failure. I needed open-heart surgery right away. I found out I was born with a congenital heart defect and had a rip/hole in my heart. One of my valves needed replacing, and I might need a pacemaker. My surgery was successful. Fortunately for me, I can say … I am a survivor. But many other women we know haven’t been so fortunate. According to research on the subject, 1 in 3 women will die of a heart condition. Don’t become a statistic. An important point I want to address is that not all heart issues are stress-related. Some people are born with undiagnosed heart conditions and, unless you are attentive to how you feel and persist in getting medical help, you might never find out.
READ:
Motivation 2020: Heart to Heart
Heart Matters: 7 Heart-Healthy Tips
Heart Matters: An Interview w/ Dr Gary H Gibbons of NHLBI
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