Serendipity: Some Positive Markers for March…
“May the love hidden deep inside your heart find the love waiting in your dreams. May the laughter that you find in your tomorrow wipe away the pain you had in your yesterdays.” Anon
Serendipity: Unfolding Truth Mandala by Keith Allen Kay credits below
Serendipity is such a wondrous thing! Today, serendipity led me in three directions; to a ✿reflective post, to a ✿happiness site, and to ✿divine art. Clicking on my Facebookpage this morning, I noticed an article posted by psychologist,Melanie Greenberg Ph.D. It was written for Psychology Today and titled Emotional Story-Telling after Stressful Experiences: A Way to Find Meaning. In it, she explores Elie Wiesel‘s book “Night;” a powerful, must-read, memoir on his time in Auschwitz-Berkenau and how the power of storytelling can be both cathartic and empowering for all of us.
Melanie explains that emotional, storytelling styled memoirs/stories “can provide the writer with a sense of purpose and potential control over future events that can counteract the helplessness and loss of meaning which characterize the experience of victimization.” In other words, by re-telling and documenting our stories, we provide a permanent historical record, a therapeutic opportunity and a way to share knowledge with others. We also reclaim our power as individuals. I’ve always believed that all of us have stories in our hearts and souls and, the more we find ways to share them, the more connected we will be in seeing each others humanity. Do take a moment to read it.
“You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” Guy Finley
Serendipity: Deep Unto Deep Mandala by Keith Allen Kay
As I clicked around the site, I found myself in another section which dealt mainly with topics on Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology can be defined as “the study of human thriving; a relatively new scientific field that examines how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled.” Amongst the many outstanding articles that I gleaned on the site; which had topics on everything from Happiness to Health, one caught my eyes. It was a post by Christopher Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.
Prof Peterson’s post on The Good Life identified 13 markers that researchers in the field have learned about the subject of happiness, and what he termed the ‘psychological good life.’ The markers, if we believe them, contribute to our enjoyment of the good life. Several, about 8 listed below, stood out and I’d like to hear your thoughts on them. Essentially, these happiness markers, if we live by/believe them, are familiar to us and when incorporated into our daily lives in healthy meaningful ways, contribute to our sense of well-being and happiness. They are:
- Most people are happy.
- Most people are resilient.
- Crisis reveals character.
- Other people matter.
- Religion matters.
- Work matters.
- The “heart” matters more than the “head.
- The good life can be taught.
What do you think? Do these markers contribute to your sense of the good life? Do check out the other markers via the link above as they are equally relevant.
“Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you’ve found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.” Lawrence Block
Serendipity: 2011 Manifestation Mandala by Keith Allen Kay
As I surfed back to my facebook page, my eyes wandered to a series of stunningly beautiful Mandalas on a friend’s page. Mandalas are powerful, beautifully designed and inspired concentric circles that represent an array of emotions, energies, visualizations and cosmic blessings. They are art imbued with prayers and blessings and many are created with intention during or after meditation. Personally, I believe that mandala artists are a special group of healers and they add to our happiness with the beauty of their work. The Mandalas I was looking at belonged to Keith Allen Kay, graphic artist, spiritual student and father of two, who has an amazing website of his work Quantum Fractal Energy Mandalas and a facebook page – Quantum Fractal.
Keith’s work explores the wonders of both the gift of artistry and the gift of being alive. His mandalas are colorful, deeply soothing and quite complex. He also creates individualized mandalas for people and you may connect with him on his website and on facebook to enjoy his divine creativity. He generously shares his work with others and all the mandalas featured here today are by Keith Allen Kay. Are you familiar with Mandalas? Have you ever created one or had one made for you? Do share and Enjoy!
On a final upbeat note: This is National Women’s History Month and the Blog Hop continues. Add a post. Thank You!
Positive Motivation Tip: Stay open to serendipity and the wonderful things it can bring into our lives.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Three Photos of Divinely Inspired Mandalas by Keith Allen Kay
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Fantastic! These are truly stunning art circles. The colors and designs are beautiful.
I hope others see the stunning beauty and vibrant colors. That first one is surreal.
Like a cosmic eye watching us. Wow!
B
They are so beautiful to look at and the colors are so vibrant that they look like they are pulsating. I love mandalas and will feature another series in the coming weeks. Thank you 🙂 E
Positive Psychology – I’ve read some books of Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in German language; they had a big influence on my concepts … especially the FLOW analysis by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — also had a Psychology Today abo (German issue)
Oh yes, I have Mihaly’s book and I think I have mentioned it/him somewhere on my blog. It is a great book and Seligman does amazing work in the field too. 🙂 You read both in German? I always wonder how much changes in translation… Thank you, Eliz
Thank you, Eliz, for directing us to Prof. Peterson…I”ll have to check it out…the answer is YES to all eight markers you listed…perhaps that’s why I am almost always smiling…people ask me all the time, “What are you high on?” 🙂 My answer is…life. But it’s also true that I really LOVE people…and distinguish not who or what they are.
Beautifully said Vivian. Your Twitter photo does show you with a big smile. I thought it was an interesting article too and I do agree that most people are happy or find ways to be happy. I also believe that it takes effort to find the good in difficult situations and that life isn’t always happy… However, we can choose where we rest our heads or cast our gaze… all about choice really; no need for witch hunts. 🙂 Thank you, Eliz
Beautiful as always my friend. I love the Mandalas! I will look them up, maybe even try to make one.
Your list made me think of a visit to Mexico years ago. We were traveling on a bus to a National park and were passing some ‘neighborhoods’ along the way. They were shacks and hovels, but there was clean laundry hanging on the lines and children laughing and playing.
The driver overheard some people tsk, tsking and ‘such a shame’ sort of thing. He came on the microphone and explained we should not feel sorry for these people, at all. “They are hard working families who thoroughly enjoy life, they are not to be pitied for they would scoff at that.”
We found that to be the case everywhere we went there. I’ve never visited a country with happier people. I have, however seen many people who seem to have everything money can buy who are completely miserable. Life is what you make of it… simple really.
Thanks for the post!
That’s right Barbara… happiness is a state of mind and being grateful for the now. I agree with Peterson that it can be taught because we can view events through different lenses. They don’t have to be negative ones all the time… 🙂 As per your trip, I know that experience so well. During the war, I learned what it truly takes to survive. Real life is where the challenges truly exist and like you said; life is what we make of it. 🙂 Thank you, Eliz
Most people are about as happy as they CHOOSE to be. 😀
Exacto Nancy and people make choices for a variety of reasons. Happiness is a choice even if definitions vary. 🙂 Thank you, Eliz
Good pick for the blog hop, Eliz.
I tried to check out your posts on Positive Kismet, but blogspot was not loading properly on my computer. Sorry.
You pack so much wisdom into your posts, it is a challenge to know what to comment on without writing a post length response! I’m not sure I agree enitrely with the prof’s findings that “most people are happy.” I would say that most people are happy some of the time – but not all the time. When asked if they are happy, many people will say, ‘I’ll be happy when…’ and then spend the rest of their lives wondering why ‘then’ never arrived. Happiness is choice that we can say ‘yes’ to.
I’m also a huge fan of mandalas and loved the artwork on the website you linked to. They are a very powerful form of mediation, particularly if you are ‘visual’ person.
Thanks for yet another great post.
Juls 🙂
Hey Juls,
We miss you and I thank you for showing up and sharing your wisdom with us. I believe the professor did take what you just wrote into account because it is true that we all have ups and downs but the difference is where we choose to rest our heads … that is the happiness factor that most people get to choose most of the time — to stay sad or to believe things will get better and be happy.
My dear friend, honestly, there is plenty I could choose to bemoan but daily, I choose happy too and the magical thing is that my mood shifts and I get on with it. 🙂
I figured you’d be a huge fan of mandalas! Aren’t they fantastic and truly meditative? They really are beautiful and Keith is simply amazing! 🙂
Thank you for stopping by J lady! 🙂
E
That’s a nice way of looking at it… emotional storytelling… I find I do that a lot in my blogs, but I categorize them as rants.. even though it’s not necessarily a “rant”.. “emotional storytelling” is such a nicer-sounding way of putting it.
I agree; serendipity is such a wondrous thing! It’s a cliché, but after all, it was serendipity that brought the love of my life and me together! 🙂
Among the markers you listed, “Most people are resilient” struck me the most. That has been proven time and again. I’ve observed resilience in other people. I’ve observed (a little bit of) resilience in myself, surprisingly. When least expected, people are capable of dusting themselves off, moving forward, and trying again.
The pictures are so full of color and life. Thank you Eliz: for the beautiful inspirations you share each day. Happiness is a choice, its sad when one cannot move on, getting stuck in their emotions. A little cheer for a small smile,makes a big difference in so many lives. 🙂