I guess if you asked people what they wanted out of life, apart from a long list of ‘stuff’, many of us would ultimately say  ‘I just want to be happy!’

However, I'm also guessing that for many people, happiness might feel just out of reach.

'If only I could .. get married, have a family, win the lottery, have the ideal job, pass my exams, live in a bigger and better house, have huge success and recognition, surround myself with beautiful things, enjoy dream holidays etc etc etc  … THEN ... then I’ll be happy!’

Big ambitions sometimes come with unrealistic expectations and the reality might be that being ‘happy’ is often elusive, because once we have attained one goal, we realise that it’s not made us whole, or completely happy, so we look forward to the next thing, or person, or situation which will ensure our ultimate happiness.

Now I'm not saying having dreams and ambitions is unimportant. I actually believe the opposite, I think having dreams and striving for them is vital. Well it is for me anyway. Some of the big dreamers in history have been those who have changed the world. Invented, created and made life better for their communities and the world! If I had not had some big dreams and pushed myself towards them even despite my own insecurities, I would not have done half the things I've managed to do.

But what I'm asking myself today is ... if our dreams and ambitions are just about US and the things we own or have, is that a recipe for happiness? Or might it be more about what we can do for others as well?

This whole idea of Happiness is something that has been occupying my mind recently. What REALLY  makes me happy?

I am a ‘glass half full’ person I think – not a ‘glass half empty’ person  -  more positive then negative. But sometimes I have wondered ... Am I really happy? And, to be more specific, am I JOYFUL?

And is there a difference?

I’ve read lots of really confusing things about the difference between Happiness and Joy.

Some say that 'Happiness' is more about what we do to make ourselves feel more contented and that can be short lived, whereas 'Joy' is deeper than that. It's connected more to your inner self, perhaps even to God, if you're that way inclined. It’s longer lasting, it survives even though the world around you might be falling apart.

As a child I remember being happy, and even joyful. Often.

I remember laughing a lot. Of course, I also remember being sad and insecure, but I remember getting pleasure out of really simple things – like running around on a beach, swimming, playing with my brothers, sitting on a fence looking at pigs, watching the cows coming in for milking. Yes I grew up on a farm!

I suppose at the time I didn’t realise how happy I was. Having ‘fun’ and being happy just seemed natural. I was fortunate to have a great childhood and I don't take it for granted and know I was and am very blessed. 

Later, going to university, travelling the world, starting out in my chosen career in journalism and broadcasting, meeting new friends ... although it did bring some challenges and it meant conquering my fears, having new experiences, however scary,  it was all exciting and that in itself made me happy.

Things are different these days and as I grow older, I ask myself - am I less 'happy' now? Or is it just different?

And the question I ask myself today is - are the things I do to make myself Happy also giving me Joy?

Well, my idea of fun and happiness has altered. Now a night in front of the TV is fun, or at least relaxing at the end of a long day. And a swim in the ocean and a walk on the beach are simple things, but enough to make me joyful. Yes, really 'joyful', feeling connected to the universe and yes, to God! Because these simple things are not just about having more things materialistically, but just breathing through life, appreciating what I have and the world I inhabit, recognising that there are things I can still do to help improve the world around me and the lives of others. 

I honestly find I don't need the rush of 'excitement' as much as I did in the past. Work, ongoing family responsibilities and not forgetting the stress of living through a global pandemic,  can make life feel a bit monotonous, and it would be easy just to let these situations overwhelm me. So finding 'joy' in the little things of life is important. Spending time with family members, having a coffee with a friend, feeling the wind in my hair, and that sea swimming I mentioned, which you'll hear more about at another time  - it's all 'small stuff' but there's nothing wrong with that.

It doesn't mean I won't stop dreaming, but maybe it'll put my ambitions into some sort of perspective.

Onwards and Upwards in Joy!

So .. this One Day @ a Time blog is my attempt to do a thought for every day of the year. 

So far, I've managed it, but 21 days does not a year make!

As I hope people will enjoy and maybe even be inspired by a daily thought, reading, poem and more, I also want to share some of the readings and people who have inspired me on a day-to-day basis.

As a Christian, I find daily inspiration in reading scripture and prayers, but there are also other publications and people to whom I also turn from time to time. 

Have you ever heard of Marcus Aurelius?  He was a first century Roman Emperor but in his lifetime he also acquired a reputation for being a philosopher, in the Stoic tradition. His renown continued after his death and even some early Christians admired him not just as a philosophic but also as a philanthropic leader. 

Today he is still known, for some 'Meditations' that he authored.

While on a war campaign (between 170 and 180AD), Marcus wrote his Meditations in Greek, firstly as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. Although it's not known how widely these writings were circulated during his own lifetime, they have been handed down the centuries and today they are still very popular. Just check out the internet ... there are loads of sites which include his sayings and epigrams.

Some I find difficult and even challenging, mostly because of the two thousand years or thereabouts between the authoring and my reading of them, and the contexts of the times Marcus and I were/are living through.

But some of his 'Meditations' are surprisingly 'modern' and completely up to date and perfect for the early 21st century. I bet Marcus didn't expect to be so relevant for so long when he scribbled his thoughts all those years ago!

Take this one from Book 8 of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

This could really have been written for today, couldn't it?

We know there are lots of people who are obsessed with leaving their mark on the world, and spend every living moment thinking about the future, trying to ensure people will remember them.

Being ambitious is not a bad thing, of course, but if it is all consuming and we are always reaching for the 'next thing' and believe that the grass is always greener in the next field, maybe this prevents us from just enjoying the life we have - right now.

Even back in the first century, Marcus Aurelius seems to have recognised this trait of human nature.

And his advice is as sound today as it was all those years ago.

'Give yourself a gift: the present moment'

Today I'm going to try to do that. Moment by moment. To appreciate what I have, not worry about the things I do not have. Not being concerned about what people might think of me, or say about me. 

Just to breathe in the joy of life. Right now! 

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I have to admit, I'm a bit of a summer person.

I like the sunshine. I feel energised in the warmth of the late spring and summer but in the winter months I sometimes struggle to motivate myself, especially first thing in the morning when it's still dark outside at about the time I have to rise for work.

But on THIS day of the week there is one thing that gets me going ... and that is knowing that tomorrow ... the weekend will be here!

Bit tongue in cheek, but here's a little poem I penned ...

FRIDAY MORNING

I woke today

As I usually do

About the time

My clock told me to

And though my heart

Was filled with dread

As I thought about

The day ahead

There was one thought

That made me smile

That gave me joy

For a little while

And what is it?  

Just one more day

Until it will be

SATURDAY!!!

Cathy Le Feuvre

Wisdom comes in all shapes and sizes, but not always from holy scriptures or experts who have studied to PHD level or who have all the experience in the world.

So how about this for a thought for today?

Profound eh?

And that's from a dog!

The dog is Snoopy, and if you're not already aware of it, he's the companion of a certain Charlie Brown,  a little boy who is 'loveable loser'  - he's meek, not that self-confident and is of a nervous disposition. He's pessimistic quite a lot, but also sometimes optimistic. He worries about the day and all the things around him, and other times hopes for the best and tries desperately to make good things happen.

Charlie Brown is puzzled by Snoopy and some of the slightly weird things he gets up to, but he looks after him, and does his best to provide his dog with a happy life. And in response, Snoopy is always there for Charlie when he gets let down or needs support.

I've always felt a bit of an affinity with Charlie Brown, even though he isn't a real person, but a cartoon.

He's the central character of the Peanuts comic strip created by Charles M Schulz, who died on this day - February 12th - in the year 2000.

'Peanuts' had first appeared in print in USA newspapers on October 2, 1950. It shows the world of a group of young children. Adults are barely heard, but woven into the comic strips are some very adult themes like philosophy, psychology and sociology. There's some deep stuff in Peanuts and it's characters, even things that could be interpreted as 'spiritual' if not 'religious'.

Take this Snoopy quote for example - 'Keep Looking Up... that's the Secret of Life'.

Now, as a person of faith, what I get from those words is that I need to keep looking up to the Creator, for inspiration and motivation.

In the Old Testament in the Bible, in Psalm 121, we are encouraged to look up to God for all our needs. I particularly love the translation of this psalm from The Message translation:

Don't you love that? We're not on our own. We just need to look up, not to physical mountains, but even higher, to put our trust in God.

But the Snoopy quote an also be interpreted in a different way. If we are constantly looking DOWN, physically, we will never see the potential of what isn't yet here, what might be open to us. We will always be just concentrating on where we are, now, and not looking forward.

See what I mean? There are so many different ways of looking at life through the eyes of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang. Maybe you may interpret this Snoopy Saying in a way that rings true with you and your life?

The final Peanuts comic strip was published on the day after Charles M Schulz died. On February 13th 2000 the 17,897th-and-last instalment appeared in newspapers around the world.

But that wasn't the end of Charlie Brown and his world. The comic strips live on, there are TV cartoons and movies, and images of him and his quotes and those of Snoopy and the other Peanuts kids all over the internet. They are icons of our time!

We all need friends and we all need hope if we are to live life well. 

Charlie Brown had Snoopy ... who do you have?

And are you, like Charlie, always seeking the hopeful path? 

Are you looking UP or always looking down?

Maybe worth thinking about?

So this week we've been thinking about the start of Lent - the period in the Christian church which prepares believers for the sacrifice and celebrations of Easter.

Yesterday I ended my daily thought by asking what it was we might be thinking about 'giving up' for the 40-days of Lent. But I also asked whether instead of depriving ourselves of things we love, perhaps it might be worthwhile thinking about what we could START doing instead.

That would certainly be in the spirit of the Lenten season, when we may be setting time aside to think about our relationship with God and what might be the plan for our lives, and how we might make our world a better place all round. 

Today I share this thought with you ... I found it online on IrishAmericanmom.com 

Thanks to you, whoever you are! It's really got me thinking about how we can turn the negative into positive, not just in our actions but also in our thinking.

Ok ... so ... it's Monday again!

Start of another working week ... and it's easy to be a bit down about it all, if you're not careful.

But I've been looking for something to balance off the potential negativity with a more positive outlook and I found this inspiring quote.

Sorry, I couldn't find out who wrote it originally ... but whoever you are, you're a genius!

Have a great week everyone!

Just thinking today about how easy it is to go through life never taking any chances or stepping outside of our 'comfort zone'. 

Just wondering ...

What might I be missing?

One of my jobs at BBC Radio Jersey is to co-ordinate and produce what we call the 'Morning Thought'.

It's broadcast at around 0640 every morning ... so it is a bit early for a lot of people ... but it is surprisingly popular, as anyone who has contributed to it may tell you. Many a vicar, church minister or leader or individual who's done a recording have told me that after their 'morning thoughts' have been transmitted they will get people saying 'heard you on the radio!'

Each 'thought' is only about two minutes in duration and it's just an uplifting thought to help ease people into the day. It's sometimes spiritual but not always. We feature people of different faiths, and topics like fair trade and peace, and charities who are maybe marking a significant anniversary or a special week. 

The contributors usually record in advance (rather than getting up at the crack of dawn) and since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, when the Radio Jersey studios have been closed, they've been unable to come in to record. But they've been wonderful because they've all learned to record at home on their phones and tech devices, and email the audio to me, after which I'm able to edit and make it ready for the Breakfast Show.

Why am I telling you this?

Well it's because on Monday this week, our morning thought was about the importance of friendship. And our contributor, a great guy called Graeme who leads a church in Jersey, started with one of my favourites songs from my childhood.

Back in the early 1970s I was at boarding school in Kenya. It was one of those schools that had 'houses', Everyone was in a 'house' and there was a system of rewards and punishment for good stuff, or bad things, we did. Points added to the house tally if you did something amazing, points deducted if you stepped out of line. So what you did wasn't just for YOUR own glory, but for the general benefit of the whole house. And if you stuffed up then it wasn't only YOU who suffered but all the other kids in your house. It helped to bond us together, and made us realise the need for corporate responsibility. Oh and of course, it helped to encourage us all to behave ourselves and it kept us all in line. 

If you know the Harry Potter books, you'll know all about this. 'Ten points to Gryffindor for...' or 'Twenty points taken away for...' 

At the end of the year at one particular school I attended, the house with the winning number of points got a treat ... a chance to see a movie!

I'm sure you get where I'm going with this now. One year my house won the house cup and we all sat down one afternoon to watch 'The Jungle Book' ... the animated movie which had been released just a few years earlier, in 1967. And yes, I really AM that old!

I loved it! I've seen it numerous times since that hot afternoon in the school hall, with black out curtains keeping the sunshine out, and I never tire of it. The tale of Mowgli, the little boy brought up in the wild with his band of animal friends. Based on the fabulous collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling, one of my favourite authors and poets!

As I said, for his Monday 'morning thought' for BBC Radio Jersey, our Graeme was thinking about friendship and he took as an example those friendships in 'The Jungle Book'.

And at the start of the piece he actually broke into song and gave us a little rendition of one of the most popular songs from the film - 'The Bare Necessities'.

It's a great tune with fantastic words. and it's sung by the big bear Baloo and Mowgli 

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
That's why a bear can rest at ease
With just the bare necessities of life

It's hard to 'forget about your worries and your strife' I know, but actually there's something in this song about just trying to keep life simple.

But the real reason I'm talking about this is because ever since I heard Graeme singing that song on the recording emailed to me, it's been going around in my head, like an earworm. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not a bad song to have constantly in my brain, but I figure if I share it with you here then I might get it out of my system.

Or maybe not.

PS - if it's now in YOUR head, sorry. But hope you enjoyed it!

It's a busy old week ... so much to do, so little time to do it all in.

So today I'm just giving myself a bit of advice to help me get through.

If you're having a stressful week too, I hope this helps! 

Well what a week it's been!

If you've been reading this blog recently, you'll know that yesterday was a pretty significant day for me. I left my job at the BBC.

I've been working there, this time around, for nearly seven years. Presenting on radio, producing radio programmes and features, connecting with the community that is my home island of Jersey, as Communities Journalist at the local radio station, BBC Radio Jersey.

But now it's time for a new adventure. Not sure what that is yet, because the decision to leave (not to renew my work contract) came really quickly in the end.

But in the past I've made a pretty decent living as a freelance author, broadcaster, PR and communications, trainer, ghost writer, features writer and much more, so for now I'm going back to that 'portfolio' lifestyle.

I'm taking a deep breath and heading into the future.

The whole week has been extraordinarily busy, with all the things I needed to do to 'tie up' my workload and hand over to others. Yesterday was quite emotional as I said 'goodbye' to colleagues and friends.

To be honest, I'm exhausted. And I've not much more to say.

So, for today, I'm just going to take this excellent piece of advice