First things first, Merry Christmas Happy Holidays and Happy New Years!  At this point in the year gifts are the rage. So, I wanted to spend a second and take look at How You Give and How You Get Gifts is SO Important whether they’re Christmas or other Holiday and Life gifts.   An important note to remember… the things that you’ll remember for years might be the gift itself, but more than likely it’ll be the look in their eye, the preparation put into the gift or the perfect imperfection of the gift and/or the circumstances around it.  So here goes, some of my favorite Christmas Gifts…  Several years ago, I was a grown man making a decent living when my dad handed me an envelope as we opened Christmas gifts. I can still hear his voice as he looked at my mom and said “I want to see his face when he opens this one.” I slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of folded paper. As I unfolded it I saw a crisp, new $50 bill! I saw the note which simply said “I’m proud of you. I love you. Dad”  I looked up and saw this Old School, gruff, wonderful man, shifting uneasily in his chair as he sniffed and wiped away his tears. I had seen and used $50 and $100 bills before. It wasn’t the amount. It was that this gift meant something to him, he didn’t have much and he was giving me much, much more that just $50! I’m just glad I understood it then and everyday since then too.     That Was A Great Gift! I was walking one day with my son who was a grown man at the time. It had rained much of the day and had just stopped. It was one of those perfect times, still a bit cloudy and cool from the rain and the smell was so clean and perfect. We had only walked for a short distance when I noticed him lagging behind. When I turn around, there he was bending down picking up a worm that had been washed up onto the sidewalk instead of the grass. He gently bent over and moved the worm into his hand, walked over to the grass and gently put it down. As his hands came together to get rid of any excess mud, he look up at me and just smiled. Didn’t say a word, just smiled. We continued our walk and talk that day but we stopped often. Both of us would bend over and gently moved a worm from the concrete to the safety of the grass. And then we would just smile.     That Was A Great Gift! I remember the eyes of a woman who, after a long, dangerous and painful few days, told me the words of the most beautiful, life altering ancient Lakota wisdom. The moment was born out of a genuine to will to make life better. It did. […]

What makes you happy? That seems like a pretty simple question to answer, huh? Well, not so fast… In today’s world it seems that we spend way more time thinking about what doesn’t make us happy than what does! Thinking about what (or who) we don’t like instead of who we do. Taking time to consider all the things we want instead of all of the things we have. So let’s force ourselves to get back to that original question.  What makes you happy?  -Is it the sound of a child’s laughter or the sound of screaming, yelling and arguing? -Is it the soft touch of someone you love or the hurt of a punch or slap?  -Is it the memories of happy times or those that still have the power of depression? We spend precious time and energy in our lives holding onto grudges, being angry over the smallest things (ie… road rage, slow service, misunderstood words here or there, etc…) and then having conversations about how bad we feel or how mad we are. But when we do these things, we lose track of one of life’s key question—What Makes Us Happy? Maybe the first step is to actually find out what makes us happy in the first place. Then, spend more time thinking about those things and telling others about them than the things that make you sad or angry. Doesn’t it just make sense that the more time we spend thinking of and being involved with the things that make us happy, the happier we’ll be? Well, the less time we spend being weighed down by all the negative things, the less negative we’ll become.  Take the time to find the things in the past and present that make you happy. Take the time to write them down on paper or in your phone or tablet. Take the time to add them into your life. Of course by adding more and more of them into your life that means you’ll need to get rid of some things too. (I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt here for realizing you’ll be getting rid of all of those negative things that have been holding you back.) So what makes you happy? Now ask those you,love and care about the same question I’ve been asking you. Once they rattle off the first few, press them for more and more and more. After all, there’s no limit to the happiness you might find in life. Keep searching. Keep enjoying. Keep appreciating. Keep sharing them with others and more than anything else, keep expanding the happiness within you.  Peace      …..Gregg

Whenever we celebrate The Holidays ( No matter which or how many we celebrate) there are always those people we wish were there with us, (Even our pets) that for any of a hundred reasons, aren’t. Well why not make them part of our celebration and create a new tradition to pass down year after year in the process?  This year make or buy a new ornament and simply write the name of a loved one, a pet, a friend or anyone you wish would be with you but can’t be.    There are no rules for this, they might be alive and somewhere else or maybe they’re only with us in spirit. The ornament can be as elaborate or simple as you want it to be. It can be one you make or one you buy. Just make sure that you put the name of that person or pet on it! Once you’re done with that,put it on the tree, hang it in a window or on your wall, lay it on a table, etc…  After you’ve done that, think about sending that person or their relatives a photo of the ornament you’ve made. Let them know what you’ve done and why you did it. Pass along the qualities they have and the reasons why you did what you did. This alone might be the best gift they receive all year long. Each year ahead, hopefully you’ll add the name of new friends or loved ones.  Each year you’ll celebrate with those you care about.  Each year someone else will know they’re being thought of and cared about, because of you. That’s not only a great tradition but a very loving thing you’ve done.  Starting your new tradition is easy and maybe it’s necessary too. Think of it as a guaranteed smile and deep breath of fresh air each time you walk by and see it. The good memories undoubtably Will be smiling  back at you and in their own way, saying thank you.   Peace        ….. Gregg