Christmas greetings

May Christmas bring you all the love, peace, joy, happiness, and all the blessings of the season!
Christ is born!

success and happiness

Helen Keller is such a positive person, that's why I admire her. This quote from her about success and happiness is so inspiring and motivating.

What Happiness Is

When I thought about the times in my life when I was happy, I tend to agree with Thomas Merton. Yes indeed, those happy times represented times when there was balance, order, rhythm and harmony. Maybe I should also add here, that we also experience happiness when we are at peace.

Thomas Merton is a Trappist monk who wrote many books.  I first encountered him when I read his book "The Seven Story Mountain." I love his deep insights about many things. You can read more about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton

true happiness

When are we truly happy?

I like the way this unknown author tells us what true happiness is. That it "comes from the feeling that our soul is expanding, that we are learning and applying something new that brings us closer to God."

The photo is a colorful butterfly as it softly alights on a leaf during its early morning round.

the law of nature

I like this, "plant seeds of happiness...it will all come back to you in abundance." Isn't that wonderful, whatever we plant will come back to us in abundance - the law of nature! Thanks for this reminder, Steve Maraboli.

The photo is another view one one of my favorite flowers - the Oxalis.

Enough

Enough is the keyword in this quote from an unknown author. I find this as a very good wish for anybody. Enough should really keep us happy, human and hopeful. If we have less, then we will always be wanting for more while if we have more than enough, then we usually fail to appreciate what we have.

I created a soft effect for this rose in Photoshop.

Happiness is a butterfly

Nathaniel Hawthorne's idea of what happiness is so intriguing, don't you think so? It seems we always try to pursue happiness, such that Douglas Kennedy even has a book about it. However, if we just listen to Nathaniel Hawthorne, then we should "sit down quietly" and it might even alight upon us like a butterfly. 

The background photo is a white butterfly as it stopped by a leaf.

a little rain

I love this quote from an unknown author. The "little rain" that sometimes come, makes me appreciate better the good things that happen in my life.

Actually, I love rain because it creates raindrops that I love to take photographs of.

Multiply happiness

I love this quote from Paul Scherer. It reminds me of the way living cells also multiply - they divide!

The photo shows some wild flowers that I found in a resort. I just processed it in Photoshop to create the multiple effect.

Happiness sneaks through a door

What an inspiring quote this is! This truly makes me smile as I am reminded that often happiness comes when we least expect it. Thanks John Barrymore!

The photo is an old building found in a resort here in the Philippines. I love the way the early morning sun passes through this slightly open door.

Embrace the twist and turns of life

This is a good reminder for us from W.T.VanderVen. We really should learn to embrace the twists and turns of our life. We have to learn to accept them because they can bring us lessons and happiness from unexpected sources.

The photo is the spiral portion of the stem of Tristellateia australasiae. I'm sorry I don't know its common name.

Happiness from common things

I like this quote from Henry Ward Beecher. It makes us realize that happiness really depends on us. We have to enjoy and be thankful for what we have.

The photo is a silhouette of my daughter as we pretended that she is holding on to the setting sun.

Appreciate what you have

This words from an unknown author is so true! We really have to appreciate and be thankful for what we have. If we always on wanting something else, then we will never be happy.

The photo is a yellow bell flower or Allamanda cathartica.

Happiness dwells in the soul

I like the way Democritus explained what happiness is.

The photo is that of my daughter who finds happiness in even the simple things she does.

True Happiness

I like this quote from Joseph Addison about "true happiness". I believe that we actually have to be the one to create our own happiness. It should not be dependent on somebody else because if that somebody will fail us, then how can we make ourselves happy? If however we are the ones making our own happiness, then we can make changes with ourselves so that we will be happy.

The photo is a that of my daughter just enjoying our day at the beach.

Make Your Dreams Come True

If we want to make our dreams come true, we really have to work on them ourselves. 

I combined this quote about dreams from  Leon J. Suenes with my photo of this boy who I found playing in a park. I just love the innocence and happiness on this boy's face. 

I actually climbed another branch of the tree just so I could get his photo.