11. Smile and laugh often.

11. Smile and laugh often.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this goes hand-in-hand with number 10.  Part of the way I'll try and lighten up is to find reasons to smile and laugh often.  Not just once in awhile.  I used to work with a girl who had this laugh that you could hear across the room, and not in a bad way. It made the whole room light up when she would laugh... which she often did because she was able to appreciate the little things.

So when something is funny, I will make the conscious effort to laugh out loud instead of giggle to myself.  When something makes me happy, I will smile whether or not anyone sees it.  I want there to be happiness and joy in the small things.

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." - Thich Nhat Hanh

10. Lighten up.

10. Lighten up.

I've always been a fairly serious person... I have a difficult time taking jokes or finding the time to laugh, especially when stressed out or feeling pressure in some way.  So this is to remind me that life isn't serious... it's supposed to be full of mistakes, whimsy & laughter.  It's not about the destination but the journey, after all.

My 11th commandment goes hand-in-hand with this one, so I'll explore it a little more in the next post.  In the meantime, a quote from a song I've never listened to, but a friend of mine years ago used to say this all the time...

The best thing you've ever done for me
Is to help me take my life less seriously, it's only life after all
- Indigo Girls, Closer to Fine

9. Cultivate a sense of wonder.

9. Cultivate a sense of wonder.

"Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful." - A. R. Ammons

I feel that all too often I'm so absorbed in my daily life I fail to see all that is wonderful and amazing in the world. From simple things like the color purple and an act of kindness, to more momentous things such as natural/man-made wonders or the feeling of pure joy.  There are wonders everywhere, and I don't want to rush through life and fail to appreciate and enjoy them.  So number nine is to cultivate that sense of wonder, to find beauty and amazement every day.

"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories." - Ray Bradbury

8. Do the right thing.

8. Do the right thing.

"Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy." - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Ever since the first time I heard this quote on the GOF trailer, it has given me chills because it is so true.  We all have choices every day where we either make the right choice or the easy choice... I want to always do the right thing, no matter how difficult that might be for me.

7. Choose a positive thought.

7. Choose a positive thought.

I'd like to think that for the most part I'm a pretty happy person, but at times I can be pretty negative and take a more pessimistic view.  I recently chose a new mantra that I posted on my monitor at work and wrote on my bathroom mirror... When things are feeling overwhelming, I just repeat to myself, "I will be grateful for this day."

I don't want the thoughts I send out into the universe to be negative, because negativity only breeds more negativity.  So when I'm feeling down or frustrated, I try and choose a positive thought.  And let it go...

"Like attracts like. Whatever the conscious mind thinks and believes the subconscious identically creates." - Brian Adams, How to Succeed

6. Be the change.

6. Be the change.

This comes from the well-know Gandhi quote: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

All too often I sit around waiting for other people to make changes that I'd like to see in the world.  This commandment is my reminder that no one else is going to do it if I don't.  I need to be my own change.