Lijit Audience Analytics

Friday, August 12, 2011

A Recipe for a Happy Year ~ From Your Friend in Alaska



~ I wanted to share this recipe with you. It is not my recipe, it is everyone's. It is one of the things I keep in my Life-Cook-Book. I cut it out of a newspaper years ago and I thought it was time to share it with my friends, and those of you I hope to be friends with someday... oh, ok, and the rest of you as well!

A Recipe for a Happy Year

~ Author Unknown


Take 12, fine, full-grown months, and see that these are thoroughly free from all old memories of bitterness, rancor, hate and jealously;  cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness.


In short, see that these months are freed from all the past; have them as fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time.


Cut these months into 30 or 31 equal parts. This batch will keep for just one year. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot in this way), but prepare one day at a time, as follows:


  • Into each day put twelve parts of Faith, eleven of Patience, ten of Courage, nine of Work (some people omit this this ingredient and doing so will spoil the flavor of the rest), eight of Hope, seven of Fidelity, six of Liberality, five of Kindness, four of Rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of a salad - don’t do it!), three parts Prayer, two of Meditation and one well-selected Resolution.
  •  Put in a teaspoon of Good Spirits, a dash of Fun, a pinch of Folly, a sprinkling of Play and a heaping cupful of good Humor.
  •  Pour in lots of Love, and mix with vigor. Cook thoroughly in fervent heat; garnish with a few smiles and a sprig of Joy. If served with quietness, unselfishness and cheerfulness, a Happy Year is certain to be had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, that being said...


~There is so much to aim for now. So much more in reach, it seems and feels to me. The online capabilities available to each one of us, from my techno-challenged Mom in New Hampshire learning to use FaceBook to stay in touch and learning to Skype to be able to see her Grandkids all the way across the country to folks blogging for an endless number of reasons and businesses, small and large, using the Internet to make their products more easily available to us all.
  




For me, as the Manager and Chief Bottle-Washer (no pun intended, to those of you familiar with the fact that THAT could mean just about anything!) it fell to me to put Pioneer Outfitters into “cyber-space” as Master Guide Terry Overly of Pioneer Outfitters puts it. 


At first, it was exciting for me to be able to put the photos I have taken, in the years I have been here, in the mix to be seen and appreciated. Then was the incredible feeling of accomplishment (and pride) as the website took shape. Learning even more, I see that there is way more to learn before I get too excited!


We, here in Chisana, have been having a terrible time of late, with our Internet connection, so the news I have been receiving from the “outside” world comes only in small broken pieces of the whole. My littlest, my little 4 year old was terribly sick for a couple of days, so that took my attention away from the news as well.


What has gotten through is that we Americans are in deep mourning for our United States soldiers that were lost to us in all Afghanistan and most especially their families waiting for their return home.


I have real-life friends spread all over this great big beautiful world. Real-life friends that I met through Social Media, who care about me and mine. Who would put the effort into finding our phone numbers and calling about my sick little girl with positive thoughts, advice and prayers. All this from people who have never been in Chisana, Alaska, people who have never met me or my children in any physical sense. So the answer to one of Social Media’s big and debated questions, "Are Friends You Meet Online, Real?" 

Yes. Yes, they are.


All the wonderful feelings and teachings I have absorbed from my explorations online have given me a pretty clear set of base-rules. In consideration for those of you that have been with me for awhile, (yes, I do tend to repeat myself!) I’ll just sum them up for you, Everything you need to know about your own behavior online, in business, and in your life, you learned when you were between 4 and 6 years old. Be nice. Share. Tell the truth. Be helpful. Say you are sorry. Forgive each other. Go play. 


One of my online friends (and teacher) caught my eye this morning right before I lost Internet connection as well. Power Bullies Baby Blogger, Threatens Lawsuit. Wow. Shame on Power Dude. I am sure that this “Baby Blogger” will come out right where she is supposed to. I only got to read a bit of what was happening, (sheesh, what have I told you? High-school FOREVER) but Mr. Bully wont get his thrills there, I am sure. “Baby” isn’t naive, shy or ignorant of the ways of the online world or the business world. (AND she follows those pesky rules... you remember, the ones you learned in Kindergarten?) 


Back to the point. Oh, the point?

Life continues. Life goes on. Whether we are online or not. Whether you are having a great day...or not so much. Life just continues. So why not help someone out today? Hold the door open for that lady a half a step ahead of you, smile at that guy (he might need one - you never know), answer a tweet from someone you haven’t really taken the time to get to know, let the next car pull out onto the road ahead of you (with a smile), tell your kids you love them, run your hand over a dear one’s shoulder, shoot off a message to your mom or dad and just say “hey.” 


It’s all about us. Each and every single one of us can change things, and do quite often, for someone else. Just a smile can help someone remember that life is a great gift and tough shit doesn’t last forever. We are in this together (like it or not) so we hold the power. Us, together. I think we’d make a fairly incredible team.

How about you - do you believe you have the power to bring about positive change?  (we reckon you do!)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

WOW Amber - you really out-did yourself on this one.. This blog entry really got some emotions stirring up inside of me. It really speaks to me and the timing is perfect because I know some people dear to me that could use the messages herein.. Sometimes, it helps hearing it from a stranger and I can appreciate that!

I love this recipe. It speaks to the essence of what we're trying to convey here: the delicate balance in life that makes us more content and fulfilled. We can't afford to put work and life in separate boxes.. Everything, everyone.. We're all connected.

Now this matter about the blogging bully. It doesn't surprise me. There are some HUGE social media rockstars out there that talk big but they lack the heart and soul of someone that truly inspires and brings positive change to the world. As such, people are seeing through them and they're barely making it by...

Needless to say, when someone offers a contrasting or "controversial" point of view that has the potential to hurt their business, they're going to result to mud-slinging and threats because they know they can't discredit the person's findings.

I welcome contrasting thoughts because no one knows it all. Tested, proven methods don't always produce the same results for everyone. The more important lesson here is being open-minded and embracing your fellows, whether they are your "competition" or not, because there's enough splendor in life for all of us to partake in.

All this ugliness and pettiness is for the birds. I much rather spend my time showing people that I care and taking pride in their happiness and success, rather than constantly trying to one-up everyone around me. Tsk tsk.. Some people will never learn!

You're absolutely right, BTW.. It is a lot like high school (the bad parts of it, at least). When I think of that, I laugh to myself because all the "cool people" and "bullies" I remember in high school ended up being deadbeats and burger flippers. Karma, perhaps?

Still, as tempting as it is to laugh at their misfortune, I feel more pity than anything else.. If we learn to work together and be good to each other, life can be so much more fruitful for EVERYONE.

Ah, this will make the rest of my evening go SO much better. Admittedly, I was a bit stressed and even meditation was failing since I was having problem upon problem dumped upon me. It happens.. I'm staying strong for those that need to draw upon my strength but I'm glad I can draw upon some of your strength, Amber.

Thank you again and I can't wait for your next installment here or on the famous Alaska Chick Blog!

Pioneer Outfitters said...

Yomar, My frend. I hope folks take the time (I do, most of the time.. but not always.) I hope they do in this case because, my friend.... I've missed you, gosh, these last couple of weeks- A LOT!! You are like my bright light at the end of tunnel.. For people to read these comments and just to only remember, you DON'T know what someone else is dealing with, the big dramas, the little dramas, the little pushes and pulls that add up until you don't know if you are coming or going, if what you are doing is reaching anyone, or, if it is helping anyone. And THAT is the point, folks. Because we are in this thing called "life" together. Sometimes an ear is all you really need. Sometimes advice. Sometimes a smile can refresh you and inspire you to just hang in there, just a little longer. My love to you and the family. You aren't alone. ~Amber-Lee

Unknown said...

I miss you too!

I feel the same way about you, which is why you were the first person I asked to join me on this project. I feel we can help others find that light in their lives.. In some ways, this is the start of our own little support group, a place where people can air out those things that we sometimes feel ashamed of but shouldn't (because everyone experiences them at some point, really).

We got TONS of promoting to do this week. Jen of Ginger Consulting will be joining us and posting a guest blog.. and my guest blog for the Unbounce.com #ConversionFest contest releases tomorrow.

So, where do we begin? I'm thinking dessert first? =o]


P.S. Anyone reading this.. Remember: you are NOT alone. Say hi and let's all connect.. Maybe we can help each other out or just share stories! ^_^

Post a Comment