The Bottom Line

"Your search is over!" -S3:E13

Life is full of ups and downs. It's full of positive and negative things. When you pick up a camera, you have a whole world you can photograph, but when you actually take the picture, you're only focusing on one part of it. Photographers always make sure that they focus on the right thing - otherwise, it's not a good picture.

Just as with photography, there's more than one thing we can focus on in life. But like getting a good photograph, the key to a happy life is to focus on the right thing. Don't focus on all of the wrong and negativity in the world. Focus on the positive! I promise that your life can be so much better if you focus on the positive. Every once in a while ask yourself, "What are some good things happening right now?" Recognize the little things like when someone holds the door open for you. Recognize the big things like when someone pays you a big compliment, or you get a raise, or something else good happens.

And that's just it. The search is over. The bottom line. Focus on the Positive.

Love, peace, and happiness,
Griff

You're Not Alone

Feeling alone. It's something we've all felt before. It's not fun. But what do you do?

In the past year I've had my best male friend move to Russia, my best female friend move to Kansas, and most of my other friends move elsewhere because they've gone off to college or on missions for our church. I've always been the oldest in my class so I've always fit in better with the class above me. While that didn't used to be an issue, now that their graduating time has come and gone, it leaves me with a year of loneliness where they're gone and I'm stuck here. Overall the last six months have been pretty depressing and lonely. But you know what? I'm not alone.

None of us are. I promise there are hundreds of people out there just like you and me. You can't always tell when someone might be one of the lonely people - but trust me - they're out there. I think that we could all do a little good by befriending someone around us. Get out there and make a friend! Show someone around the school, help a coworker at work, talk to the person you sit down next to at the bar, ask how someone's day is going. There are far too many ways for us all to interact with each other to be wasted on staring at our computer screens all day. 

If we can all just interact we wouldn't feel so alone. Let's not fill the world with tiny glowing screens, let's fill it with hope, love and dreams. Face it - you're not alone. There are hundreds and thousands of lonely people right beside you.

What do you do? Go.

Love, peace, and happiness,
Griff

A Compliment a Day Keeps Depression Away

Today's post - a quick thought - comes to you mobile.
 
Does everyone count as your "peer?"
Do you feel good when someone compliments you?
Do you like feeling good about yourself?
Does it feel good knowing you made a difference?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions (and you should have!) then you need to be sure you compliment someone every single day - more than once if you can! A simple "You look nice!" or "You're so great!" can really turn someone's day around. I would explain more, but there isn't much more to say. Bottom line:

You can make a difference, and you should. So be sure to start handing out compliments where they're deserved! Let's spread a little aloha around the world.

Peace, love, and happiness,
Griff

The Reading Road

The following was written for my English 101.1004 class. I thought I might share it with you to remind you all how great reading can be! Please feel free to share a link, but please don't copy. Thanks all!

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            Gripping. That is exactly the word I would use to describe my first reading experiences. It’s something so fundamental that we all learn it – some of us quickly, some of us more slowly. But it doesn’t just happen. Who better to help me learn such a fundamental skill than the most fundamental person in my life? Early on my mom taught me to read. I started with the basics. We’ve all been there - learning the alphabet, the different sounds the letters make, how they work together, and those pesky exceptions where a letter unexpectedly changes its sound. It’s a thrilling experience! When I learned to read it opened up a whole new world for me.

            My mom is an incredibly important person in my life. She has always loved to read, and I say she has done well by teaching me to love it as well. I remember the first “big book” that I decided to dive into. Now I know that Rowling’s writing isn’t for everyone, but it was for my mom. When I was in second grade I cracked open J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That book was such an adventure for me! It was as smarting as that first dive into a frigid pool – the kind that knocks the air out of you. I’ll not hesitate to admit that just like getting your breath back I kind of struggled through it, but it was fantastic. I loved every one of the characters, the twists in the plot, and the constant urge to know just what was going to happen next.

            But what happened next? I was inspired to keep reading, and reading, and learning all that I could. That’s what reading is! The whole process of reading and writing is how we share ideas – and oh the ideas that I’ve heard. Reading isn’t only about learning though. Literature is an art. It just so happens that art is another thing that I’m very interested in. I went from enjoying stories to appreciating the art of reading and writing. To this day I still appreciate it.

            Some of my mom’s favorite books are either classics, or based in the same time periods as many classics. Because of this, some of my favorite books include Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol, and Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Yes, these are all very advanced works of art and are very hard to read, but they all paint a picture more vivid than fresh ink splattered on a waiting canvas.

            There is no doubt in my mind that I owe my love of reading to my mom. I have cherished the journey on the path that I’ve tread thus far, and I look forward to the adventure yet ahead. So in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien,

            The Road goes ever on and on

            Down from the door where it began.

            Now far ahead the Road has gone,

            And I must follow, if I can,

            Pursuing it with eager feet,

            Until it joins some larger way

            Where many paths and errands meet.

            And whither then? I cannot say.

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Peace, love, and happiness,

-Griff

A Helping Hand

Do you know what you have? Do you know what I have? Do you know what every single one of us has? Struggles. We all have struggles. Whether it be something small, like you didn't have time to grab milk at the store today, or it be something much bigger like your finances, an addiction, self-esteem, or anything else - there's hope.

Lately I have been working hard to meet a deadline on a huge project that could quite possibly affect me for the remainder of my life. I had put out a call for help on social media, and reached out to young men in a local church group to come and help the project along. I was devastated when the turnout was dismal. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the couple of people who helped me the other morning, but with such small numbers we were skating on thin ice. Needless to say, I was at maximum stress level and pretty discouraged. But remember, I said there's hope!

Later that night some of my buddies were going to team up and get a game of Zombies going, and wanted me to join. I said that I couldn't come because I was still working on my project. The next text message I got was from one of them and it just said, "Be there in five..." Not only did he show up, but brought one of my other best friends with him. Between the three of us and my father, we were able to complete the project in a matter of a few hours. 

Sure, they could have just gone and played the game (and they probably would have done wicked well too), but instead they gave up their night to come help speed along my project and take some of the stress off my heavy-laden shoulders. Whether they know it or not, that simple act of lending a hand made all the difference.

So there it is, out in the open. We all have struggles. We all can help. So let's all lend a helping hand and make this world a better place. 

Love, peace, and happiness,
Griff