Are you happy? Do you take time out of your day or week to just waste time? When was the last time you walked barefoot in the grass or let your inner child be free?
For September, I wanted to share stories about happiness, creativity, getting outside, and a great American hero. And since it’s National Yoga Month, I have included a video from my favorite yogi for you to enjoy. I hope these stories and videos give you pause to think, and I hope you enjoy reading or watching them as much as I enjoyed finding them.
- Happiness Class – India is a country that has long focused on student success, but Delhi is now trying a radical experiment by teaching classes in happiness. Read more here.
- Longevity – This man just turned 113. His secret to a long life? Eating candy. Low-stress. Soaking in mineral-rich springs. Read more here.
- Toes in the Grass – I wrote about dirt therapy a few months ago, how getting connected to the earth was therapeutic for the mind, body, and soul. Here’s more science behind those thoughts.
- Go Ahead, Waste Some Time – In this always on, always connected life we lead now, some people don’t know how to slow down and disconnect. But the mind needs periods of rest to replenish and free time to be creative. Find ways to introduce stillness in your day.
“Happiness is in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” Franklin Roosevelt
- Your Elusive Creative Genius – Listen to Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, talk about being an author and about creativity in this TED Talk, and how it is as important as literacy.
- Do Schools Kill Creativity? This TED talk from Ken Robinson will get you laughing and thinking about ways to encourage creativity in children. Our children are full of imagination and are the hope for the future.
- Caine’s Arcade – I read Caine’s story years ago and thought it fit great with this theme of creativity. See what allowing a child’s creativity to flourish, with a few cardboard boxes, can do to inspire a movement. “A small gesture can change the life of a child.” To learn more, visit www.cardboardchallenge.com and read about the Global Day of Play on October 6, 2018.
“We should all let our creative inner child run free at times.” Cynthia Baughman
- Yoga for Creativity – It’s no secret I love Yoga with Adriene. So when I am in a bit of a creative slump, I turn to one of her videos to clear my mind. If you haven’t experienced YWA, try one of her videos: Yoga for Creativity.
- How do you save a fish that can’t swim? There are some things one would think are second nature – our ability to breathe, a dog’s ability to bark, a bird’s ability to fly, and a fish’s ability to swim. So when this vet discovered three tiny leafy sea dragons who were using all of their energy to stay afloat, he found they weren’t able to regulate their bouancy and made them tiny sea-dragon floaties. Read the story here.
- The Bell Tolls for John McCain – War Hero. Senator. Presidential Candidate. Humanitarian. Cancer Warrior. Senator John McCain was many things to many people. His 2002 book Worth the Fighting For comes from his favorite book For Whom the Bell Tolls when the character thinks back on his life: “The world is a fine place and worth fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.” And from his final memoir The Restless Wave, “He argued that the U.S. has a special responsibility to champion human rights in all places and for all people.” Read more here.
- And finally…a bonus this month… Say Good-bye to the Circus: After 116 years, these animals have broken free
As it is #NationalYogaMonth I am going to include the YWA video here for you to enjoy. Here’s Adriene and her dog Benji…
I hope you all have found something to inspire you or spark an epiphany or some creative energy. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
What’s inspiring you these days?
My Inspired Fibro Life 
As another bonus, I see Adriene has posted today’s new yoga video called “Yoga for Kids | Play in the Park,” designed to use your imagination. So I am linking that here too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMMRb10LtGM
LikeLike
Hey! Cool post!
Really enjoyed to read the story of how you save fish that cant swim.
Great article and thanks for sharing!
Looking forward to reading more soon! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Appreciate it! Yes sometimes it just takes a little out of the box thinking to solve a problem. Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLiked by 1 person