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Getting through the hard time
That’s when I thought, “I’m so glad I’m in Africa!”
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I need your help to stay on track
Thanks so much for the comments affirming that I am making a difference. Today I just feel overwhelmed by the hugeness of the problems here and the seeming impossibility of changing anything. For a start, it’s so hard to give anything to the orphanage children without someone else taking it from them. And it seems […]
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The sense in humour
Don’t you love being around people with a sense of humour? Some people seem to have the natural gift of finding something to laugh about, even when things look glum. Being around funny people helps us to take life a little less seriously. Humour not only lifts our mood – it also changes our perspective. […]
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Happiness is good for you – and those around you!
Have you noticed that when you’re happy, you connect more easily with other people? It’s not just because people are more drawn to you when you smile – it’s also that you actually see things differently. When you’re happy, you tend to see the bigger picture, rather than get hung up on details. You’re more […]
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Happiness goes hand in hand with compassion
Did you know that happiness goes hand in hand with compassion? When you’re happy you’re more likely to notice when others are suffering and more likely to offer your support. The converse is true, too – your mood is lifted when you do something kind for someone else. The effect lasts even longer if you […]
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A trouble shared is a trouble halved
Being happy means spending more time focussing on the good things than the bad, and we spread ripples of happiness when we do this in conversation with others. Complaining about how bad your life is only brings other people down as well as yourself. However, if something is weighing you down despite your efforts to […]
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Job satisfaction
Isn’t it nice to receive good service? A while ago I bought a vacuum cleaner, but had to return it because of a faulty part. I half expected to have to argue my case, but was delighted to find the shop assistants both pleasant and helpful. Rather than return the whole vacuum cleaner to the […]
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Compassion makes me happy
“I am happy when in spite of the ills of the planet and of those close to me I still have the capacity to feel compassion for others. To live without compassion is a one way journey to a lonely place.” ~ Beryl Fletcher Congratulations to Beryl Fletcher, whose response to the question: “What makes […]
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Social benefits of laughter
In the last newsletter I wrote about the health benefits of laughter; today I’ll talk about the social benefits. After studying 1,200 people laughing spontaneously, Robert Provine concluded that the main purpose of laughter is to bind people together. It’s an instinctive language that we all speak. We laugh when others are laughing, we laugh […]
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Happiness and altruism go hand in hand
It was good to see people getting together in the spirit of giving, during the Telethon this weekend. There’s no doubt that doing something nice for somebody else makes you feel good. In fact, the pleasure seems to last even longer than doing something nice for yourself. Research has shown time and again that happiness […]