100 Days Of Happiness

[Rhedyn]

As many of you probably know I have been dealing with depression all of my adult life in one form another. I think it's very easy to overlook the things that bring a little bit of joy into our lives when we are down, whether we are depressed or just having a bad day. As a result I'm challenging myself to find one thing every day that brings me happiness and to document it so that I have a log of joyful things to look back on and to remind me that even on the dark days there are things that lift my mood and remind me why I fight and strive to live to the best of my abilities.

Welcome to the 100 Days Of Happiness Blog Challenge.

I hope that you will find my snippets of happy things lift your mood too if it's flagging and make you smile like they have done me. Feel free to play along if you want as well, the more the merrier.

[Rhedyn]

I was going to write about my day out today, how I went for a long walk down at the sea front and did some sketches (something I hadn't done in a long time) but then this happened. The sun was setting, the sky was grey and I had a feeling I should go outside. I saw the most beautiful rainbow spread out across the sky at the back of my house. I love rainbows. They're really special to me and always manage to make me smile despite the fact they are so fleeting.

[Rhedyn]

Ever since I went on holiday on my own for the first time a couple of years ago I have had a light fixation. On the headboard of the bed where I was staying were these lovely flowery fairy lights. I used to have them on in the evening while I was writing and they brought me all kinds of happy feelings. These heart lights are the ones I have hanging over my studio area at home, having them on helped to give me a nice little pick me up today.

[Rhedyn]

I needed this reminder today and remembering what I already have made me smile.

[jouzinka]

Just wanted to let you know that I've been reading Rhedyn and think it's a wonderful idea. :)

[Rhedyn]

Thank you jouzinka <3

[Oreo]

I'm watching and reading too. I could use some reminders. :D

[inghippo]

[gerreccia]

Hello Rhedynn, redhead picniccer, we 'met' in my approval process. I have dalliances with the depression thing myself. I'm here if you like but so often one just wants to say 'fuck off' and gently smile.

[Rhedyn]

I'm watching and reading too. I could use some reminders. :D

You're very welcome here, Oreo! <3

Awww, thanks inghippo ~offers hugs back~

Hello Rhedynn, redhead picniccer, we 'met' in my approval process. I have dalliances with the depression thing myself. I'm here if you like but so often one just wants to say 'fuck off' and gently smile.

Hello again and congrats on your approval! I won't say that but yeah, sometimes you just want to be alone to wallow for a bit when you're feeling down. I always have to remind myself that things are not as bad as my mind likes to tell me they are. Thanks for stopping by!

[Caeli]

I think this is a great idea.  :-) I know a lot of people do the "1 picture per day during the year", but I made a resolution to find things during the week (I usually manage daily, but I don't always take pictures) that I appreciate, that make me happy, that make me grateful, and that remind me of who and what I want to be.

So I'm following along too. <3

[Rhedyn]

Yay! That's great Caeli! <3

Reminding myself to take pictures is taking some getting used to, particularly with making sure my camera is close to hand. Some days may be text entries if I miss the photo opportunity but I'm going to try my hardest to get visuals as they seem to work the best for me when I revisit the posts.

[FetishFantasies]

Hello Rhedyn, I don't know if you remember me but for the past couple of days you have been posting on my application while I wait for approval. I just wanted to let you know I am following this thread and think it is a great idea. Depression has plagued me for most of my life and the only way to cure it is by changing the way you view things. If you can stay with this for 100 or more days I have a feeling you will be training your mind to have a more positive outlook on things. I myself have started meditating much more and focusing on my spirituality and it has helped a little. I am training myself to live in the moment and learning to enjoy it.

Anxiety is fear of the future, Depression is dwelling on the past, Peace is in the present.[/i]

[inghippo]

Awww, thanks inghippo ~offers hugs back~

thank you!!

*give hugs back!

excellent work Rhedyn! I like this thread a lot, if you need any help with this thread just send me a pm!

First thing to keep in mind, you're not alone!

We're a community and we help each other.

:)

[Rhedyn]

Hello Rhedyn, I don't know if you remember me but for the past couple of days you have been posting on my application while I wait for approval. I just wanted to let you know I am following this thread and think it is a great idea. Depression has plagued me for most of my life and the only way to cure it is by changing the way you view things. If you can stay with this for 100 or more days I have a feeling you will be training your mind to have a more positive outlook on things. I myself have started meditating much more and focusing on my spirituality and it has helped a little. I am training myself to live in the moment and learning to enjoy it.

Anxiety is fear of the future, Depression is dwelling on the past, Peace is in the present.[/i]

Hello again FetishFantasies! I do indeed remember you and thanks for following! I hope that by doing this I can do just that. Meditating is a great way to help find balance and peace. It's something that I am trying to get back into a regular practice of as I know it helped me a great deal when I did it every day. Mindfulness and living in the moment really does help too, it's easier said than done at times but I feel that living with gratitude and an open heart attracts good things and helps us heal.

thank you!!

*give hugs back!

excellent work Rhedyn! I like this thread a lot, if you need any help with this thread just send me a pm!

First thing to keep in mind, you're not alone!

We're a community and we help each other.

:)

Thank you very much!  :-)

[Rhedyn]

Because you can never have too many rainbows in your life!

I went out for the day to a small town near where I live and came back with more multi-coloured beauties. The rug was a gift from my Mum and the sun catcher I treated myself to, mainly because tomorrow is one of my favourite festivals of the year. It reminded me so much of the maypoles we used to dance around when I was younger until they banned them from the school I went to. I used to love doing the maypole dance, it was so much fun to see how the coloured ribbons wove together.

[Cassandra LeMay]

Because you can never have too many rainbows in your life!

Truer words have rarely, if ever, been spoken. 

Wonderful idea for a blog, Rhedyn. I enjoy following it almost as much as I enjoy some of the amazing work in your gallery thread. :-)

[Rhedyn]

Truer words have rarely, if ever, been spoken. 

Wonderful idea for a blog, Rhedyn. I enjoy following it almost as much as I enjoy some of the amazing work in your gallery thread. :-)

Awww, thank you! ~blushes~

I'm glad you are enjoying both!  ;D

[Rhedyn]

I saw this on tumblr today and it really struck a chord with me.

[Rhedyn]

Today I made some pretty, miniature charm bottles.

[Rhedyn]

I had a terrible migraine yesterday afternoon so this is my post from Saturday as I couldn't even have the laptop on thanks to the sensitivity of my eyes...

Even before my headache kicked in yesterday I wasn't looking forward to the day, just because I wasn't in the mood to play party with the kidlets toys. It's been scrawled on my calendar that today would be Rebecah's (the toy lion) birthday party which meant I was supposed to prepare and host a fabulous birthday lunch for her ~sigh~

I realised just how much the kidlets were looking forward to it when I got up and found them dressed up and entertaining all the toys that had been invited. I remembered I had a cardboard cake stand in the kitchen cupboard somewhere, so after fishing it out I made an afternoon tea party lunch complete with sandwiches, vanilla cupcakes (pictured above) and a pot of tea. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be despite the fact I wasn't in the best frame of mind and what made it worth while was the look on the kidlets faces and the enjoyment they got out of the lunch.

The title "Best Mum Ever!" went a long way into softening my mood as did the resulting hugs and kisses  ;D

[Rhedyn]

So today royally sucked. I've felt very lonely and ostracized lately but today it just compounded into this massive ball of stupid down feelings. I went out for a walk and noticed how everyone had friends and people around them who loved them and my brain started doing the mean thing it does in telling me that there's a reason why I don't. By the time I got back I was mentally and physically drained so in came the panic attack and general self loathing that followed. Once I had gotten past the nasties and did a few things that helped lift my mood including taking a nap, I went through the photographs I had taken on my walk.



I found this and it made me smile to remember the fence that had been adorned with colourful knitted flowers. I had forgotten I'd even seen it let alone taken a picture of it but they reminded me how beautiful people are in their quest to spread joy to others through something as simple as a knitted or crocheted flower.

[Rhedyn]

We went for a walk today to a small public garden near our house, I love visiting there through the seasons to see the array of different plants and flowers. I took a large number of photos, mainly of plants, which I will post in my Gallery but for here I wanted to share the simple beauty of these blossoms. They certainly brought a smile to my face.

[Cassandra LeMay]

Beautiful. It sounds like this walk turned out better than the one yesterday. I'm glad about that. :-)

[Rhedyn]

Thank you, I had a much better day on Monday  :-)