Whichever part you are in the globe today, it’s an awesome gift to be alive. A totally priceless gift of LOVE! ❤️
So, celebrate!!! Your life, your world, your love!
Yup, decide to flash your signature that tells everyone that you’re glad to be here. In fact, make a cool, happy habit out of it. You’ll reap the amazing rewards!
Ooops! There’s a special phone-in question: “What if there’s NO sun today? What if it’s all gloomy skies, scattered rainshowers, and thunderstorms? What if there’s a whole lot of hail above my head and snow under my feet that I have to contend with? *gtumble, grumble* Will someone just do the shovelling for me?!?!?”
Phew! Okay, okay, okay! I hear you!
Totally valid. You may not be able to control the weather. In fact, you will never be a master at that. BUT! That’s totally okay! That wasn’t part of the grand design and scheme of things.
Just relax. Focus your positive energy on what you do have control over. Your smile, your mind, your heart, your attitude, your sunshine.
And yes, regardless of what’s happening around you, you can STILL have a warm, happy, sunny day.
YBP, so who are you? Why the anonymity …. why the secrecy …. why the mystery?
I’ve been in our WP community for a little over a month now, and I’ve been asked by some fellow bloggers the reason behind my choice of using my initials YBP.
My answer is simple, down-to-earth, and straightforward (quite reflective of my personality too).
I don’t really need for my readers to know my name. I’m already gratefully blessed that they take time to visit me and my blog. I’m more focused on getting my message of faith, hope, and LOVE out there. ❤️
My vision for my blog is crystal clear. To share that in life ….. and even in death, ULTIMATELY, IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVE. ❤️
Speaking of names, there’s this pretty cool song that I have on my playlist : “HE KNOWS MY NAME.” ❤️
Would love to share it with you….
Oh, and yes, in case you still want to call me by my name, I’ll happily respond to my nickname, Yeka. ❤️
In my life, I’ve been asked nearly a million times (okay, an honest exaggeration, haha!) what the formula for happiness is.
Hmmm. I’m no mathematician, I’m no chemist. I’m no architect. I’m no engineer. I’m no interior designer. I’m no doctor. I’m no lawyer. I’m no psychologist. I’m no “professional” with multiple degrees to make me the “authority” on happiness.
But, an emphatic BUT, I can candidly and confidently share the formula that I’ve used all my life ….
I ADD smiles and laughter to others by sharing happy vibes, cool fun, and encouragement. I love to appreciate others and “catch them” doing great.
I SUBTRACT their tears by showing them compassion and understanding …. oh and yes, when I feel their hurt, I shed a tear or two with them and stay with them through their pain.
I MULTIPLY their growth by acknowledging their strengths and inspiring them to spread their wings and fly higher and higher till their hearts happily soar in the sky. Hope is the priceless gift that I love to give.
I DIVIDE their heavy loads and burdens by listening to their challenging stories and offering them a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on.
Having shared all that, I continue to celebrate the exponential impact on others when I make GRATITUDE the foundation of my personal guaranteed formula.Nothing fancy, one may say. However, it’s clearly effective (this time, NOT an exaggeration).
Gratitude is the powerful base ….. as I add, subtract, multiply, and divide in my journey towards Happiness.
Oh, but don’t take my word for it. Better try it out and see for yourselves. Do tell me about it.
Be prepared though. You may be taken aback (positively, I should say!) with the amazing results! Indeed, a grateful heart is a happy heart.
THANK YOU! From my grateful, happy heart to yours! ❤️
Your very first breath. Your very first cry. Your very first smile. Ahhh! These all signaled that glorious moment of your arrival. You were born. And our world was never the same!
With your
miraculous birth came your undeniable claim, your indisputable privilege, your
inalienable birthright. Your happiness. Yes, your gift to yourself and to
the rest of the world.
But what is happiness, really? Is it a buzzword that people just nonchalantly throw around in social gatherings? Is it the poster-perfect image that people plaster on their social media accounts? Is it popularity in terms of how often your picture appears in glossy magazines or mega billboards? Is it your number of “friends” on Facebook or your number of “followers” on Instagram? Is it the attention-grabbing, shiny cars parked in your garage? Is it the grand vacation that you take to “get away from it all”? Is it your handsome paying job? Is it your highly diversified portfolio? Is it your gallery of certificates at home? Tell me now. Is it any of these external pleasures that are here today ….. and yet, may be gone tomorrow?
Well, we all have our own version of happiness and that’s totally okay. In fact, it’s wonderful that way. We’re all entitled to our own brand of happiness. As we navigate in our journey towards happiness, we may take different routes. Others may prefer to focus outward. Still, others may prefer to search within. It’s all a matter of mindset. It’s all a matter of perspective. It’s all a matter of meaning that we attach to things, to experiences, to people that we encounter in our lives.
Happiness
is a gift wrapped in a variety of ways. It’s our choice to unwrap this precious gift and
maximize it. It’s our choice to share it with the rest of the world too.
And what
gives us the power to be authentically happy? Regardless of what’s happening around
us. What gives us the ability to truly embrace happiness, to inhale it, to
taste it, to savor it, to relish it, to be in the moment with it, to linger in
it, to play with it, to relax with it, to grow with it, to learn with it, to
work with it, to partner with it, to live with it, to love with it?
Ultimately, WE are the power of happiness within us. We decide to be happy. We choose happiness. We become happiness personified.
Does that mean that we put ourselves in a box and cease to be human? Does that mean that we need to surgically implant smiles on our faces just to ensure that we “look happy” all day long? Does that mean that we deny our other colorful and necessary shades of human emotions?
Oh no!!! Farthest from that. For happiness goes beyond flashy smiles and buoyant spirits. Happiness goes beyond mantras and positive declarations. Happiness is more of a steady, grateful smile in the heart. That may shine ever so brilliantly for all to see in energized festivities or even glimmer quietly in solitude in the dark.For happiness is not about what happens around us. Happiness simply reflects the beauty and strength that we possess within. Through the different seasons of life.
Yes, happiness is our birthright. Happiness is our gift of ourselves to the world. We were born to be happy. We were born to inspire. ❤️
Hey YOU. Yes YOU! That’s who I want to see. In unadulterated beauty. In unfiltered goodness. In genuine purity. In elegant simplicity. In silent eloquence. In boisterous merriment. In reticent pensiveness. In raging boldness. In out-of-the-box madness. In irrepressible humor. In unquenchable curiosity. In all-that-you-truly-are form.
I want to
see YOU draped in nothing but your authenticity. Yes, the real you. Not the dolled
up, heavily made up you. Not the multiple-diet, pound-shaven you. Not the embellished,
propped-up brand you. Not the insatiably hungry-for-likes you. Not the superficial,
insta-you. Not anyone else attempting to be you.
Why? It’s
the only language that I know, in my head and in my heart. Authenticity. In my world, everything is just
as it is. Real and deep to the core. Yes, wrinkles, spider veins, and
more. I say what I mean and I mean what
I say. I do what I do because that’s my personal choice. I carve out my day in a way that honors my
soul and casts my light on whom I want to behold.
So, if you’d like for us to live happily in our shared world, this would be a great start. I’ll be myself and you’ll be yourself. It’s as simple as that. Be-YOU-tiful! That’s all you ever have to be! ❤️
This is my love message to my nieces and all the young girls in my life. And yes, this is also a sweet reminder for all gorgeous women out there who know that their real beauty and worth lie in who they are deep within. To all of you ladies, Stay Be-YOU-tiful! ❤️
IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE 