Positive News

Published September 21, 2023

The pursuit of happiness is one of the basic and inalienable rights enshrined in the United States Constitution. But how are we to pursue happiness, exactly?

More importantly, how are we to pursue happiness when we can’t even agree as to what happiness really means?

For people who’ve had to live from paycheck to paycheck, happiness means never having to worry about money anymore. But then we often see people who never had to worry about money their entire life and are still unhappy.

It’s because of this that we all have different interpretations of what the pursuit of happiness really is. For some, it can be about living day to day like it’s their last. While for others, it’s making sure that they make someone happy every single day.

If you want to know more about other people’s perspectives on chasing happiness, here are some uplifting quotes on the pursuit of happiness:

Pursuit of Happiness Quotes

1. Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within YOURSELF in your way of thinking. – Marcus Aurelius
2. The Constitution only guarantees you the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. – Benjamin Franklin
3. Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination. – Roy Goodman
4. The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: if you pursue happiness you’ll never find it. – Carrie Snow
5. Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits. – Thomas Jefferson
6. If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years. – Bertrand Russell
7. To live happily is an inward power of the soul. – Aristotle
8. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow. – Buddha
9. The purpose of our lives is to be happy. – The 14th Dalai Lama
10. Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up on yourself. – Khalid
11. Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing. – Napoleon Hill
12. I think the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of reality because illusion never leaves us ultimately happy. – Parker Palmer
13. Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. – Aristotle
14. Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action. – William James
15. There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things that are beyond the power of our will. – Epictetus
16. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. – Mohandas Gandhi
17. It takes great wit and interest and energy to be happy. The pursuit of happiness is a great activity. One must be open and alive. It is the greatest feat man has to accomplish. – Robert Herrick
18. Some people cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go. – Oscar Wilde
19. Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is. – Maxim Gorky
20. There’s no more powerful lesson than knowing that your setbacks will one day help you succeed. – Reshma Saujani
21. Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it. – Groucho Marx
22. Success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success. – Herman Cain
23. Essentially pursuit of happiness is saying, everything’s allowed until we come down on it. – Howard Rheingold
24. It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit. – Denis Waitley
25. Ironically, the pursuit of happiness can lead us into the eternal trap of chasing unhappiness. – Justin Kan
26. If you so choose, even the unexpected setbacks can bring new and positive possibilities. If you so choose, you can find value and fulfillment in every circumstance. – Ralph Marston
27. The high road and positivity is never the easy way but always the best way. – Nancy Wilson
28. It is the pursuit of happiness that brings us happiness, and not the happiness achieved. – Jack White
29. Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. – Guillaume Apollinaire
30. Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities. – Aldous Huxley
31. A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. – Bertrand Russel
32.  We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. – Thomas Jefferson
33.  Remember to pause and take in the beauty of the present moment in your pursuit of happines – Shree Shambav
34.  Happiness doesn’t mean checking all the boxes, Happiness means to stop putting life in boxes. – Abhijit Naskar
35.  Happiness never lays its finger on its pulse. – Adam Smith

Published May 18, 2023

In the dictionary, a shallow person is defined as one who lacks a depth of intellect or knowledge. They are those who are only concerned about superficial things. In short, a shallow person is just that – shallow.

That’s why, whether it’s a friend or a love interest, nobody wants to deal with a shallow person. There just isn’t anything interesting about them. There are no layers to peel and no depth to uncover.

Unfortunately, you can’t always spot a shallow person from five feet away. Sometimes, it takes years before you can finally see a person for who they really are. But by then, you’re already in too deep that you just choose to ignore all the red flags even if it’s glaring at you in the face.

To help you avoid such fate and save you from potential heartache, we’ve rounded up some of the most telltale traits of a shallow person.

1. They only care about outward appearance.

This is one of the most obvious traits of a shallow person. They judge people, objects, and basically every living and non-living thing based on their physical appearance.

For them, the outer shell is everything. They don’t care if someone is rotten to the core as long as they look great. They’d also rather invest in cosmetic treatments than develop their personality.

Physical attractiveness also determines how they treat people. If they find someone attractive, they’ll treat them fairly. But they won’t spare a glance at people whose looks aren’t up to their standards. This usually applies in their relationships too.

Shallow people like to surround themselves with attractive people – from friends to romantic partners. If anyone in their circle gains weight or loses their physical attractiveness, they’ll treat them differently.

2. They don’t have layers to their character.

People with complex personalities tend to have layers to their character. Some may appear happy-go-lucky on the outside but are very sensitive deep inside. While others may appear rude at first but will surprise you with their caring nature.

Shallow people, on the other hand, don’t have those layers. The longer you are with them, the more you discover that there’s no substance to their character. There are no layers to peel or mysteries to uncover. With them, what you see is what you get.

3. They avoid deep conversations.

One thing that shallow people avoid like the plague is meaningful conversations. You can’t expect them to talk about philosophical topics or those that require them to do introspective thinking.

It’s not that they don’t have opinions of their own. In fact, they tend to talk a lot. Though it’s mostly about themselves or other people’s lives.

4. They obsess over material things.

One of the easiest traits to spot in shallow people is their tendency to put a “price tag” on everything. Whether it’s their latest gadget or the person they met five minutes ago, shallow people value things based on their monetary worth or what benefits they can get from them.

If they have expensive new clothes or jewelry, they like to “announce” its price to anyone who cares to listen. They like to cozy up to rich and powerful people too.

Published January 25, 2023

Volunteering is one of the best ways to help the homeless. Most organizations that help the homeless usually don’t have the funds to hire workers. As such, they rely on volunteers to get things done.

But how do you go about it? Where can you volunteer to help the homeless?

No worries. That’s what this blog is for. To help you get started on your volunteerism journey, here’s a quick guide on where and how to volunteer to help the homeless.

Where to Volunteer

Here are some of the places that help the homeless and usually accept volunteers:

1. Homeless Shelters

If you’re looking to help the homeless, this is the most obvious place to volunteer.

Homeless shelters offer temporary homes to homeless individuals and families. Most shelters offer both accommodation and food to their residents.

With this, there’s a wide range of work you can do as a homeless shelter volunteer. If you’re fond of interacting with people, you can serve food in the kitchen. Interested in crafts or construction? You can volunteer to beautify or repair things around the shelter too. You can even help out with some admin work if you prefer working in the office.

2. Soup Kitchen

Soup kitchens provide free and freshly-cooked meals not just to the homeless but to anyone who can’t afford to buy food. Some soup kitchens like Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen also provide other necessities like clothes and hygiene kits to their guests.

Like homeless shelters, soup kitchens are mostly staffed by volunteers. There are also a lot of volunteer tasks you can do, like cooking, serving food, cleaning, sorting the donations, and doing inventories, among others.

3. Domestic Abuse Shelters

Women who are victims of domestic abuse are often housed in domestic abuse shelters. Most of the time, they come with their children.

This is why volunteering in domestic abuse shelters can be a different experience than in other charitable organizations. Here you’ll be dealing with women, children, and even babies who are still reeling from a traumatic (and often violent) experience.

But volunteering in these places will also help you learn so much about life. You’ll hear stories of strength, courage, and resilience. You’ll learn to understand and empathize with others and learn more about yourself in the process.

Published January 25, 2023

There’s this notion that when you share something, you’ll have less of it. Well, that’s not necessarily true.

Sharing your knowledge, for instance, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be less knowledgeable. You’re still as knowledgeable as you were before. Only now, more people can benefit from the knowledge that you shared.

That’s how it works with sharing the love of God too. The more you share it, the more it grows, and more people can experience it for themselves. It can light up the darkest of places and set aflame even the coldest of hearts.

So if you want more people to experience the wonder of His love, here are some simple ways you can share God’s love with others:

1. Share Your Meals

You may not realize it, but the food we eat is one of God’s ultimate expressions of love for us. I mean, you wouldn’t be enjoying that cake right now if He didn’t give farmers the resources to grow the ingredients for that cake. 

As such, sharing our meal is one of the best ways to share the love of God. It not only gives hope to those who have nothing to eat. It also helps build communities.

Have you noticed that when people gather together, there’s usually food at the table? When you eat together, you’re not only sharing food. You’re also sharing stories and laughter. It builds trust and camaraderie, which helps bring people together. And isn’t that just how God’s love works?

2. Share Encouraging Words

When you’re at the darkest time of your life, it can be very hard to find or even feel God’s love. It’s like being stuck in an endless tunnel with no hope in sight. In times like this, an encouraging word or two can be like the light at the end of that tunnel.

This is why encouraging others is one of the best ways to share God’s love. Just like God’s love, words of encouragement can light up even the darkest of days. It makes the other person feel loved and gives them hope that all isn’t lost yet. It helps them see God’s grace despite their struggles and his unending love despite the direness of their circumstances.

Published January 17, 2023

In a world where almost everything can be done in an instant, sitting down and doing nothing seems to have become a luxury. We’ve become so focused on surviving in a fast-paced world that we tend to lose our connection to ourselves and the people around us. 

That’s why practicing mindfulness is such a necessity nowadays. In the dictionary, mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing our awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting our feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

In essence, practicing mindfulness not only calms the mind. It also allows you to communicate with yourself and acknowledge the thoughts and emotions that you’ve been trying to ignore. In the process, you learn to make peace with yourself and be more grateful for everything that you have.

Focusing on the present moment also helps us let go of the niggling worries and anxieties at the back of our minds. That’s why, when used in therapy, mindfulness can help reduce stress and anxiety, ease depression, improve cognitive function, and build better relationships.

So if you’re ready to start your mindfulness journey, these mindfulness quotes may help.

Inspirational Quotes About Mindfulness

1. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, and concentrate the mind on the present moment. – Buddha
2. The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. – Jon Kaba Zinn
3. To be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid. – Unknown
4. When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves. – Jack Kornfield
5. Open the window of your mind. Allow the fresh air, new lights and new truths to enter. – Amit Ray
6. Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, melting like a snowflake. – Francis Bacon Sr.
7. What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now. – Buddha
8. Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive. – Thích Nhất Hạnh
9. If you’re determined to think of yourself as limited, fearful, vulnerable, or scarred by past experience, know only that you have chosen to do so. The opportunity to experience yourself differently is always available. – Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
10. When you focus on what works for you and what doesn’t, you step out of that comparison cycle and spiral into your real, beautiful life. – Robyn Conley Downs
11. With awareness, we can make conscious choices instead of letting our habitual thoughts and patterns run the show. – Tamara Levitt
12. Be where you are, otherwise, you will miss your life. – Buddha
13. Step outside for a while – calm your mind. It is better to hug a tree than to bang your head against a wall continually. – Rasheed Ogunlaru
14. Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it. – Sharon Salzberg
15. The art of peaceful living comes down to living compassionately & wisely. – Allan Lokos
16. If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath. – Amit Ray
17. The Way is not in the sky, the Way is in the heart. – Buddha
18. Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life. – Marcus Aurelius
19. In today’s rush, we all think too much–seek too much–want too much–and forget about the joy of just being. – Eckhart Tolle

Quotes About the Beauty of Mindfulness

1. Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind. – Joseph Goldstein
2. Mindfulness helps us to live in harmony with our thoughts, words, and actions. – Amit Ray
3. Pause practice creates an open doorway to the sacredness of the place in which you find yourself. – Perma Chodron
4. Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. – Jon Kabat Zinn
5. Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think. – Buddha
6. Mindfulness clears the windshield of the mind so that we can see things as they really are – Travis Eliot
7. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. – Thích Nhất Hạnh
8. The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are moments when we touch one another. – Jack Kornfield
9. Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. – Perma Chodron
10. Every time we ponder a thought, act on an impulse, or dwell on a desire, we are setting in motion a cause that will have a future effect. Mindfulness enables us to choose wisely. – Tamara Levitt
11. What would it be like if I could accept life – accept this moment – exactly as it is? – Tara Brach
12. Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance. – Amit Ray
13. Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it. – Sylvia Boorstein

Published January 17, 2023

You may not realize it, but many of the mental health concerns you might be facing today stem from abandonment issues.

According to this article, the fear of being left alone can harm relationships in more ways than one. For one, it can lead to self-abandonment, which makes you more prone to depression. If not dealt with, it can also lead to a string of unfulfilling and even abusive relationships.

But how do you heal abandonment issues?

We all have different ways of dealing with our fears and traumas. So the process of healing can be different for each of us. But one thing is for sure: if you want to get over your abandonment issues, you need to understand it first.

What is a Fear of Abandonment?

As the name suggests, fear of abandonment is the persistent feeling of dread or anxiety that the people in your life will leave or reject you. It usually stems from experiences that leave a deep and often unaddressed trauma.

You see, losing something or someone is inevitable in life. Some of us have learned to cope with it. But if you have abandonment issues, you tend to feel an overwhelming fear in anticipation of that loss.

This fear causes you to subconsciously push people away from you while forming unhealthy attachments to the wrong people. In some cases, it may even lead to self-destructive behavior, which affects not just you but also the people around you.

What Causes Fear of Abandonment?

As I said, abandonment issues stem from traumatic experiences such as:

• separation from one or both parents
• death of a loved one
• death of a beloved pet
• being constantly misunderstood
• lack of affection from the immediate family
• childhood abuse (both physical and emotional)
• abusive relationships
• getting cheated on in current or previous relationships
• constantly high stress levels
• living in foster homes
• traumatic accidents
• emotionally unavailable parents

Signs of Abandonment Issues

Your fear of being abandoned and left behind can manifest in various ways, such as:

• an overwhelming urge to please people
• needing constant reassurance
• attachment or codependency
• fear of intimacy
• inability to trust other people
• sabotaging relationships
• clinging to unhealthy relationships

In most cases, people with abandonment issues don’t realize they have it until it’s too late. This prevents them from seeking help and addressing the issue.

So if you or someone you know is exhibiting the above behavioral problems, know that there are things you can do to help them or yourself get over those fears.

Published December 12, 2022

If we can all choose our jobs, we’d surely want to work somewhere we can make an impact while making decent money. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way.

In most cases, the jobs that pay higher usually suck your soul and make you lose faith in humanity. While those that allow you to make a difference usually don’t pay a living wage.

Well, we’ve got great news for you. There are jobs that actually let you enjoy the best of both worlds. And we’re listing them in this post!

If you’re looking to make a difference while making good money, here are the best jobs that help people and pay well:

1. Emergency Responder

Average pay: $64,214

Emergency responders are the people we turn to in emergency situations. They rescue people and save lives, sometimes at the cost of their own. So if you’re looking to help people, there’s no nobler way to do it than become an emergency responder.

This profession includes paramedics, police officers, firefighters, doctors, emergency medical technicians, and rescuers.

2. Veterinarian

Average pay: $121,459

If you like to work with animals and want to help save animal lives, then a veterinarian is the ideal career for you.

Contrary to popular belief, veterinarians don’t just care for domestic pets like cats and dogs. They care for all other types of animals too – from farm animals to endangered wildlife. If animals can hold a parade for their heroes, they’ll probably do it carrying a veterinarian’s statue.

3. Nurse

Average pay: $77,600

Nurses are probably some of the most underrated professionals in the world. They get less credit than doctors, but the hospital won’t run without them.

In a nutshell, nurses provide expert care from womb to tomb. From the neonatal wards to hospices, nurses are a fixture in medical care facilities. Not only do they help ease a patient’s burden, but they enjoy competitive pay too.

4. Special Education Teacher

Average pay: $61,820

If you have plenty of patience and enjoy helping special needs children achieve their full potential, this profession is for you.

Special education teachers work with children who have learning, emotional, physical, or mental disabilities. They employ special teaching strategies and techniques to help these children overcome their limitations and explore their potential.