Happiness
Happiness Thoughts at the End of the Year
New Year’s resolutions. I love them. A clean slate, fresh start, brand new page to write a brand new history. Every new year is a chance to reconsider life and make necessary changes. There’s only one problem. While we’re thinking about all the changes we need to make, and preparing for a new opportunity to…
Read MoreThese Our Hymns of Grateful Praise
Historical facts are always in dispute. Not having been at the Thanksgiving celebration at Plymouth Plantation so many years ago, I can’t tell you what was said, how politically correct were the attitudes, whether the Native Americans spoke excellent English, as some claim, or excellent Algonkian. I’m not even sure what was consumed, although wild…
Read MoreComfort and Joy–And Not Just At The Holidays
I’m enjoying my Facebook experience. Many of you have found my Emilie Richards page and signed on as “fans,” a word Facebook coined but one that always makes me feel like a wannabe rock star. I prefer “readers.” It’s easy to interact on the page, and I like finding out more about you and what…
Read MoreMy Special Key to Happiness
I believe in dreams. Dreaming and working hard can help us realize our heart’s desires. On the other hand I’ve seen many hard-working dreamers who never reach all their goals and consequently feel they’ve failed. As a mother I urged my children to choose work they loved. That way, the work, itself, would be a dream fulfilled, and whatever…
Read MoreWhat Makes YOU Happy? An Unscientific Look at Happiness Blog Comments
When I decided it would be fun to use my blog as a contest venue this past year, I had no idea how rewarding it would be. Not only did many of your participate, I had the good fortune to read all your entries, as did my assistant, the Marvelous Marna, who collated all the…
Read MoreWhat Makes Emilie Happy, and the Giveaway Winners who are Happy, too.
For the past six months I’ve had the distinct pleasure of blogging about happiness, and more important, reading your comments on my “happiness” blogs. Next week I’ll share with you the unscientific survey that my assistant Marna and I did of your wonderful and evocative contributions. We saw patterns, but that was no surprise. Looking…
Read MoreLetting Go–the fine art of recharging your personal batteries
Right this moment are you 1) Frantically trying to do at least two things at once? (And yes, yelling at the children or the dog does count as one.) 2) Leisurely planning a leisurely day? 3) Wondering who those lazy people who said yes to #2 think they are? 4) Trying to remember the meaning of…
Read MoreWe Interrupt This Happiness Blog for Thanks, Laughs and Links
So many of you have commented here for my “Happiness” contest, sixty-five yesterday in fact. I wish I could respond to each of you. Some of you are going through difficult times, still managing to be happy amidst the chaos. Some have trials ahead, but are still–forgive the cliche–stopping to smell the roses. Many of you thanked…
Read MoreHappiness and Taking Chances
I start every morning at my computer with a familiar ritual. I enter a contest to win a house. Any house. Sometimes it’s the HGTV Dream Home, or Green Home. Right now it’s the Southern Living Choose Your Home Giveaway. I envision myself living in Sonoma, California, or Habersham, South Carolina, or any number of fabulous places. I furnish the…
Read MoreWhat Really Goes Into a Novel–Researching for Fun and Profit
Sometimes I can’t believe my own good luck. I have a built-in excuse to do the strangest things without one smidgen of guilt. Yesterday, for instance, in the middle of writing a chapter that does NOT want to be written, I got the urge to bake a pie. So I did. Without feeling the least…
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