Mrs. Happy is on holiday in Thailand

Mrs. Happy on Holiday in Thailand

Mrs. Happy on Holiday in Thailand

 

Mrs. Happy is on holiday in Thailand.
Well, if that is not making me happy, what would? Thailand is a wonderful country, with lots of beautiful, smiling ladies. And the food…I could write post after post about the delicious fresh foods they cook here (maybe I will next time).

Today I am sitting in a deckchair, under a palm tree, sipping a fresh fruit drink. I am sitting here already for hours and hours, just relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere. And look at the sea. Watch how the sun paints silver spots on the water, listen to the sound the waves make when they brake on the beach. Sheer happiness.

 

 

In this video you will get a Thai style recipe for watermelon shake

This video tells you all about the health benefits of an organic watermelon shake

 

Smiling Soul

Smiling Soul

Smiling Soul

Smiling Soul

It is time to tell you why I smile in my soul all day. And I have been smiling already for a while now.To be honest, I am not sure why I haven’t told you yet this wonderful news, because I know it for quite a long time now.
But today I am going to tell you…here it comes…I am becoming a Happy Grandma again!
Happy Jr and his wife Happy Mom are expecting a second child. You know they have Happy Girl, and now they expect Happy Boy! How lucky can you be?
Everything is going very good with this young family, and my soul can’t stop smiling.

I think you can understand why…mmmm babies.

As always with love,
Mrs. Happy

Thank you, my friend!

Thank you, my friend!

Thank you, my friend!

Thank you, my friend!

Today I am grateful for having good friends. It is absolutely not the amount of friends that makes you happy. But knowing you have a few people that you can talk to, and they listen.

Just listen and not judge you. Maybe they add a few words of wisdom to your story. They show a bit of understanding, but the most important thing, they just listen and give you a piece of their time. Good friends think you are worthy and special; so special they want to spend some of their precious time with you. When my friends have time for me, it makes me feel special, loved and appreciated.

And I want to thank my friends for giving me this great feeling.

As always with love,
Mrs. Happy

Can anyone be successful in a failing world?

Successful in a failing world?

Successful in a failing world?

The other day I went to a seminar about ‘Leadership’. It was a very entertaining speech, the speaker was a journalist and he wrote a few books on the rise & fall of big companies and banks.
He questioned the forms of leadership we are use to. And in the middle of his speech, he said something that woke me up a bit.
‘No one can be successful in a failing world.’
Off course this was said in an economic context.
I totally agreed with the speaker that you cannot be really successful as an entrepreneur, when you do not care about your environment, or the people you work with, if you ignore the consequences of your economic actions so to speak.

We keep on reading the consequences of bad leadership in the papers, and on the internet. Burning sweatshops in Bangalore, bankrupt countries in Europe, big companies not paying taxes, pollution, exploitation….and why? Only to make money. To be a financial success.
It seems to be the only thing that counts nowadays, gain money.
To me, being rich, scraping for money, is NOT the definition of being successful. Not in economic way, and certainly not in a personal way.
So today I started thinking on a little bit different question; ‘Can anyone be successful in a failing world?’
And in my opinion, in my own ‘little world’ I have to say YES. If we all keep trying to be better persons, more understanding to each other, more loving, more sharing, I am convinced we are successful in this world. And when we all start realizing this, we will take our good intentions with us to work, and our view on economic success will change. We want to be loving and caring persons for others, ourselves and our environment. And then we start making money in a more civilized way. A more realistic way. Maybe a little less money then we are used to…but certainly in a more healthy way.
Believe me, I know, my income has gone from fairly high, to almost nothing. But my life has become so much more enriched since Mr. Happy & I made some brutal life changing decisions.
Life is about spending time with loved ones, doing things you really want to do and feeling good doing them. Life is about sharing wisdom with others, sharing fun and food, love and peace.
This is what’s making me happy. It will make you happy too.

As always with love,

Mrs. Happy

Why are we greedy in the presence of abundance?

Abundance in a Turkish buffet restaurant

Abundance in a Turkish buffet restaurant

Last week I went to a Turkish buffet restaurant. It was a nice restaurant, tables inside and outside and the sun was shining, so Mr. Happy and I sat outside.
As soon the buffet opened a bunch of people hurried in. And started queuing up. From where we were seated we had a good look at the buffet and the queue.
Now here is what puzzled me. Why go to a Turkish restaurant, with lovely Turkish food, such as olives, green salads, tomatoes, green peppers, filled capsicum, eggplant salad, couscous, hummus and lovely Turkish bread…and then stand in line for the baked potatoes, pizza slices and hamburgers?

And even more… why are we so greedy in the presence of abundance? People came out with their plates filled with grease, pizza, fries, and burgers, piled up to enormous heights. When it is so easy to walk again, if you feel the need to have another serving. The desserts and ice-cream were gone in a second. Salads and healthy food remained at the buffet. Mr. Happy, who loves healthy food and never had a pizza slice in his life, went over to the manager to ask him why the restaurant also served fast-food.
The answer was shockingly simple… ’otherwise the restaurant would have almost no customers’. Healthy, lovely food is not enough to attract lots of people.
Mr. Happy & I enjoyed our very tasty Turkish food and had a long discussion on the question.. ‘why are people greedy in the presence of abundance?’
We had a nice dinner and a good conversation. I cannot give you the answer on the question, but I would like to ask you to think about this question: ‘why are people greedy in the presence of abundance?’. If it is in a buffet restaurant, why do we put so much food on one plate, as if we were afraid there is not enough?

When it is about money, why is it we never seem to have enough, and even when we do, we want more. And even when we cannot spend it all ourselves, we will not give it away…why is that?
Why we insist on thinking, even believing, we are not enough, when the truth is we are enough!
Why we keep on thinking there is not enough love, peace and understanding in this world, when there is enough for everyone…you only have to feel it, see it and accept it.
My message to you is… feel the abundance in your life, feel it in your hart, embrace it, love it, and then the most important thing… SHARE IT!

Always with love,

Mrs. Happy

Your emotions tell you a very different story

Emotions tell you a different story

Emotions tell you a different story

I have to apologize to you, I haven’t been writing for almost three weeks. I am sorry.
Maybe you remember I was on a holiday with Mr. Happy, and we were having a great time. Sunshine, good food, laughter and light. A few of my favorite things in life.
But when we got home, Mr. Happy’s mom was really sick. And a week later she passed away. Mr. Happy was with his mom’s when she closed her eyes in infinite peace.
Another life-event happening to us, and I know we all have to cope with this at given time, but we had already so many hard times the last few years.

And it is hard to lose your mom. No matter what age you have, no matter what age your mom has.
We were under the impression, because Mom was already an ‘old woman’ we were prepared for her death. We were not!
In your mind you can rationalize the facts, you know it can happen any time when a person is 91 and not in a good condition anymore. But your emotions tell you a very different story. It is Mom, it is about your youth, your memories, the things you learned from her, her laugh, her presence. You miss everything about her.
Last week we had her funeral, and it was a beautiful ceremony. With lots of flowers, candles representing all the grandchildren and great grandchildren, and lovely pictures of her. And of course a lot of crying. At the end, it all felt good, we can look back on a wonderful goodbye.

I read a beautiful quote that helps me a little: ‘Death ends a life…not a relationship

Go out and play

Mrs. Happy is still on holiday in Thailand

Go out and play

Go out and play

Mr. Happy & I are still on the coast. One of the nicest things is see children play in the sand, along the tide line. Building castles, collecting shells, and digging canals. We ‘grown-ups’ could learn a lot from kids. They play with 100% dedication. Kids don’t ask themselves what the significance is of building sandcastles…they just build them, because they want to, they can and they want to do it right now, right here. And afterwards they eat ice-cream, and sleep a bit. Life is so good when you are a kid.

Find the child in yourself, go out and play!

Happy Flowers

Happy flowers

Happy flowers

Flowers are probably the most beautiful thing on earth. The complexity, the colors, flowers are just breathtaking stunning. So I am always on the look for new species, and try to catch them on camera.
A while ago, I was so lucky. I found this beautiful orchid in a garden. This orchid smiled at me…so I had to smile back!
Luckily the pictures I took turned out quite gorgeous, and I could print some out on canvas. There is one in my office, and sometimes, during work, I take a short glance at it…and smile.

Sunshine in a glass!

Beautiful breakfast

Beautiful breakfast

Wow, my first post on Mama-Buddha.com!
I am so excited to tell you all about my happy-moments. I really hope that my writings will help you to see that happiness is in small things.

Today I had a beautiful breakfast. Mr. Happy made me freshly squeezed oranges. No, he did not pour it from a can! He used the original, orange round things you can find in the fruit section. You have to cut them, and actually squeeze them yourself (or find Mr. Happy to do it for you), but then you get sunshine in a glass!
He topped my breakfast up with fresh yellow mango slices. What a way to start the day!