It has always amazed me that for mere pennies one can write to someone on the other side of the world – and compared to how far it has to travel the mail system somehow (almost seemingly by magic) gets it there in a timely manner. I remember when I was 18 years old and very far away from home, mail seemed to be the one life-line I could hold onto and always giving me something to look forward to. Today I pause and give thanks for the mail service.
My wife participates in Bountiful Baskets and this week we got a ton of black berries. They are delicious and make a great, healthy snack. I mixed an entire container of them with yogurt and went to town! I am particularly grateful this evening as they saved me from eating unhealthy snacks. Here’s to black berries!
While listening to Shawn Achor’s book, the Happiness Advantage I learned that when we become happier it can effect up to 1,000 people – that is three degrees of separation – our friends, our friend’s friends and our friend’s friend’s friends. Since I have taught Happiness 101 to at least 100 people, potentially I have brightened the lives of over 100,000 people! And people wonder why I don’t charge for the class! Honestly! What more reward could one possibly ask for? Today I am grateful for the contagious nature of Happiness.
All the students have been chosen for Happiness 101, the Golden Ticket E-mail has been sent, the Facebook group page has been created for them AND rockstar Lindsay has agreed to be the Teacher’s Assistant – all three weeks early! Whoo hoo! Yeah me! I am very proud of myself for getting on it early. Oh! I also got the syllabus updated. That’s it. I rock. 
I’ve really been into pumpkin seeds lately. Or, I guess I should say, they are into me. Yummy! Salty (which I like). Evidently they have quite a bit of nutritional value too and according to the attached website might even help stave off cancer and kidney disease. I’ve been snacking on them while watching movies. I hope I am burning up enough calories fighting for the seed. Oh! One last thing: pumpkin seeds make the Halloween experience just a little bit better. Pumpkin seeds are to carved pumpkins as the prize is to the bottom of the cereal box 
This is in my arsenal of coping skills. Whenever I am blue (and yes this does happen) my wife tells me the Big Mouthed Frog Joke. I love telling it. I love hearing it and it is wonderful to have a… joke that is sure to turn my disposition around. I fished around on YouTube and this is the best version I found. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any (clean) jokes you’d like to share, please do. Laughter is good for the soul and an important ingredient of Happiness.
While I don’t personally carry one, I appreciate that they give women an opportunity to show off their fashion sense. It also gives them somewhere to put, keys, ID, lipstick and seemingly everything in the known universe. I swear if Superman went up against a woman carrying a purse, he would probably flee for his life because he’d be absolutely sure kyrptonite is in there somewhere. Oh! It can also serve as a weapon to fend of would-be attackers (thinking of Ruth Buzzi in Laugh In)
Science has been able to show that this is the happy part of the brain. On brain scans, it lights up like Christmas when people are experiencing happiness. this part of the brain also …allows us to synthesize happiness. According to Dan Gilbert imagining happiness is just as good as actually experiencing it. Today I appreciate my left prefrontal cortex for without, for it allows me to experience happiness. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/dan_gilbert_researches_happiness.html
They have agreed to host the upcoming class of Happiness 101. They have been very, very kind and hospitable. If they did not host us, we would either have to limit the class to 10 (instead of 22) or would have to charge to afford a space larger than my waiting room. Today I feel very grateful to Broadview University for helping to make Utah happier.
Frank Clayton LPC
Yesterday, shortly before my first appointment, I realized my phone was missing. Three possibilities: car, book store or the dumpster. Long story short, it was in a bag in the dumpster. Instead of feeling frustrated for losing it in the first place, I felt grateful and relieved and found myself listing the many reasons I was thankful. Today I am glad I found my phone fast but am also glad to be past the tipping point of happiness, making it easy to rebound.
Happy News