Having confidence is essential to all aspects of life, it colours how we approach everything and helps us to give of our best. It endows us with a ‘go-for-it‘ attitude.

On the other hand, lack of confidence prevents us from trying new things and keeps us locked within ourselves.  We fear we won’t be able achieve what we want in life.

We over-analyse everything and come up with the worst possible scenario – seeing ourselves failing miserably, ending up being laughed at or feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

The sad part is that often these thoughts can  become self-fulfilling prophesies. For example, when we start a new job we spend our time beating ourselves up.

Instead of concentrating on what we have to do to get the job done we tell ourselves we are stupid. Everyone else is smarter, more popular and definitely better looking.

We sweat and stew and generally make ourselves miserable. Meanwhile our wonderful true self is being covered up by layers of inferiority, fretting and feeling completely overwhelmed.

We are afraid of asking questions because we don’t want to appear dumb so we sit and agonise over a problem telling ourselves we should be able to do it and never ask for help.

Feeling Confident

The confident person will also be nervous starting a new job but the difference in their attitude is the key. They will not be afraid to ask questions or speak up for themselves.

They too will make mistakes and feel embarrassed but they will move on and let it go, they won’t torment over it for the rest of the day or in some cases weeks. They will give themselves a break.

They don’t quit easily, they will stick with it and learn until one day they are competent and comfortable with the job.

If you lack confidence how can you get it and where does it come from? There is no doubt how we are reared has a massive impact on the confidence we have in ourselves at this very moment.

However, this is not about looking back and blaming our parents or teachers or whoever we feel is responsible. It is about what we can do for ourselves today to give us that pep in our step or as the French say that  joi de vivre.

Gaining Confidence

Where do we start? Confidence is an inner belief in ourselves. It is about feeling good about who we are and what we can do. It is also about our unique talents and abilities, finding them, nurturing them and allowing others to benefit from them.

When we have no belief in ourselves it casts a shadow over our personalities, and we become like tightly lidded perfume bottles who never allow others to appreciate our wonderful scent.

Healthy Appearances

First comes good grooming. We should always try to look our very best, showering daily, putting on clean clothes, combing our hair and shining our shoes.

If you are a woman you should learn the art of subtle make-up. If you are a man get a good hair-cut, shave or keep  your beard tidy.

Some form of exercise is also vital for giving us a lift and keeping our spirits up. There is so much written about watching our weight and staying active that it hardly needs repeating. But being overweight does take its toll on confidence.

Try to exercise every day, it will pay off. Also watch what you eat. Indulging in chocolate bars  sweets and fast food is detrimental not only to our health but our mental state. Too much sugar makes us tired and piles on more weight it also makes the skin look dull and unhealthy. Not great if you want to feel confident.

In addition  look after your teeth, make sure they are clean and white, confident people smile a lot.

The Art Of Good Conversation

Next learn how to be charming, this involves smiling and saying hello to others if they don’t answer never mind don’t be put off just move on to the next person and say hello to them too. Say it in a confident and assured way as half-hearted hello’s get a half-hearted response. Remember you get what you give.

Next learn the art of small-talk. What is small-talk? Small-talk is usually about something that both people can join in on. It can be about the weather, something on the news, that morning  sports or indeed anything to get the conversation rolling.

Begin by saying something to the check-out attendant in the supermarket for example ‘It looks like you’re  busy today’, or ‘do people every stop shopping?’ It can be as simple as that, the aim is to appear friendly and to acknowledge the person who is checking you out. It also gives you some practice.

You can make small talk at the bus stop, a waiting room (though be careful not to talk too much to people who may be ill in a doctor’s waiting room just be sensitive to how others look, they may want to be left alone). Practice small-talking at home and have a few lines ready to get things started and then DO IT.

The Storyteller

Part of growing in confidence is making yourself do things that you don’t want to do. People who lack confidence shy away from going to parties or other events that may require them to talk to new people.

They panic about what they will say to people but don’t forget you only need to talk to one person at a time, you will not be expected to work the whole room or stand up to give a speech. Again start with some small-talk to break the ice, then have a few stories practised and ready.

Be pro-active and have something prepared. Have you ever watched celebrities being interviewed? They always have stories ready, if you happen to see them being interviewed on another programme you will hear them repeat the same story.

You too can have your stories ready, practised and polished. Stories can be about something funny that happened in work, a holiday you went on recently or a film currently showing that you went to. The choice is yours.

Also draw other people out ask them questions about themselves, their work, their hobbies and instead of thinking of yourself try to make them feel good about themselves.

It is said about the writer Oscar Wilde that he had the ability to make others feel they were the most facinating person in the room. Could you do that for someone? It could be fun to try.

Think Of Others

Finally, remember most people are shy and may well be feeling just as nervous, lonely and unsure of themselves as you are. Do not assume that just because they look as if they have it all together that they have.

Now is the time to get out there and ‘Seize the Day.’  This is not a dress rehearsal stop putting off your life and begin living it. A wonderful quote from Melodie Beattie goes; ‘Quit hanging onto the handrails… Let Go. Surrender. Go for the ride of your life. Do it everyday.’

Have a look at actor George Clooney who is noted for his charm, look at his body language and his good humour.

Never try to copy others but learn how they communicate with others and try to do the same. You may not be a movie star but you have a lot to give to others who can benefit from being with you. Have Fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noBavJuBERo

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The value of laughter cannot be underestimated. A good sense of humour is priceless and can easily be developed.

Seeing the funny side of things is the key to getting through life. Many of us take ourselves way too seriously and suffer as a result.

If we were to see the same situation played out on film we would no doubt be laughing up our sleeves at the silliness of the situation.

Benefits of Laughter

There are so many benefits to laughter it would be crazy not to engage in it every day.

The old adage ‘Laughter Is The Best Medicine‘ is more than a motto there is a lot of truth to it.

Laugher relieves stress, helps relax the body, boosts the heart and gives a good work-out.

Journalist, professor, author and peace activist, Norman Cousins claimed that laughter helped him to control the pain of a form of arthritis called Marie-Strumpell’s disease. Cousins was told the disease would kill him.

He carried out research into the link between human emotions and illness. Along with developing the positive characteristics of love, faith and hope he trained himself to laugh every day.

Cousins’s favoured way was to watch Marx Brothers films. He said ‘I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me two hours of pain free sleep.‘

When the pain came back he would watch more Mark brothers with the same result.

So why don’t we get straight into the laughter ourselves and who better to start with than the great Stephen Fry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbUj-iuMUVI

Not your cup of tea. Then how about this? The hilarious Rowan Atkinson better known as Mr Bean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTzXJMU1sLc

Don’t Worry Be Happy

Very often we chase happiness, we think ‘if only I had this or that or the other then I know I would be happy.’ But happiness has very little to do with things. It has to do with an inner state of being and being happy with who we are and where we find ourselves right now and trying to make the most of it.

A good place to start is to learn to laugh. We all think we know how to laugh and yes we do but adults especially forget the simple art. It is said that children laugh around 150 times a day whereas adults barely laugh five times. Isn’t that sad?

Think of the end of our lives will what we are worrying and stressing about now really matter then?
As the great Mark Twain said ‘I have spent most of my time worrying about things that have never happened’

Now watch Matt Harding who became famous on YouTube for his funny dance which he brought around the world. Then he got others to join in the fun. Watch especially for the adults who really get into the goofy dance and lose their inhibitions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

Play

Adults also lose the ability to play as they get older. A lot of this has to do with being afraid to look silly so even though we want to get on the merry-go-round we forgo the opportunity because we think we would look foolish. We would do anything to try skating on ice but again fear of what others might think prevents us.

We would love to take up dancing but we think we are just too old. We see a pair of colourful trousers that appeal to our inner playful child but again we are stopped in our tracks by that old adult spoil sport.

The next time you want to try something silly or buy those multi coloured trousers the trick is not to let your head get in the way just listen to your first impulse don’t think about it just do it.

It’s time for another laugh! Here is the great Jim Carry playing pet detective Ace Ventura.

http:vh//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q6_9A90cUk

Laugh And The World Laughs With You

Maybe your life has been hard and you have had a lot of heartache and sadness. Well you need to laugh now more than ever. You may not feel like it at the moment but there will come a day in the future when you will feel hopeful again even though at the moment you cannot see it.

In the meantime, try to find some time during the day to laugh and remember the benefits to your health.

When you are laughing you forget about your cares for a little while at least. Is it not worth your while to dedicate at least part of your day to laughing?

This next video is Hugh Laurie, star of the popular House series in which he plays an acerbic doctor. Hugh is a terrific comedian and singer. Here he combines both.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__DrJI7mTHQ

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These days we are surrounded by self-help books, some good, others not so. However, one thing they all seem to have in common is that they make the reader feel discontent with themselves and who they are.

These books appear to be all about getting somewhere else, somewhere better than where we are at this very moment. While there is nothing wrong with trying to improve ourselves and our situation, the danger is that we could reject our very selves and the place we occupy right now.

The old saying ‘Bloom Where You’re Planted‘ is an apt one and learning to appreciate our surroundings as they are now  is the perfect place to start.

However, often we neglect our essence in favour of what we think is better. So if we are shy we think we should be more confident and outgoing. We look at our more extroverted friends with envy and want to be like them.

‘Why can’t I be the life and soul of the party surrounded by people who want to be with me?‘, we wonder.

Meanwhile the extroverted friend may love to be with you because you provide that balance that he/she needs.

The Tale Of Flowers

Think of that simple little flower the violet, hidden away often under briars and yet so beautiful and appreciated by those who find them.

There are many human violets out there who believe they should perhaps be a beautiful rose forgetting that roses have thorns. They think ‘I should be a tall and unusual sunflower‘. Wait a minute, sunflowers are solitary. Then they think ‘I know. I will go for a daffodil, they are friendly and everyone loves them but damn they are so ordinary.‘

Why not be a violet and love yourself just the way your are. The same goes for all the roses, sunflowers and daffodils out there.

In the meantime listen to this piece of wisdom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO5qc-9NX4E

Just The Way You Are

This is all about loving who you are at this very moment. ‘But who am I?‘, we wonder. We appear to know more about soap stars and entertainers then we know about ourselves.

Where can we start? Well first ask the question ‘Who am I?’ and keep asking it of yourself.

Are you living your own life or someone else’s. Are you afraid to let yourself out of your safety box, let yourself free or maybe you are too scared to look at who you really are.

Do you worry about the neighbours what they think? Are you afraid if you were really yourself people may not like you? Who knows maybe they don’t like you now. So what if they don’t? That is their problem.

You are not on the Earth to please other people. You are here to express who you are. Whether you do that through your opinion or the way you dress or through baking a cake, writing a book, painting a picture or singing a song, do it and forget about what people are thinking.

They say the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in something. The next question is what do I enjoy doing?

Maybe it is reading, or dancing or singing or cooking. The important thing is that you do it as often as you can.

Whatever it is, the important thing is that you are having fun and provided you are not doing any person any harm or hurting them in any way then go for it. Here is a cute little video from the musical, Billy Elliott.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRanzpVYx-s

Find Your Path

The world and many of the people in it will do their level best to try to to get you to conform and do you know why? Because it makes them feel safe. Let’s face it if you are not doing anything out of the way then they don’t feel they have to do anything either.

You know the feeling when a friend does something like returns to university or joins a dancing group or auditions for a show. Admit it you do feel a little bit jealous and think maybe you should be doing something too.

The idea is to find your own path. There is something you can do. You have a gift, a talent. It can be anything from plaiting hair, to doing hand-stands to making bird calls. Have a look at these videos and see how some people are making the most of what they have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZvoqNiOnG4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjWV0lpgdMM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMOb5HB05L8

Whatever your talent or art, let the world see and enjoy it but most of all enjoy yourself and have fun!

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‘At some point, you’ve got to win.’

‘There comes a point in your life when you realise how quickly time goes by, and how quickly it has gone. Then it really speeds up exponentially. With that, I think you start to put a lot of things into context; you start to see how huge the world is, and really, the universe.’

‘I’m going to do four or five of these movies, and it’s going to become my career. I’ll have to keep expanding the bat suit, because I get fatter every year. I’ll be bankrupt. I’ll be out opening shopping malls, going from appearance to appearance in a cheesy van.’ On making the Batman films.

‘Well, I think I’m not a non-believer, and I’m not a believer. But, on the other hand, I couldn’t give you a good enough reason why EVP doesn’t exist. I don’t know enough about it, so how could I say it’s not true. Plus, a person’s reality is a person’s reality; so that’s your belief system. It’s all perception anyway, isn’t it?’

‘Unless you’re flat out dead, you have to think of some other questions like: what’s on the other side? It brings up issues of God, or no God. How does he play into this? Or he, or she, or it? How does it all play into this?’

‘It was a lonely time for me, which was great for the character, I suppose. I would run at night in London just trying to get tired enough so I could sleep. I didn’t talk to people much. My little boy was a toddler, and the woman I was married to at the time, we were not together but we were trying to figure it out and get back together. It was me in London, alone, and my sleep during that whole movie was never right. As often as I could, I was getting on the Concorde and trying to get back to spend some time with my kid…It was an extremely difficult undertaking and Tim [Burton] is a shy guy, especially back then, and there was so much pressure. We were in England for a long time shooting at Pinewood and it was long, difficult nights in that dank, dark, cold place, and we never knew if it was really working. There was no guarantee that any of this was going to play correctly when it was all said and done. There had never been a movie like it before. There was a lot of risk, too, with Jack [Nicholson] looking the way he did and me stepping out in this new way. The pressure was on everybody. You could feel it.’

‘I played a lot of sports when I was a kid so I get in that ballgame mindset of being really, really respectful, but at the same time saying to yourself, ‘Don’t back down a single inch, hang with these guys if you can.’ If they throw it high and tight you have to stand in there, you can’t take yourself out of that moment.’

‘My prediction, I don’t know anything about it, but I feel this way about it. It’s going to be good, because he’s a really good actor, and that’s a really good director. And they’ve had years and years and years, and hundreds of millions of dollars, or at least tens of millions of dollars to figure it out. I say it’s going to be good. I picture it’s going to be good. And also, I swear to God it’s not an “I told you so”, it’s maybe an interesting thing, that when I didn’t like the third script… I just said “I really don’t like this, and I don’t want to do it” cause what I wanted to do, is what I’m told and I don’t know if this is true yet so don’t hold me to this until I see it, but I’m told it’s more a prequel. And that was what I thought would’ve been a hip way to go the third time. This guy is so endlessly fascinating potentially, why not go and see how he got there.’ His thoughts on the release of Batman Begins.

‘From an art perspective, I don’t know how you get better than Beetlejuice. In terms of originality and a look, it’s 100% unique. If you consider the process of taking something from someone’s mind – meaning Tim [Burton] – and putting it on the screen, I think that movie is incomparable.’

‘I never saw what I did for a living as who I am. But if there’s a job in the world where that can get blurry, this is the one. The line gets really blurry for a lot of people, and for understandable reasons just as you go through life and this business. You don’t have to be especially weak to become extremely self-involved in this business, and I just never wanted to go down that road…. Alan Arkin said to me once that he wanted to have a really big life and a really good career. And I think that’s really sane.’

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‘I’m a lot taller than I look on television and younger, and for the role of David Brent, I wore a fat suit under my shirt and trousers. Really I’m about 25 and about 6′ 1″ tall. So that’s probably why you don’t recognise me in the street.’

‘I remember when we were talking to one of the executives at the BBC. And he said, “Now hold on, this man [David Brent] is so incompetent, why wouldn’t he be fired?’ and I said, “Go and take a look around this building. Just go and knock on a few doors.”‘

‘I’m not one of those people who think that comedy is your conscience taking a day off. My conscience never takes a day off and I can justify everything I do. There’s no line to be drawn in comedy in the sense that there are things you should never joke about. There’s nothing that you should never joke about, but it depends what that joke is. Comedy comes from a good or a bad place. The subject of a joke isn’t necessarily the target of the joke. You can make jokes about race without any race being the butt of the joke. Racism itself can be the butt, for example. When dealing with a so-called taboo subject, the angst and discomfort of the audience is what’s under the microscope. Our own preconceptions and prejudices are often what are being challenged. I don’t like racist jokes. Not because they are offensive. I don’t like them because they’re not funny. And they’re not funny because they’re not true. They are almost always based on a falsehood somewhere along the way, which ruins the gag for me. Comedy is an intellectual pursuit. Not a platform.’

‘Money gives me the creeps and mildly embarrasses me. I get paid too much anyway.’

‘I worked in an office for about seven years, and I’ve always been a people watcher. So when it came to writing it down, I just had a big bag of observations really about office life. And it’s not really about office life as such — it’s not about selling paper or politics of the office — it’s more about relationships. I think that’s why it’s sort of taken off around the world, ’cause the themes are big; you know, boy meets girl, a decent job of work, making a difference. It’s also a comedy about comedy, really. It’s about this guy who thinks he is funny and isn’t. He’s not a bad man, David Brent; I suppose he’s got a bit of a blind spot, and he’s a bit of a twit, but I suppose the worst thing he did was confuse popularity with respect. But yeah, it’s a show about people working in an office, trapped and wasting their life really. And it’s not a snobby look at white-collar 9-to-5 — one of the themes is sort of, if you don’t enjoy it, don’t sit there watching the clock ’til you’re 65 and go, “oh, f**k, I always meant to write a novel.” It’s quite sweet and sad at parts, quite existential, I think, but very funny, I think. But you’ll be the judge of that’

‘There’s a received wisdom in the U.K. that Americans don’t get irony. This is of course not true. But what is true is that they don’t use it all the time. It shows up in the smarter comedies but Americans don’t use it as much socially as Brits. We use it as liberally as prepositions in every day speech. We tease our friends. We use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. We avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary. We mercilessly take the piss out of people we like or dislike basically. And ourselves. This is very important. Our brashness and swagger is laden with equal portions of self-deprecation. This is our license to hand it out. This can sometimes be perceived as nasty if the recipients aren’t used to it. It isn’t. It’s play fighting. It’s almost a sign of affection if we like you, and ego bursting if we don’t. You just have to know which one it is.’

‘Oh, these actors who ask, “What’s my motivation?” all the time. Who cares? I’ll tell you what your motivation is: it’s the only thing you can do, and you’re getting paid to do it, so shut the hell up!’

‘I guess the biggest difference between the U.S. version and the U.K. version of “The US Office” (2005) reflected this. We had to make Michael Scott a slightly nicer guy, with a rosier outlook to life. He could still be childish, and insecure, and even a bore, but he couldn’t be too mean. The irony is of course that I think David Brent’s dark descension and eventual redemption made him all the more compelling. But I think that’s a lot more palatable in Britain for the reasons already stated. Brits almost expect doom and gloom so to start off that way but then have a happy ending is an unexpected joy. Network America has to give people a reason to like you not just a reason to watch you. In Britain we stop watching things like “Big Brother” (2000/II) when the villain is evicted. We don’t want to watch a bunch of idiots having a good time. We want them to be as miserable as us. America rewards up front, on-your-sleeve niceness. A perceived wicked streak is somewhat frowned upon.’

‘It’s going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking. Or as Charlie Sheen calls it, breakfast.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with getting 20 million viewers, but I think there’s something wrong with aiming at getting 20 million viewers, because then you have to take away all the things that will offend, and you’ll end up with something so anodyne that it just washes over you for half an hour. I imagine “The Office” [2001] was also one of the most hated shows on television, that some people passionately hated it. But that’s better, for me. David Bowie said that after Let’s Dance, which is his biggest album ever and obviously not his best, he was doing these stadium gigs and looked out at the audience and suddenly realised that he had Phil Collins fans instead of Iggy Pop fans. And that’s how I feel about everything I do: I want Iggy Pop fans.’

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‘Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable’. Philippians 4:8

Often we fill our minds with the direct opposite or indeed have it filled for us by the media as we listen to one depressing news story after another.

How can we fill our minds with beauty, purity and things that are good while at the same time being aware that there is also hardship and suffering in the world?

The key is balance. If we allow ourselves to constantly listen to and read bad news we can become overwhelmed and feel helpless before we even begin our day.

With so much negativity around one would be forgiven for thinking that beauty and purity no longer exist. Yet we are literally surrounded by these very qualities.

Rejuvenating With Nature

Nature is a precious gift that we often neglect or ignore but to hear the birds singing we must turn off the radio or TV and maybe open a window or step outside.

There are so many exquisite gifts in nature that we are spoilt for choice. Majestic trees, babbling brooks, waterfalls, flowers, and the fresh smell of rain are all waiting to shower us with their peace and joy if we will only let them. We need to make visiting nature an essential part of our lives.

What if we live in the city and can’t easily access nature? Then why not try to bring nature indoors? Bunches of beautiful colourful flowers are now relatively cheap in most supermarkets. Large vases can also be purchased in euro and dime stores. Invest in both and fill your home with beauty either in the window or on a table.

Not everyone is lucky enough to live near the sea or a charming little brook however all of the sounds of nature are now readily available on CDs or on YouTube. From birdsong to flowing water to the sound of the ocean. Just play, sit down, close your eyes and relax for a few minutes. If you find it difficult it is just a measure of how far you need to go to learn the art of relaxation. Here is one to get you started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL4Z9d9oObY

If you live near a park why not go there on your lunch break or early in the morning and get your fix of fresh air, birds, trees, grass and most of all, peace.

Music

Listening to your favourite  music is a great way to unwind, let go, inviting beauty and joy into your life. However, it must be joyous not loud or harsh if you want to relax. If you are not the possessor of a library of music then turn to YouTube where you have a terrific selection of all types of melodies from classical, to New Age to bouncy dance music.

Or better still sing yourself. Singing has wonderful health benefits including circulation, digestion and of course breathing. The great Ella Fitzgerald said ‘The  only  thing better than singing is more singing.’ Singing is uplifting and fun so what’s stopping you?

Let this choir put a smile on your face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohxFSYx9frI

Beautiful pictures or paintings can give great joy merely by gazing at them for a while. Happy scenes of animals playing, people laughing or other joyous scenes are good ways to increase our endorphins.

Going to an uplifting movie can help us relax for an hour or two.  Yellow Magpie recommends Chocolat. It is delicious and sensual in every way with the added bonus of all that chocolate!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEzzbBc7Tw4

The American President. A fictional story about the President of the United States. Bright, intelligent and beautifully shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NULabIAGubY

These just get you started but there are no end to the wonderful films that are out there for you to enjoy and escape some of the stresses of life.

Some people relax with poetry, if this is your thing then try this one for size.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I’d dare to make more mistakes next time.
I’d relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.

I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I’d have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I’m one of those people who live
sensibly and sanely hour after hour,
day after day.

Oh, I’ve had my moments,
And if I had it to do over again,
I’d have more of them.
In fact, I’d try to have nothing else.
Just moments, one after another,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I’ve been one of those people who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat
and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.

(Nadine Stair,
85 years old.)

Laughing is another spirit lifter and is a real tonic. ‘A merry heart doeth good like medicine.’ Proverbs

Here are a few one liners.

‘A person who smiles in the face of adversity probably has a scapegoat.’
‘So you’re a feminist, isn’t that cute.’
‘Boldly going nowhere.‘ (bumper sticker)
‘Everytime I find the meaning in life they change it.‘

Bring some good cheer into your life, and do your best to find something to laugh at every day. If all else fails go for a brisk walk, exercise has so many health benefits it would be silly not to engage in some. Exercise can improve your mood, help prevent heart disease and high blood pressure. Help older people to become strong and helps with weight loss.

We hope this article has given you some ideas as to how to bring some good cheer into your life that’s if you need of course! Remember where there is a will there is most certainly a way.

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1. Quotes On Positive Thinking

‘Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.’

‘Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.’

‘If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.’

‘There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee…that says, fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me…you can’t get fooled again.’

‘For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It’s just unacceptable. And we’re going to do something about it.’

‘I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is right.’

‘Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.’

‘I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.’

‘See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.’

‘I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.’

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‘I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport.’

‘These sports are just – you go do it, and you’re doing it on your own. You don’t have to answer to anyone.’

‘I won’t quit skating until I am physically unable.’

‘Most of my friends are skaters or were skaters at one time, so they obviously relate.’

‘That’s awesome. Aside from being a really positive outlet for kids who are going to skate whether there’s a park or not, it’s a breeding ground. It helps our sport grow.’

‘I love snowboarding, but I would never want to do it competitively or at a professional level. Snowboarding is a spawn of skating, and skating is my passion.’

‘Some of the spins he has learned on his skateboard had never been done before, because we, as skaters, didn’t have a frame of reference to try them for the first time. For instance, nobody had attempted a 1080 in skating until Shaun tried it last year. He wasn’t scared because he’s done it plenty of times in the snow.’ On Shaun White.

‘I love the fact that there is now a skate park in almost every city, but it will always have a rebellious/underground edge to it because it is based on individuality.’

‘Big decisions in my life have always come easy and are made without hesitation. It is easier for me to make a life-changing decision than to decide what to get for dessert.’

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‘I actually thought that it would be a little confusing during the same period of your life to be in one meeting when you’re trying to make money, and then go to another meeting where you’re giving it away.’‘Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.’

‘Almost every way we make electricity today, except for the emerging renewables and nuclear, puts out CO2. And so, what we’re going to have to do at a global scale, is create a new system. And so, we need energy miracles.’

‘Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself.’

‘Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.’

‘I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.’

‘I’m a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they’re interested in. ‘

‘If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG.’

‘Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning. ‘

‘We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.’

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‘It’s really fun playing the devil. There’s no real boundaries. There’s no limitations to what I can or can’t do. And I’ve been encouraging them to let me do things on the periphery, like set people on fire for no particular good reason.’

‘Trust me, there’s no more back-handed compliment than saying you like something because it’s Canadian. Girls say it to me all the time.’

‘The most rewarding thing is directing actors. That is really a treat. Part of the reason is if you have really good actors, as I did, it’s just a joy to watch them go at a scene. To be reminded of what a wonderful thing it is that actors can do…to inhabit these people. You’ve really only written these black and white symbols we call words and they suddenly are full bodied and they have hearts and it’s fantastic.’

‘I was interested in the intimate casualties of war, and what it does to families and innocence and neighbours, and love, I suppose. The casualties of love. And the only thing that can counterbalance something as implacably brutal as a cataclysm like the first war is all these individual acts of love and self-sacrifice.’

‘I certainly don’t want to be like Bryan Adams and have to play in gigantic stadiums. I think that would be daunting. I think playing in nice clubs is fun.’

‘It’s intriguing to me why the First World War started. It’s intriguing that the war continued even after both sides recognized it was hopeless. And it’s also intriguing that it ended so ambivalently, leaving the door open for the second one.’

‘The first time that you direct something you think you need to concentrate on everything and while to a certain extent that’s true, there’s a hierarchy of what’s important and what isn’t. I had it all flattened out into all of it being of critical importance. So I think I’d be better at it if I did it again’

‘Somewhere after long division, I stopped doing math. That cut off the sciences. I decided I probably should try acting.’

‘It has always struck me as being peculiar that we do so little with our military history, in particular with that war, although it would have been ferociously difficult to shoot before now – beyond our means and capacity to photograph.’

‘I met the Queen. It was the nicest thing. I can’t believe it.’

Check Out Yellow Magpie’s Due South Quotes: The Memorable Duo

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Ann’s Story: Chapter One The Sequinned Dress
Ann’s Story: Chapter Two ‘The Glamorous Neighbour’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Three ‘The Purchase’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Four ‘The Job Loss’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Five ‘Seeds Of Friendship’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Six – ‘Where To Now?’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Seven ‘The Decision’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Eight ‘The Wish List’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Nine ‘A Delayed Plan’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Ten ‘Good Fortune’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Eleven ‘Money In The Bank’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twelve ‘Curiosity’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Thirteen ‘The Auction’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Fourteen ‘Paris’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Fifteen ‘New Introductions’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Sixteen ‘Single In Paris’
Ann’s Ann’s Story: Chapter Seventeen ‘The Business Proposition’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Eighteen ‘The Event’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Nineteen ‘The Long Night’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty ‘Close Encounters Of Pleasurable Kind’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty-One ‘New Frontiers’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty-Two ‘The Interview’
Ann’s story: Chapter Twenty-Three ‘First Day’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty-Four ‘Romance’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty Five ‘Life Changes’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty Six: ‘Where To From Here?’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty Seven ‘Little Faith’
Ann’s Story: Chapter Twenty-Eight ‘Family Life’

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Yellow Magpie’s Saturday Serial concludes with Chapter Twenty-Eight. You can read the list of chapters here.

It wasn’t long before Ann’s life fell into a comfortable routine and Faith had settled into the crèche.

Her job was going really well and she enjoyed meeting the clients and had gotten to know some of them personally, often lunching with them.

Meanwhile John was still showing interest and eventually asked her out again. This time Ann didn’t refuse.

They went to a small intimate restaurant, more modest than the ones Joe had taken her to but much more homely and relaxed.

They were easy in each others company and had plenty to talk about. Ann grew very fond of John. He was always so kind and considerate and had a great sense of humour always making her laugh and feel good about herself.

The relationship didn’t have the passion of her and Joe but she was much more content and he left her in no doubt as to how he felt about her.

Faith was now almost a year old and was becoming cuter every day. She looked very like Joe who doted on her and spoiled her with toys and other little treats. He often called Ann to see how Faith was and worried that she was happy in the crèche.

Ann always assured him that she was being well taken care of and he need not be concerned. Still he fretted and Ann could see that Faith was going to be Daddy’s little girl.

She was glad that she would have a positive relationship with her father and John was also another strong male influence.

Thelma was a great godmother and took every opportunity to baby sit and mind her. Ann was surrounded by support and love and as Christmas approached felt only warmth and joy.

On Christmas eve John proposed. It took Ann by surprise and while she felt sure she would accept, she said she would have to consult with Joe as the father of Faith and how he felt about another man being a permanent fixture in his daughter’s life.

Joe was quiet when she told him and said he felt jealous that John would be the main man in his Faith’s life. However, he said he wouldn’t stand in her way provided he could have unlimited access to her.

Ann agreed as she knew he would always do what was right for Faith. Nonetheless, John insisted they go to a solicitor and have something legal written up. Joe consented and the solicitor drew up an agreement which they all signed.

Christmas was wonderful and was the first time since Ann’s childhood that she felt so safe surrounded as she was by her very own family. On New Year’s day, Ann accepted John’s offer of marriage and he presented her with a beautiful engagement ring.

Thelma cried yet again and hugged her warmly and Ann felt sorry for her, wishing she could also meet someone and settle down. She knew Thelma wanted that too and Ann hoped that she would get her wish.

Ann and John got married in the spring, she wore a long cream lace fitted dress. Thelma was her Maid of Honour and wore a long pale blue lace dress. As usual she looked the most glamorous but Ann didn’t care as it was her day and she wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of her enjoyment of it.

Joe took Faith while they were on honeymoon in Florida and rang her every day to tell her how she was. John was a good and attentive husband always putting Ann’s needs above his own and treating her with respect and dignity.

When Thelma introduced the new man in her life, Ann was more than surprised. He was a small bald headed man called Mark. He was in his 50′s and he was head-over-heels in love with her and she seemed to reciprocate and the two of them were delighted, doting on each other.

That was over 20 years ago I am the Ann White of the story and as I look back on my life I realise how lucky I have been.

For years I thought I would spend the rest of my life alone, I never dreamed I would marry and as for having a baby that thought never entered my head. Those things were for other people not me.

Faith is now 20 and studying medicine, all going well I will be the mother of a doctor. She has grown up to be a beautiful strong confident and most of all kind young woman.

Having two men in her life that both love her to bits has given her a great deal of confidence and she has always attracted boyfriends who treat her well as that is her only experience of how men treat women.

Meanwhile having two women in her life has also, I hope, made a good impression. Thelma has given her a sense of adventure and I have given her stability.

I miss her now that she is away in college but she rings almost every day and is bubbling with life.

Thelma is now married herself to Mark and they are like two peas in a pod and I rarely see one without the other. Thelma gave up her job as an escort and is in the throws of writing a book fully supported by Mark.

Joe is still single and I expect always will be given his aversion to commitment but I cannot fault him when it comes to Faith and she loves him dearly.

As for myself and John, we have had our ups and downs over the years. John had a heart attack about six years ago which left us both shaken and me always watching out and on the alert. He is a wonderful husband and step-father and I couldn’t have wished for anyone better to come into my life.

It is remarkable how life can change and the choices we make can have such a dramatic effect. What the next 20 years will bring I have no idea. I know one thing, life is full of surprises. some bad but a lot of them good and we just have to trust that things will work out for the better and never give up hope.

You can read the list of chapters here.

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‘You always get a little snidey one.’ On identical twins.

‘Why didn’t evolution make a giraffe good at carpentry so it could build a ladder?’

‘Does the brain control you or are you controlling the brain? I don’t know if I’m in charge of mine.’

‘The first time you watch it you’ll probably cry a bit. The second time you watch it you will probably think “boy, that would be bad having a head like that being picked on”. The third time you are probably thinking “how does he get his jumper on?” Then don’t know, probably bored of it the fourth time. But, but it’s well worth watching.’ On watching The Elephant Man.

‘We’re just a weed in the Universe.’ On the planet Earth.

‘You can be an ugly baby and everyone goes “awww, aint it nice?” There was some women in a cafe the other week that I was sat in, and she came up and she sat down with her mate and she was talking loudly going on about “oh the baby’s lovely.” They said “It’s got lovely big eyes, really big hands and feet”. Now that doesn’t sound like a nice baby to me. I felt like saying it sounds like a frog. But I thought I dont know her, there’s only so much you can say to a stranger. I dont know what kept me from saying it.’

‘If an animal is named after what it eats, how interesting is it?’

‘They keep saying that sea levels are rising an all this. It’s nowt to do with the icebergs melting, it’s because there’s too many fish in it. Get rid of some of the fish and the water will drop. Simple. Basic science.’

‘People moan about drugs being tested on animals. I sort of think it depends ain’t it. If the drug’s aspirin and the monkey’s got a headache, is it right?’

‘Neil Armstrong, that spaceman, he went to the moon but he ain’t been back. It can’t have been that good.’

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A helical sword pierces the skin of water, slashing it  then slipping through before going deep under. It rises again, this time its holder breaches the surface. This mysterious toothed fencer belongs in another time, in the land of make-believe, myths and fantasy but it is here, it is real.

The Narwhal has to be one of the most bizarre of all the creatures to have lived on Earth. Fortunately for us, it is still alive, still amongst us.

A member of the toothed whales, or Odontocetes group, Narwhals possess perhaps the most remarkable tooth in the entire animal world. Growing two and a half metres (nine feet) in length males have an enormous left tooth protruding through their mouths.

When one looks at a male Narwhal it is very hard to get beyond their tooth and notice the rest of their body. In comparison to other whales, Narwhals are quite small. They are found exclusively in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean.

The Strangest Of Appearances

The narwhal, named after the Norse word for corpse, is closely related to the Beluga Whale. Both the Narwhal and the Beluga whales are very similar in appearance, save the wrought tusk. They have short snouts and the two species are sometimes considered white in appearance. The Narwhal is a mixture of black and white in comparison to the relatively all-white, Beluga.

At birth Narwhal calves are much darker in appearance. As they grow older they become whiter in colour.

However, by far the most eye-catching feature of the Narwhal is its tremendously impressive tusk. The males possess the larger tusk which is an enormous tooth that protrudes up to three metres (ten feet). Interestingly, the tusk, which can weigh ten kilograms (22 lbs), is nearly always the left tooth.

On rare occasions, males have two tusks jutting out from the upper jaw. There is also one recorded account of a female with two tusks, something which is thought to be very rare indeed.

No one is exactly sure why Narwhals have such strange tusks. The general consensus is that it is probably related to sexual selection. Males with larger tusks are thought to be perceived by females as more dominant and therefore more desirable to mate with.

According to Wikipedia, this hypothesis is further strengthened by the fact that Narwhals have very rarely been seen using their tusks for fighting, or breaking through sea ice – which are other ideas that have also been put forward as an explanation.

Diet And Diving

Narwhals feed on cod, shrimp, squid and halibut. They have very different feeding habits depending upon the seaon. In winter they hunt for food in deep waters while in summer they prefer relatively shallow water. Somewhat unusually they obtain the most energy from food during the winter period rather than during the summer.

What separates Narwhals from nearly every other mammal is their deep diving. During the winters they can reach depths of over 1,500 metres (5,000 feet). They have been observed diving over 15 times per day. Each dive typically lasts 25 minutes.

Narwhals’ Future

Currently, the population of Narwhals is thought to be very healthy. Their only predators, besides subsistence Inuit hunters, are killer whales and polar bears. Climate change however does pose a significant threat. Luckily, at least for now, we still have these magnificent animals, more akin to mythical creatures, with us.

Vital Statistics

• Narwals are up to five metres (16 feet) in length.
• The larger males can weigh up to 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lbs) with the females coming in around 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lbs).
• Narwals are found in the cold Arctic waters off Canada and Greenland.
• They are thought to live to be up 90 years old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44sjE_x1X4k

Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Whales: Kings Of The Cetaceans for further insight into Whales.

Among Giants: A Life With Whales is the fascinating story of underwater photographer, Charles ‘Flip’ Nicklin. Full of stunning pictures and insightful commentary about the whales this book is stunning.

You can obtain Among Giants: A Life with Whales here from Amazon.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Among Giants: A Life with Whales from here.

Amazon.ca
For Canada: Among Giants: A Life with Whales.

Amazon.de
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A potential liquid ocean, seasons that last 42 years and a possible tentative atmosphere are just some of the reasons why Uranus’s moon, Titania is worthy of our attention.

Titania orbits Uranus, within its magnetosphere, at a distance of 435,000 kilometres (271,000 miles), taking just under eight days and 17 hours to complete one trip around the Icy Giant.

Named after the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at 1,578 kilometres (986 miles) in width, Titania is the largest of Uranus’s moons.

Core And Composition

Given the fact that scientists know how dense it is, it is believed that Titania is composed of nearly equal measures of rock and ice. The core is thought to be comprised of rock, with a potential boundary layer of liquid water separating the core from the mantle. The mantle consists of ice. The surface is quite dark and red in appearance with the sites of newer impacts, being blue in colour.

The fact that Titania’s orbit resides wholly inside Uranus’s magnetosphere has meant that the satellite has been subjected to plasma. Some scientists maintain that this caused the darkening of its hemisphere.

Colossal Canyons And Capacious Craters

The surface of Titania is pock-marked by large craters resulting from heavy impacts with huge objects. Some of the larger craters are over 300 kilometres (180 miles) in width.  At 326 kilometres (203 miles) across, Gertrude is the largest crater to have been found on the surface of the moon.

Nonetheless, Titania is no where near as cratered as one might expect. This suggests that the satellite underwent some sort of resurfacing.

Other surface features include colossal canyons which are thought to have been created by expansion. The largest canyon, Messina Chasma, is 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) long travelling virtually from the equator to the south pole.

All throughout the moon’s surface a serious of massive faults, known as scarps, reside. Surface features on Titania are named after characters from Shakespeare’s works.

 A Liquid Ocean?

As mentioned previously, scientists believe that Titania may harbour a layer of liquid water separating the mantle from the core. It has been speculated that this layer may be an ocean of water kept unfrozen by the presence of ammonia. This ocean could be anything up to 50 kilometres in thickness.

Atmosphere? To Have Or Not To Have?

We still don’t know how the Titania came to have carbon dioxide present in its atmosphere. Several hypotheses have emerged seeking to explain its origin. One idea is that either organic matter or carbonates is producing carbon dioxide through the aid of ultraviolet radiation being emitted from the Sun.

Scientists highlight the potential of ancient carbon dioxide trapped deep within its interior that is slowly making its way to the surface. This leaking could have been made possible through geological activity at some point in Titania’s past.

Others using infrared spectroscopy to determine what elements and compounds reside on the surface of Titania found that the moon may have what is called a tentative atmosphere. The spectroscopy revealed the presence of both liquid water and carbon dioxide. If there is an atmosphere on Titania it is billions of times less dense than our own.

Regardless of how the carbon dioxide got there, Titania is believed to have originally had much larger quantities of the compound than it has now.

A Hot Formation

Like many of the moons in the Solar System, Titania is thought to have been born from an accretion disc of particles that orbited Uranus. Gradually, over a long period of time, the particles coalesced to form larger and larger bodies until eventually satellites such as Titania were formed.

It is thought that Titania would have taken several thousand years to reach its size. During that time the outer layer of the moon would have been heated due to the friction generated by the impacts caused by coalescence. However, after the satellite was formed the outer layer would have cooled and a new heating process would have started deep within the moon’s core.

The decay of radioactive elements in the core would have heated Titania causing its interior to expand. Eventually cracks and fault lines would have occurred on its surface as a result of this expansion and the subsequent contraction when it cooled down. This would have caused the canyon and scarp features that are present on Titania’s surface.

Scientists maintain that this heating phase of the interior would have only lasted roughly 200 million years or so. Nevertheless, this time would have been more than enough to separate the ice from the rock and so the moon became differentiated.

Titania And Tomorrow

Who knows what the future will bring for mankind and Titania. As of yet very little is known about the moon. Up to 2011 only 40 per cent of the satellite’s surface had been mapped. We still don’t know whether it has a tentative atmosphere or not. Neither do we know if it contains a liquid ocean deep within its surface. Who knows what other secrets it harbours? Perhaps we will eventually find out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtKKVpONlgs

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk

For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca

For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de

For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr

For France: Cosmos.

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