Find your happiness in this time of crisis!

Ask yourself: Am I happy? Am I anxious? Am I depressed? Am I concerned about the future? How can I cope? How can I find happiness?

The whole world is facing a crisis right now. You might find yourself scared, worried, depressed, anxious, bored, concerned about the future. Seems hopeless? Feel you can’t cope? Lost your sanity? No way!! We can find happiness during this difficult time! Here are some tips to help us cope:

Happiness comes from within, not from things! What can you do to find your inner happiness? Find something that works for you!

Things you can do to help yourself:

1. Listen to music! Crank it up!! For something different, try different genres of music. There are many types available: pop, rock, classical, religious, reggae, hip hop, folk, blues, disco heavy metal plus many more.
2. Dance like no one is watching! Dancing is a great way to exercise and it can also help with weight loss as well as keeps you moving.
3. Get outside! Huh? Yep, fresh air does the body good! Things you can do outside: take a walk, find a serene place to sit and reflect, play outside games. Get a trash bag and a stick, pick up trash and throw it away. Have you taken a drive lately and observed the amount of trash lying around? YUK!
4. Call a friend! We don’t have to see each other to talk. Whatever happened to a good old fashioned phone call? Pick up your phone and let someone know you are thinking about them.
5. Watch something funny on tv or internet. Turn off the depressing things on tv. A lot of news right now consists of the same thing… turn it off… do something fun instead.
6. Paint a picture, color, do word searches, draw a picture.
7. Exercise your mind! Check out websites to help with brain challenges such as http://www.lumosity.com
8. Read a book, magazine, newspaper.
9. Do some photography – Not a photo journalist? Me neither. Grab a camera and take some photos. You’d be surprised at what you can do.
10. Exercise! It’s good for your health. Follow your favorite trainer on the internet, exercise to a fitness DVD, etc..
11. Find your faith! According to the Bible, faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen!”

For those that have children in the home, here are things you can do with them to help:

1. Communicate with your children! Ask questions. How are they feeling? What can you help them with? What are their worries? What are their accomplishments? Remember to listen! That’s the key! Offer advice if they ask for it. Always show kindness to them! They learn from our actions!!
2. Be concerned! Take care of your children – they are our future. Be concerned for their safety. Know where they are and what they are doing at all times. You can still be concerned without being overprotective. Allow their freedom within reason.
3. Family game time! There are plenty of games available or you can always make up your own.
4. Read a book to your children! Ask questions about the book after you read it to them.
5. Take a virtual tour! Most places are closed right now but there are plenty of tours available online. They are very informative and fun!
6. Teach your children basic essentials of taking care of themselves! Show them things like cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, washing a car, grocery shopping, preparing a budget, balancing a checkbook, changing a tire, fixing something that’s broke. Don’t make these things sound like a chore, MAKE IT FUN!!
7. Set aside time for them to do homework – education is important too! If they need help with homework, try to help them or get them help. Homework doesn’t have to be boring or scary. Make it fun! Do a science project together, learn math with them, host a spelling bee.
8. Assign them chores! Don’t be afraid to have your children help around the house. They are never to young to start learning. Teach them how. Set a good example!
9. Let them go outside and play! Allow them to get messy and dirty. A little dirt never hurt anyone.
10. Family meal time! Make it, eat it, clean up the mess – TOGETHER!

I hope this gives you some ideas of what you can do to help you find your inner happiness and your sanity!

My best to you and your family!

Sources: http://www.lumosity.com

The Bible