beliefs

Money can't buy happiness ...

Publié le 1 Septembre 2023 par Charly C.

Catégories : #beliefs, #challenge, #controversy, #happiness

... or can it?

They say that "money can't buy happiness."

This sentence makes me hysterically laugh for days. You may be wondering why. Well, let's see some examples.

Proof #1: Actual happiness

I found this charming pendant in a downtown tea shop. It's pretty easy to read "serotonin" on it, along with the discounted price. Was it a pendant or earrings? I forgot, but it was made of silver. The bottle was small and i really liked how it was sold.

In this example, one can literally see how they can buy actual happiness.

I would rest my case here, but this is somewhat of a silly entry and i have a few more examples.

Proof #2: Hobbies

Here i inserted 2 pictures because there are almost countless types or forms of hobbies. But look at the doll and see just how happy she is and it's infectious. Every time i see this doll, i start smiling like a fool. She was expensive too.

Now, if i didn't have the money to buy her, then i would be less cheerful or even happy.

Let's have a look at the second image here. It's an incomplete collection of a Japanese comic (=manga) by the name of "Inuyasha." I own many similar collections, some complete and some incomplete. It's probably been like 15 years or so since i bought them.

Of course i didn't buy them all at once, but whenever i had enough money, i's buy maybe 2 to 4 at once. I had to cancel some orders at times. But my point still stands: without money, i wouldn't have the collection i now have. And it does bring joy.

The same can be applied to any other hobby: sewing, cosplaying, cooking, stamp collecting, woodworking, and whatever is out there.

Proof #3: Health and other stuff needed to stay alive

I hope i don't need to explain the above picture.

In the first pic, i was waiting for an IV in the ER. Here, going to the ER is free of charge, but this isn't the case for all countries: I'm especially looking at you, USA. And you can go to the ER for almost any medical emergency, regardless of the investigation or treatment we receive.

Yet, we have to pay for anything health-related that is not an emergency. Even these can be free of charge if you're employed: health insurance is dependent of your employment status. Of course, you can pay for your health insurance out of pocket to the state or to a private insurance company. Even with insurance, some investigations are not free of charge. Some examples include the ATPO blood test, an EEG, most surgeries, and going to the dentist.

The ATPO costs about 10 euros, the EEG costs about 100 to 150 euros, and the price for any dentist visit depends on what you need. If you go to the dentistry school, you can have various treatments done for free, but you'll have to pay for the materials used, such as the stuff used for fillings.

What we can understand is that without money, it is quite difficult to properly take care of your health. But having the money to pay for your medical bills, life is easier and less stressful. This adds to a person's happiness.

Now, food. Sweets are not essential for survival, but most of the savory foods are. Simply put, we die without food. However, if you don't grow your own food, you'll need a lot of money for a week's grocery shopping trip. And even if you grow your food, you will need money for the tools or substances you need to use. And even after paying for these agricultural helping items, you'll know if you grow everything you need to cook or not. Let's take black pepper, sugar (of any kind), pans, pots, cooking and eating with utensils, glasses, and cups, all require you having to buy. Of course, depending on what you need, you may have to pay just once, and you'll use them for years.

Depending on the item you need, your bill will need a different amount of money. Without money, it will be difficult to buy any of the items mentioned earlier.

Other stuff that requires you to be "loaded" are: a place to live in, clothes, maybe a car (that will add other costs) or some sort of transportation, clean running water, cleaning supplies, and possibly electricity. Without the right amount of money, it will be difficult to maintain any of these things, especially if you consider using them for years to come.

This is it for now, i think. If i come up with more examples, I'll have to write another entry.

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august 17th - positivity

Publié le 17 Août 2023 par Charly C.

Catégories : #about life, #advice, #beliefs, #depression, #dreams, #happiness, #helpful, #learning, #life, #lifestyle, #mental health, #self-love, #thoughts, #updates

I started writing such small lists down to remind me and to pull me out of the misery i was in after losing Mickey. We still strongly miss him.

1. GRATEFUL I FOUND AN IKEA TABLE - yes, found at the trash. home with us it came.

2. GRATEFUL TO THE NEIGHBOR FOR GIVING ME THOSE MATERIALS FOR PAINTING AND OTHER PROJECTS.

3. RATEFUL I HAVE THIS AGENDA/BLOG TO WRITE IN WITH MY FAVORITE FOUNTAIN PEN.

a. happy we swam a lot at the pool

b. happy i painted the table - i don't care it doesn't look perfect.

I have a business idea that I'm sure will work out. <3

I hope this blog entry will give you a bit of hope to find small bits of happiness and gratitude in every small thing you encounter.

I think I'm back for some time. i missed my blog.

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No, darling, it's not that you can't do it ...

Publié le 8 Août 2022 par Charly C.

Catégories : #about life, #advice, #annoying, #beliefs, #bullying, #helpful, #life experience, #life, #life lesson, #learning, #opinion, #real life, #warning

... it's that you don't want to do it. There's a difference there.

Hello everyone!

You probably wonder what's this title all about, though it should be self-explanatory. Yet, i need to rant and get angry at certain people and at myself as well, and my blog is the best place and way to do this.

It's less damaging and maybe, just maybe .... maybe?

Outcast - Miss Jackson video still; copyrights belong to the creators/band

someone [including myself] will understand this, and stop saying "i can't" and just admit you don't *fducking* want to do whatever there must be done.

rollback film to what started this rant

Except there's no film to roll back, and i have to explain the situation. if you don't want to read the backstory, feel free to scroll down to the next title.

This past week [10 to 16 of july 2022] we went out on a very hot day for some beauty treatment. Seeing it was so hot, we decided to have some ice cream, though all we wanted was to drink something.

We found this *NEW* ice cream place uptown that used a chimney cake, aka Kürtőskalács, as the cone for the ice cream. There aren't many flavors of ice cream to choose from, but their names were really cool: fashion vibe or strawberry vibe. This is what they look like:

As you can (or maybe not so much), the fashion one (on the right), is actually cocoa ice cream with pieces of chocolate, and with the chimney cake covered in cocoa powder. That one was my ice cream. The other one was anna’s and she didn’t want to eat it right away.

Taking it home was troublesome for this Vibe place didn’t have anything to carry the ice cream in. Luckily, the area has plenty of other options for ice creams and many have containers for takeout.

So, we went to the nearest one, and I asked for one such container. Not for free, mind you. And the cashier says “oh, sorry, I don’t have containers!” They were piled RIGHT behind her! Everyone could see them!

I had to point out that my ice cream was melting and making a mess in her store. That was when she decided to ask her supervisor what to do. This situation turned my into THAT customer that says "can i speak with a manager? :) "

‘Can’t’ - reserved for very few instances

1. PTSD or phobias

These are mental health issues that are difficult to ’cure’ or overcome. They simply incapacitate the sufferer from doing whatever caused them to suffer in the first place.

Not everyone might suffer to the same degree from the same issue. For instance, I can’t watch scenes with folks trapped in tight spaces: I feel as if I am in their shoes and I start panicking and hyperventilating. Others in the same situation as me might have a different reaction.

2. Lack of knowledge

Let's say, you just start learning something new just for fun, or for whatever reason. Someone asks you to help them with a project in your new area of study. All sounds nice, and they even offer to pay for your service.

The problem is when they ask for help on something you didn't get to study yet or is a bit too difficult for you to understand.

3. Other plans

Let's say you might plan on meeting with your friends a few days in advance, but then you forget or something else comes up that needs your urgent attention.

In such a case, you clearly have to say "I can't, something else came up that is more important." You don't really need to explain more than this unless it's a close friend.

4. You're simply unable to do something

This usually applies to those with a disability. Let's assume you have to climb some stairs, but you're bound to a wheelchair and there's no ramp available. Sadly, there still are places in such a state. It's not as if you're going to crawl to wherever the stairs go.

It also applies to doing something that goes against your beliefs. This can be related to consuming alcohol, smoking (anything), sleeping with someone to whom you're not married, etc, etc.

Should any of these be the case, it's PERFECTLY fine and acceptable to say "I can't" and you could explain why as well unless it's visually noticeable.

Do you want to buy me a coffee? this is a 1-time donation, thank you very much!

The first image belongs to Outcast and is shared for educational purposes.

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Praying - things we should know -

Publié le 24 Septembre 2017 par Charly Cross

Catégories : #beliefs, #customs, #life experience, #love, #praying, #religion, #traditions

Everyone makes mistakes, even me with my blog, and the things I post here. You can read about one such mistake here, if you're curious.

It's not my place to judge people, but I think that if we want G-D to give us something, we must pray the right way, and to try avoid making some mistakes.

Several years ago I decided I should be more spiritual, to pray more, be kinder, less negative. I took a notebook and wrote in it some guidelines for "how to pray." Surely I found this guide somewhere on the internet, but for the love of what's good, I can't remember.

This entry is an adaptation of that info - simply because I didn't agree with everything in there, and I also think some other stuff should be added.

Matthew 6:7-8 New International Version (NIV)
⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Prayer is a highly personal experience

For me this is true, as you could probably tell from this blog entry. Everyone whose prayers have been answered will probably tell you the same thing. This is not something that can be explained.

What I can say is that the prayer is a tool helping us to attune and communicate with G-D - or whatever other Higher Being or Creator you believe in.

not my picture

Don't pray just in time of need

I find this to be wrong, though it can be effective if you pour all your soul into it. I think that if you want to live a more peaceful and fulfilling life, trying to pray on a more regular basis is [or works] better.

You can compare this to a person whose teeth look perfect - surely they visit their dentist quite often, brushes and flosses their teeth twice each day.

Be thankful while praying

Forgetting to thank G-D for everything positive in our lives is something many are guilty of. Including those that pray on a regular basis.

What can you be thankful for? The clothes on your body, the house you live in, the neighborhood you live in [if you like it there and feel safe], the food on your table, your job [especially if the income is acceptable], for having people that care about you in your life, for being able to have pets [if you have them], and so on.

These were just examples and are the things I'm generally thankful for while praying. Every little thing does matter and you should be thankful for, including your health, looks [if you consider yourself pretty, or you particularly like something about yourself like your eyes or hair], talents [like cooking, baking, drawing, fashion style, applying make-up].

Some of these attributes sound vain to be thankful for, but I can guarantee there is at least one person out there that wishes they had what you have - material or not. You can walk, talk, see, read, sing? Be thankful for all of those since there are folks that can't perform these actions.

What to pray for

You can pray for everything or anything, including for world peace. For better and higher chances of the prayer to be answered, just ask for small things and one thing at a time.

For instance, you lost your job [or were forced to quit?] when praying, thank your Divinity for all the jobs you had in the past and ask Them to help you find another suitable one quickly.

We can even ask for help in becoming mentally stronger, better people [less negative, less critical of others], in finding a new hobby, a new partner, in overcoming problems that seem very complicated, or even forgiveness.

We can pray for forgiveness for ourselves or for others. Maybe you lied to someone and now you feel bad, but still don't have the courage to confess to them? Ask G-D for forgiveness, but try not to lie anymore in the future. If someone did something hurtful towards you, you probably can't let go of those negative emotions so easily. Ask the Divine to help you with that, and ask the Divine to forgive that person's mistakes. [I did this and it felt liberating.]

not my quote not my picture

Acknowledge you're wrong or sinful

This segment goes against Christian teachings of confessing and stuff. We all do things we're very ashamed of later on [what? it's just me? hmmm]. Sometimes those actions feel too heavy, and we're too embarrassed to confess them to a priest [if that's part of your belief system].

Telling G-D during a prayer about those things can be liberating. Not many people know what you did, but G-D DOES know. The Divinity knows everything about you. Admitting that doing this or that was wrong and asking for forgiveness can help. [It did help me, I felt less tormented].

When and where to pray

You can pray at any time, in any place. It is however better to find a quiet time and place to do so. For instance, you could pray while showering or taking a bath, right before falling asleep, when everyone else is asleep or away.

The most important thing to try and remember is that you should not be disturbed. You should silent your phone too, if you receive too many texts, calls and notifications. You don't have to be in a church [or similar type of building] to pray. You don't even need a picture of your Deity around you.

Faith is crucial

No mater who you pray to or what for, you must be certain 100% that They hear you and that They will answer. It's not enough to say "Oh, my god's name is this, and they DO exist... blahblahblah." No! You must feel with every cell of your body that that Creator exists and that They love you and will send you what you ask for.

When you start communicating with Them, you have to be aware of Their presence in and around you: you wouldn't be here without Them, and you wouldn't have everything you own without Them.

May God look over From His Holy Dwelling and may he strike all those who hate His People with a wink of an eye

Behold here is the Lord rising and standing on a plumb-line Giving them a cup of poison but not wine
Pronunciation:
Yash'kef Elohim mima'on kod'sho veyach kol sonei amo keheref ayin
Hineh Hashem kam venitzav al anach yash'kem lechos ra'al aval lo yayin

I have no words to express how much I like this song, and how well it helps me get into a praying state of mind. It also helps me be more aware of G-D and His presence in my life.

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