July 2011 Happiness Hotline

Happy happy July Thank you so much to all those who contacted me about the ‘Tale of 2 Dogs’ in our last newsletter and thank you for wanting to share it with the groups you share your time with. A big welcome to our new Happiness Hotline subscribers and hello to those who’ve been with us for some time. Don’t forget, if you come across something that you think would make a good item for the Happiness Hotline you’re welcome to send your ideas to me at bronwyn@letlsaugh.com.auEarlier this week I ran into a friend at the local shopping centre. She had taken her 101 year old grandmother out for lunch and to do some shopping and they invited me to share afternoon tea with them at a local cafe. Without any prompting Eleanor, the grandmother, began to tell me the secret of living a long and happy life. She was so passionate about happiness that I asked her if I could take some notes and share her ideas in our newsletter. Below are ‘Eleanors top 10 tips for a long and happy life’. 1. Share your smile with at least 2 people every day . If you find yourself with no one to share your smile with go out and find 2 people. No one should spend an entire day alone. If you’re stuck at home go outside and walk around your block. Eleanor recommended that the best time to walk is just after the end of the school day. The local kids are making their way home and you can smile and say hello to children in the street or wave and smile at the occupants of the cars who are heading home from school. 2. Always put your keys in the same place. Eleanor talked about how frustrating it is when you want to go out and you can’t find your keys. If you always put them in the same place they will make you smile when you pick them up. 3. Go for at least a 10 minute walk every day. If the weather doesn’t suit going outside just walk around the house but make sure you get moving every single day. 4. Listen to good music. Good music is whatever you want it to be. Eleanor was a bit of a ballroom dancer in her time and loves nothing more than good big band dance music. On that note she recommended that your music should be uplifting and get you moving. 5. Jump up and down. At his point in our discussion Eleanor got out of her seat and showed me what she meant. I have to report that not only did it make all of us and her giggle, she got a round of applause from the people at the table next to us and a girl of around 4 got up, put her hands out for Eleanor to take, and they jumped up and down on the spot together! Eleanor assures me that jumping up and down cheers you up and I believe her. (Pause in typing while I do a few jumps). 6. Get enough sleep and always try to get up at about the same time. Eleanor told me that she has always gotten up at 6.30am and that if she sleeps in she feels like she wasted some good smiling, walking and jumping time. 7. Stop and smell the roses. Don’t rush through your day. Even if you’re in a hurry take time to look around you, to really see what’s around you as you go through your day. 8. Ask for hugs. Not necessarily from strangers but from those you feel comfortable enough with to ask. Eleanor assures me that sometimes you don’t even need to use the words, simply open your arms to another, and if they are a huggy type of person they’ll be happy to share a hug with you. At this point she opened her arms to the jumping 4 year old who rushed over for a hug from this ‘little old lady’. It was lovely to see. 9. Breathe deeply. Take time out several times a day to stop and take a deep and conscious breath. Breath in, hold the breath, slowly release it. Eleanor told me that it’s important to smile when you take your deep breath. You may even find that your deep smiling breath brings on a yawn. Yawning is a wonderful way to take a deep breath (as long as you’re not somewhere where your yawn could be misinterpreted!) 10. Celebrate every day. At 101 Eleanor is very conscious of the importance of celebration. Part of her celebration is appreciation. During our afternoon tea she pointed out all the good things about our drinks, food and the cafe. As we left she took a moment to thank our waitress and the 4 year old who shared her jumps and hug and the family of the 4 year old, and, without any asking what so ever, she got a hug from every member of the 4 year olds family.Thankyou Eleanor for your advice. As we parted she asked me to put March 18, 2012 in my diary. She told me that she’ll be celebrating her 102^nd birthday on that afternoon and she’d like me to come – then she added, “goals girls, always set goals, and make sure you tell people, and make those goals promises, then you just have to keep going so you don’t let people down” – then she looked at her grand daughter, gave an evil sort of laugh and said, “It’d just be plain rude to die and not give everyone the party I’ve promised!” She told me her wish for me was that I would be as happy as her when I’m 101. I certainly hope so!Thank you to everyone who joined the Smile Project on facebook. They now have 1046 people around the planet sharing their smiles. Such a wonderfully simple idea.

Don't forget we now have a facebook page - Let's Laugh - thank you Ben, and I promise to be better at posting. So much new technology!

And yes, one last thing (and I apologise but there are no steak knives - oh, is that showing my age) - thank you to the Swinburne University media students who made a wonderful short documentary about the Let's Laugh community laughter group and the laughter yoga movement. Their finished product - 7 days of laughter - can be found on you tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71KcbZO_iO0Until next month, keep happy and keep smiling and laughing.

Don’t forget, we love to hear from you – bronwyn@letslaugh.com.auBronwyn Roberts
Chief Happiness Officer
Let's Laugh
bronwyn@letslaugh.com.au
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July 2011 Happiness Hotline

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