This year, I’m giving up my birthday.

I’m turning 59 years old, and instead of asking for gifts, I’m asking everyone I know for $59.00 or whatever you feel guided to give to build freshwater wells for people in developing nations.

A billion people in the world are living without clean water – but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water. 45,000 people will die this week alone. The lucky ones won’t, but still walk hours each day to get dirty water to give to their families.

My birthday wish this year is not for more gifts I don’t need; it’s to give clean and safe drinking water to some of the billion living without it. I want to make my birthday matter this year.

Please join me in making a real difference. Use this link to donate: http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign/?campaign_id=12712

Note: Because of charity: water’s unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to direct water projects costs, and each donation is “proved” and tracked to the village it helped when projects are complete.

Last thing! You can donate anonymously…

With Love and Gratitude,
Cecily

Birthday well · Charity donation · Charity: Water · freshwater wells

Every morning when I walk my dog, Chewie, along the ocean, we stop and visit a homeless man who sits in the same spot each day.  John is a town institution and many people come by to chat with him, buy him coffee, and, in the summer, play chess with him.

On Christmas Eve, Chewie and I delivered loaves of cranberry bread to my neighbors.  It filled my heart to go house to house and share the spirit of Christmas with them.  This Christmas morning on our usual walk, we brought a loaf of cranberry bread to John.  He was thrilled, and said it was his favorite and it had been years since he had had any.  I was delighted, too, but the best part was the reaction of a stranger walking by.  This woman, who witnessed our exchange, stopped and spontaneously, with a broad smile and tears in her eyes, gave me a big Merry Christmas hug!

In my book “7 Ways to Stay Positive in Challenging Times” I talk about the benefits of helping others, and how research has shown the when you do, you feel good, the recipient feels good, and, by the way, anyone witnessing it feels good, too.  Today, I experienced that first hand, and it showed me the true meaning of Christmas.

May your Christmas be filled with the blessings of love and light!

Coach Cecily

Christmas · Kindness · meaning of Christmas

After writing my last blog “Ten Secrets That Can Transform Your Life,” a thought popped into my head to write about each of the ten secrets.  I usually follow those “inspired action” ideas, so here are my thoughts about the first secret “everything you need to be happy is inside of you.”

External vs. Internal Happiness

Many people believe that they have to look outside themselves for happiness.  They expect certain external circumstances, such as people, places, or possessions, to bring them pleasure and MAKE them happy.  They say “I’ll be happy when I meet the man of my dreams!”, “I’ll be happy when I go on vacation”, or “I’ll be happy when I get my new car!”.  And while experiencing these things may bring momentary joy, in the long run, this kind of happiness cannot be sustained.

This first secret asks you to consider the possibility that happiness comes from the inside of you.  You are the only one who can make you truly happy. Marci Shimoff calls this “Happy for No Reason,” which is found at the top of her “Happiness Continuum”, and is defined as an “inner state of peace and well-being.” When Marci asked “Happy for No Reason” type people to describe it, they all had similar answers.  They talked about having a sense of lightness or expansion, feeling alive and full of energy, being open and “in the flow”, having love and compassion for themselves and others, being passionate about their lives, feeling gratitude and forgiveness, having inner peace, and being able to be fully present in the moment.

Knowing What You Want

So, how do you achieve this internal happiness state? A key factor is being in touch with yourself and your desires, and knowing what you want.  Children are really good at this.  They make it very clear what they want from moment to moment.  However, most adults tend to lose sight of what they want. We have been taught that we should focus on others, and that it is somehow selfish and self-centered to focus on ourselves. When you let go of these limiting beliefs, you can be open to identifying what makes you feel alive, what you are passionate about, what inspire your love, and what brings you inner peace.  All this knowledge is inside of  you.  You just have to learn to hear it with your heart and not your head.

The Power of Choice

As you become more comfortable with who you are and what you want, you can then choose to live your life from that desirable place.  At any moment, you can stop, take a few deep breaths, and feel into what choices will allow you to open your heart and expand your energy into a place of happiness, and which ones will close your heart with fear and contraction.  If you believe in the Law of Attraction and that what you put your attention on is what you get in life, then the more you focus of choosing happiness for yourself, the happier your life will be.  It may take some time and effort to practice, but I know you will find it inside of you…

To your happiest life!

Coach Cecily

Happiness · Happy for No Reason · inner peace · Law of Attraction · LOA · Marci Shimoff