Hi there! How is it going lately?

Depending on where you are located, you might be enjoying a great hot summer, or maybe you’re keeping indoors… or you’re unsure because, you know, UK weather!

These days, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking (uh-oh…) because, you see, there are tons of angry people out there. Angry people make me sad. I don’t like angry people.

Wherever you go, there are people arguing, shouting, complaining, criticising… Where do they get all the energy from? Seriously!

Don’t get me wrong, I do get angry. However, I usually try to see the other person’s point of view, and even so, it’s more frustration than anger. I usually go as in “that annoys me so much” but I rarely shout at people. I rarely get angry-angry. Sometimes I do, and that makes me sad… I don’t like angry people, remember?

It’s on those moments when I need to force myself to take a step back, and analyse why I’m having that reaction. It’s also on those moments when I try to remember what makes me happy.

I haven’t been upset today, but I’ve seen some people shouting at others for no apparent reason (OK, cars were involved… Somehow driving gets the worst out of people) and so I thought about sharing with you what makes me happy. Why? Because our lives go by way too fast, and we get caught up in the daily hiccups, and sometimes we lose perspective. Many times, we don’t realise we haven’t stopped to just enjoy life in a long while. You know, the whole stopping to smell the roses.

On Sunday night, I had a crisis. Tears might have been involved. I know some people who would mock me, and some others who would think I’m stupid for getting worked up like that, but I can’t help it. If I get very scared, or stressed, or nervous (maybe even very hungry… ahem), my eyes well up. You know what I’m talking about, you’ve read the Facebook posts, you’ve seen the Instagram pictures; I’m talking about the wasp infestation we had in our flat (which has now been dealt with, by the way).

It made me happy to be able to talk to people while I was trying to deal with 3 (killer) wasps, all while trying to avoid burning my dinner (a difficult task when you run away from the kitchen and then freeze for like 20 minutes). I had someone joking on WhatsApp, and someone giving nice, motherly support. It helped. Especially when I could hear them buzzing, trying to get in. It was a bit like a horror movie, so having support made me happy.

Seeing the pest control guy deal with the nest also made me happy.

Here’s a quick list then, of things that made me happy lately:

1. Spotify. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without my playlists. I used to read during my commute, but since I moved, trains are always too packed for carrying a book (I’m not a fan of e-books).
2. Volunteering. We cooked for families staying at a Ronald McDonald House in London Bridge. It’s the second time I do this, and I love it. I stayed behind to talk to the person in charge about opportunities for me to volunteer there on my own. I’m also helping out at the London to Brighton Night Bike Ride this weekend.
3. Running. I haven’t done it in a while, but I know it makes me happy. How? Because I miss it, which is making me unhappy! Next week I’m easing myself into fitness (again) by doing some light cycling and upper body workouts. Wish me good luck.
4. Learning. I have a couple of trainings coming up soon, which I can’t wait to start; and I’m always following tutorials: coding, photography, Photoshop, knitting… At some point, I would love to do a post-grad. We’ll see.
5. Knowing that others trust me. To tell me their secrets or problems, or to ask for my help. Recently, a friend gave me a spare key to her flat. Nowadays, that accounts for a lot, I think.

Those are the main ones I can think about right now, but there are plenty of small, silly details that make me happy. I’ll make a second post about those later on.

I’ve seen a friend posting 3 positive things pretty often lately. I’m not sure if she’s doing 3-a-day, or what she’s up to. I know she’s been having some tough times (hang in there!), so only the fact that she takes time during a bad day to think of positive stuff is impressive.

As you might have seen, I use the #silverlinings a lot in my status and photos, many times as a joke, trying to find the silliest positive thing in a bad situation (when doing a search for some of my old posts about silver linings, posts from everyone around the world appear. Facebook has bested me again! I know they there, but they’re buried in the interwebs).

I would like to hear about your silver linings. About your happy moments. Wanna share?