Positive Things for the New Week

Hello Lovelies,

 via

In order to welcome this new week, here are 7 essential reads on optimism via the Brain Pickings blog.

Enjoy!

Alix of TeaButterfly

"Ghosts": My very Own "Happiness Project" [personal photography project]

Hello Lovelies!

When illness imprisons you, you have to break free!

IMPORTANT NOTE: All pictures were taken by me, Naomi Lipson, during May 2013, in the park of the hospital I was staying in at the time. All rights reserved. Please ask for permission before using. thank you.

I think and read a lot about happiness, and I am pretty sure I am not alone in this. Two regular reads of mine on the Happiness subject are:

* Gretchen Rubin's famous Happiness Project
* Maria Popova's Brain Pickings blog, which deals quite a lot with the issue of happiness, too.

I am forever indebted to the lovely Jane Flanagan, who, through her delightful blog, made me aware of the ideas goldmine that is the Brain pickings website.

About my own "Happiness Project" - and what it has to do with ghosts.

First of all, you might be aware that I suffer from a chronic kind of illness, which means I have to check into a hospital, from time to time. This is a chronic illness, I have to live with it, but it is not life-threatening... Anyway...

As I am currently in a hospital, I wanted to describe through photography the long, not-so-often taken path from misery to recovery. In my initial project, I wanted to take pictures of a patient whose face I found particularly interesting, but after a few days of reflection, he shied away altogether from the project. He looked a bit like this:

photo (c) Naomi Lipson, 1999-2000.

So what I did is take pictures anyway, of all the places I wanted to take *his* photograph in, except he will be no longer there, except as a ghostly presence.

These are the photographs I came up with...

At first, you are behind the bars of illness and misery, you are a prisoner of depression (or any other illness). Can you see the unhappy ghost behind those rusty bars?

Then, through a more or less intricate labyrinth or maze (which symbolizes any kind of path, like undertaking therapy, you are chosing to get yourself out of misery), you  try to set yourself free:

On the long, complicated journey from misery to happiness, you might find different landscapes, open gates that symbolize opportunity, such as this one:

Sometimes, on this long and difficult journey, you may need some rest and will sit down on these scattered rocks:

I guess you get the picture now...

More photos available at my flickr photo set called: "The Ghost Project".

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Sharing My Happiness

Hello Lovelies!

flower photo from a French organic cosmetics company... I hope I'll remember their name!

Today I sent this email...


"The GON (Get Organized Now) happiness project - I'm quite HAPPY to share my thoughts with you!
My name is Vic and I live in beautiful South of France, Europe.


1) Five Happy Moments

* well I'm in love right now, so i feel very happy every day!
* but the small things matter, too: good music, fresh flowers etc...
* when learning something new
* when travelling to a new and interesting place
* this one is for future surprises!

* * * * *

2) Small Doses of Happiness

I drink water! when hydrated properly, i get less to no-headaches, and feel less grumpiness

i listen to good music, whether upbeat ou smooth, depending to my mood

i have fresh flowers every week from the farmers' market

i raise my eyes and watch frequently the sky, the moon, the clouds

* * * * *

photo via

3) Putting Yourself Back Together

i don't put pressure on myself to be happy again
i smell essential oils from the bottle : try oils of litsea cubeba and citrus aurantium aurantium
i drink strong tea


* * * * *

4) Three Inspirational People

my boyfriend, because he's so young yet so mature. he amazes me everyday.
albert Einstein for his inspirating life and witty quotes
Phineas Newborn Junior, the underrated jazz pianist.. he was a genius!

* * * * *

5) Top Ten Things

writing in my blog with no pressure to do it everyday
fresh flowers: looking at them arranging them smelling them etc..
snap photos with my mobile phone
flickr and pinterest as new ways to doiscover interesting visual things
DIY projects that i can actually complete
essential oils and aromatherapy
going to my weeky yoga class
cloud-watching
anything that involves water: washing my body/swimming/bathing
walking a daily walk

for further information:
my flickr
my pinterest
my blog

-Vic"

I hope you enjoyed it!
-Vic from TeaButterfly

Happiness is a Butterfly

{image by Marcinéma}


"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne