Feel Good Friday

On Feel Good Friday, I post about positive news stories.

Cedar Park, Texas
Photo Credit: Doree Weller

Taylor Swift sends personal Christmas gifts to some of her fans.  I like Taylor Swift.  I like her music, but I especially like how she treats her fans.  She obviously hasn’t forgotten who supports her.  She’s not a perfect person (none of us are), but she makes people feel good, feel loved, and feel special.  I think the personal connection that she has with her fans makes her someone really special.

Facebook suggested friend leads a Belgian student to Texas to friend a stranger.  When a Belgian student got a friend suggestion for a man in Texas, he decided to fly halfway around the world to meet the guy in person.  He didn’t tell him he was coming, but showed up in Texas one day, found him, and introduced himself.  The man took the news with grace and welcomed the Belgian student.

A kid makes awesome toys from twist ties.  You just have to see them.  They’re like action figures, and are pretty much art.

Feel Good Friday

Mama said there’d be days like this…

On Fridays, I post about positive news.

Honestly, today I’m just happy to be back from the dead, so to speak.  I haven’t had the flu in a very, very long time, and I can tell you– I didn’t miss it.  Wow, for three days, I just kind of laid on the couch, sleeping and not doing much else.  Well, I read, but for me, that’s like saying “I breathed.”

But never fear!  In between all the coughing and Motrin and gripping my head in pain, I still managed to find positive news stories for your Feel Good Friday enjoyment.

In Philadelphia, at Rosa’s Pizza, homeless people can go for a free meal.  It all started when a customer asked to buy a slice of pizza for someone who couldn’t afford one, and it started a major trend.  Because of the generosity of others, 30-40 people a day get to eat.  Super cool.

Asia, a Great Dane, foiled two burglary attempts in one week and ended up being partly responsible for four arrests.  She’s getting honored by Austin police.  Good doggie!

A woman in Mexico City rescues an injured dog stranded in the middle of the highway.  This is (scary) video of a woman crossing traffic and coaxing the dog to come to her.  Even though I knew it had a happy ending, my heart still leaped into my throat when the dog started to run away from her.

So, the thought of the day for your Feel Good Friday is this:

“Gratitude is an art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture.”

~Kak Sri

What do you have to be grateful for or happy about today?

Feel Good Friday

Every Friday, I highlight positive news stories. In the past, I’ve just shared links, but this year, I’m going to start to sum up the news stories in a little more detail.

Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix AZ
Photo Credit: Doree Weller

 Sad dog gets a second chance when adopted.  These photos show before and after with the sad dog starting off in the shelter, and the happy dog at home.  Shelter dogs make the best dogs.  It makes me happy when I hear adoption stories from people bringing home their new best friend.

A 3 year old boy takes his first steps using a suit made for astronauts.  In this video, the child, who has developmental delays, builds some muscle using the suit, and then takes his first unassisted steps on Christmas Eve.

10 year old girl thanks police officers with 200 handmade cards.  I know that police get a lot of bad press.  There are some officers out there who shouldn’t have their jobs, but the majority of police officers are good people, trying to do a very difficult and potentially dangerous job.  Her cards thank the officers for being brave and heroes.  I believe that we should treat people the way we want them to act.  Maybe her cards will help inspire someone to make a better decision in a bad situation.  Either way, this is what feel good Friday is all about.

This next story is a feel good but hurts kind of story.  It’s three young girls talking about their mothers, who happen to be gay.  The young ladies talk about how they started a blog because they want people to know that they didn’t suffer from their mothers being together, but the discrimination they and their mothers have faced as a result.  The young ladies are well-spoken and make intelligent points.  They talk about how their mothers have been together for 23 years and still can’t marry in Kentucky.  Apparently today, gay marriage is going in front of the Kentucky Supreme Court.  Let’s all hope that equality wins today.

Feel Good Friday

Every Friday, I highlight positive news stories.  In the past, I’ve just shared links, but this year, I’m going to start to sum up the news stories in a little more detail.

11 things that promoted body positivity in 2014.  I really enjoyed #5, If People Were Honest About Women’s Bodies.  It’s a short video, so take the time to watch it.  #8, the preview for the Fattitude Documentary was great, and I’m so watching that when it comes out later this year!  In #10, Zoë Ley talks about how Fitspiration is the new Thinspiration, and that just because something is packaged as being for your “health,” doesn’t mean that it’s not harmful.  Thin does not equal healthy!  And remember, folks, it’s not just women who get the negative body messages.  Men do too, though they tend to be more subtle.  Don’t forget to tell your man you love him, curves and all, too!

Young man wins $500 on a lottery ticket and donates all his winnings to a local animal shelter.  Can I get an “awwww”?

Dubai rings in the New Year with a cool lights show and fireworks around a skyscraper.  This links to both an article and a video of the event.

This is a short video about how avalanche dogs are trained.  It shows 7 month old Mason, and is super cute.  If you need a dose of cute in your day, watch it!

Here’s a lovely little love story, about how one woman found true love with another woman who has autism.  As she tells her story, she talks about how she loves her girlfriend because of her autism, as her autism makes her who she is.

Love who you are, because you’re great the way you are.  Don’t compare yourself to others… just be the best version of yourself you can be!

What’s New In 2015

Sedona, Arizona
Photo Credit: Doree Weller

I’ve decided to make some changes in my blog in 2015.  In an effort to blog more regularly, I’m going to start doing certain topics on certain days of the week.  January is another blog challenge, so I’ll be blogging daily every day this month.  After January, I’ll drop back to Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Five times a week is more than enough for most of you to hear from me, even though Mondays and Thursdays will probably be pretty short.

My blog is primarily about positive mental health, reading, and writing, things I know the most about.  While those might seem like unrelated topics, I don’t see it that way.  For me, reading and writing are all about my own mental health.  I think that stories reflect the culture they’re set in, and can have an effect on the way we think about topics.  When writers tackle topics like depression, body image, bullying, substance abuse, and suicide in their stories, it gives readers a way to relate and understand in ways they may not otherwise have been able to.

So, here are the features I plan to implement.

Drumroll please…

Mondays- Motivational Mondays will be all about starting the week with a reminder or a quote to get you in a positive from of mind for the week.

Wednesdays- Wellness.  On Wednesdays, I’ll post about some topic related to positive mental health.

Thursday- Throwback Thursday will be book reviews from the past, things I’ve read before with staying power, and what I think of them.

Fridays- These will remain Feel Good Fridays, where I’ll post links to positive news stories.  I may add a feature where I talk about something positive that happened for me that week.

Saturday- Spontaneous Saturdays will essentially be a wild card.  This will be whatever random thing I think about.  Be warned.

As always, this blog is a work in progress.  If you have ideas for features or particularly like/ dislike any of these, please tell me in the comments.

Feel Good Friday

It’s Friday, everyone!  Time to celebrate!  Here’s your weekly dose of good news.

A Bengals football player wants to spend more time with his daughter, who has cancer, so the team puts him on the practice squad to make it possible.

High school sweethearts marry… 63 years after their first meeting!

Young Muslims are taking to social media to make it clear that violence carried out by ISIS is #notinmyname.

The number of Federal inmates has decreased as lawmakers decrease penalties for non-violent offenders.

Victim of Ice Bucket prank is being sent a “nice bucket” by strangers.

Just a note about the “nice bucket.”  When we saw that kid was a victim of that horrible prank, we could have decided to sit back and just say “How horrible!”  Some people decided to do what they could, by sending him words of encouragement.  I don’t post good news because I want to pretend bad news doesn’t happen, but because I want us all to remember, as human beings, that while we can’t stop the bad stuff from happening, we can control how it affects us.  Do you throw your hands up in the air and say, “There’s nothing I can do about that!” or do you take what action you can?  We all make choices.

Feel Good Friday

Vancouver, Canada

I’m only sharing one thing today because it’s a 15 minute TED talk, but it’s amazing.  I laughed out loud at times and got teary eyed at others.  This is what happens when you treat people with respect.  Please take the time to watch it.

Teacher increases school attendance from 40% to 93% using the power of vegetables.

 

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

         -Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

Feel Good Friday

Another week of some good news.  I had to limit myself to only 5 articles this week as there’s a lot of good stuff going on.

Miss Idaho isn’t afraid to be real.

A woman sees her own beauty in a picture taken by her kids.

Rescued puppy is rehabilitated.

Raju the elephant is rescued from cruelty.

Police officer saves 5 kittens.

 “It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Diary

Feel Good Friday

It’s Friday.  Take a few minutes and focus on all the wonderful things in this world.  Here’s a sampling of good news to start your day.

Video compilation of rescues from all over the world.  This is seriously the best 4 minutes you can spend today.

46 Mommas shave their heads to support cancer research.

A homeless man gives away half of his winnings.

Shelter dogs get a second chance as police dogs.

“Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.”
— Mildred Barthel.

Feel Good Friday

When I first started this a few weeks ago, I have to admit that it took me some time to find positive news stories.  I consider myself to be pretty good at focusing on the positive, but since I’ve started this, the positive news stories are easier to find.  Since I don’t really believe that the world has become a more positive place, I have to believe that the change must be in me.  That as I always tell people, when you change your focus, you change what you see.

Police officer rescues “aggressive” dog.

Restaurant finds a solution to food waste.

Paralyzed dogs play fetch. 

There’s a real life Darth Vader Corvette!

There’s your good news for the week.

“In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley