Friday 3 October 2014

World Smile Day 3rd October 2014 - join in

One act of kindness to make one person smile

World Smile Day raises money for the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation, a non-profit charitable trust that supports children's causes
Simple

Harvey Ball created the original smiley in 1963.  The image went on to become the most recognisable symbol of goodwill and cheer on the planet

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The first Friday in every October was chosen by Harvey Ball to be World Smile Day.  A day when everyone should try to be like the Smiley, a symbol that transcends politics, religion and geographical location.




Tuesday 30 September 2014

Arts, science, compassion and exercise

Fill your life!


Smiling

Smiling is something you should do
For the people who know you
And for the strangers you don’t.
Smiling is all about being brave.
Suppose they leave you standing
With a mile on yours
But not a glimmer on theirs
Will you risk losing face
In a world that
Puts you in your place
Yes, the serious believe
That those who smile
Are the ones in need
How far from the truth
Can we be?


Everyone should watch this video. Don't hurry it, allow yourself time to listen

Australian comedian and poet Tim Minchin shares many of Mr Smile's ways to happiness

Monday 25 August 2014

A Trip to Happiness

Travel is one of the ten ways to happiness.  Mr Smile has been doing quite a bit of this over the Summer and that is why he hasn't found time to write his blog (he apologises for this).

Just planning a trip, however small, can lift your spirits even if you don't end up going.

The journey can be as much fun as reaching the destination.  Take time to look out of the window on the way, even if it is dark.



The Journeyman

The crackle on the gravel
The rolling of the stone
Footprints on the shifting sand
Where the journeyman must roam.

Wishes on the water
Mind up in the mountains
The journeyman his only need
To taste the quenching fountain

Tramps across the countryside
To travel the unknown
He trusts the earth beneath his feet
The journeyman is home

To where his heart is
He who knows much more
Whose eyes are always fixed upon

The ever open door.

And from Goodreads:

Terry Pratchett“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”


Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Blue days and bright days

It is perfectly normal to be blue sometimes, for the smile not to come readily to your face, to feel anti-social. But try to smile all the same and it WILL lift you a little at a time - science has even proven it!

I love the way Henry drew my smile
Some children recently heard some of my book and my stories.  They decided to do their own pictures of me and to write their own words.  These made me SMILE, I hope they make you smile too even if it is only a little smile because you are feeling blue.
"But first they went very sad. The people are happy. It was not about money it was about being nice."
The children worked very hard create these pictures and words and were very proud of them.

Everyone liked it when the people were nice


Ryan drew a picture of himself with me

My book is for adults AND children but the adults don't seem to want to draw any pictures!
Goodreads quote:
“Age does not make us childish, as some say; it finds us true children.”

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Laugh at yourself

Keep things in perspective and learn to laugh at yourself more often


I never exaggerate, me

I remember one time in the garden
When me mate pushed me out of a tree
I swear it was high as a mountain
But I never exaggerate, me.

I remember one day at the seaside
A tsunami came out of the sea
Lucky that I’m good at surfin’
But I never exaggerate, me.

I remember one day at the sweetshop
They were giving out chocolates for free
I ate so much I was sick on the spot
But I never exaggerate, me.
Picture from "The Jenie Jazzles" (C) David J. Mason


I remember one day on the footie pitch
This tackle that took off me knee
They managed to sew it back on again
But I never exaggerate, me.

I remember one day in the playground
I found this strange looking key
Then I broke into school at the weekend
But I never exaggerate, me.

I remember one day in the classroom
I think it was quarter to three
A monster crept in and took me away
But I never exaggerate, me.

I remember one day I was out in the park
When my friend he was stung by a bee
His head swelled up to six times its size
But I never exaggerate, me. 

No I never, ever, ever exaggerate
Not in a billion years, me.

(C) David J. Mason "Smile"


Goodreads quote of the day for me:
“I laugh at myself.
I don't take myself completely seriously.
I think that's another quality that people
 have to hold on to... you have to laugh, 

especially at yourself.” - Madonna

Thursday 8 May 2014

Sit quietly and do very little

Find some time to do very little

Perhaps read a book - try poetry because you can dip in and out more easily

Lost in a Book

I was once completely lost in a book
Honest – the story was really that good
They sent out a search party
But they couldn’t find me
They sent out the army and navy
But they couldn’t see me
They sent out sniffer dogs
But they couldn’t smell me
And they listened very carefully
But they just couldn’t hear me.

I finished the book
And came out of the story
They were so pleased
For now they had found me.
And why not tell us
Where you were going?
But stories are like that
There’s no way of knowing.
(C) 2013 David J. Mason 
Or listen to some music - try classical music (you may recognise the theme in this piece)

And from Goodreads quotes:

Marcus Aurelius“When you arise in the morning think of what
a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”

Thursday 1 May 2014

In times of great sadness find hope

The wonderful British actor Bob Hoskins has died at the age of 71 - a great loss.  His daughter has written a blog post "11 lessons from my Dad".  It is very moving and I thought that it would be good here on my Happy Blog even though it is a sad occasion.








Thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends:


Leo Tolstoy

“Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.”


― Leo Tolstoy

Friday 25 April 2014

Money and happiness

A Handful of Happiness








World at my feet
Or resting in my lappy
Live in a mansion
With a butler chappy
But what don’t I have?
I don’t have happy.

I’ve millions myself
And a billionaire Pappy
Got a platinum bath
And a gold plate tappy
But what don’t I have?
I don’t have happy.

Look like a star
Dress real snappy
Folks they just love me
Life’s one long clappy
But what don’t I have?
I don’t have happy.



And now I’m getting older
I just want to swappy
I’d give up all the other apps
For a handful of happy.


And from Goodreads Quotes, a little ironic wit from both sides:


Dorothy Parker

“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.”


― Dorothy Parker



“Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you awfully

Clare Boothe Luce comfortable while you're being miserable.”


― Clare Boothe Luce


Wednesday 23 April 2014

Funny Frenchmen with beach towels

Smiling and laughing are good for your health.  This comedy routine had me doing both.  Changing on the beach will never be the same again.





And a gallic touch from Goodreads Quotes:


Victor Hugo

Sunday 20 April 2014

Plan a holiday but don't necessarily take one

I have just taken a lovely holiday in the sunshine and feel so much better.  I find that planning trips is very therapeutic even if I don't eventually take them.

Happy holidays to everyone




The Journeyman

The crackle on the gravel
The rolling of the stone
Footprints on the shifting sand
Where the journeyman must roam.

Wishes on the water
Mind up in the mountains
The journeyman his only need
To taste the quenching fountain

Tramps across the countryside
To travel the unknown
He trusts the earth beneath his feet
The journeyman is home

To where his heart is
He who knows much more
Whose eyes are always fixed upon
The ever open door.




Quote from Goodreads:


Aldous Huxley

Saturday 5 April 2014

Help children find happiness







Having read Leoarna's excellent post in her blog "not different but interesting", I felt this poem complemented her observations and feelings but hopefully there is a little light shining in the last verse.

We all need to help children find a way to their own happiness  This is what I try to do in my book "Ten Ways to Happiness"
- Mr Smile


Helping to make a better World

I’m no good at football
They’ll never pick me
Can’t run or jump or kick or throw
I’m no good at PE.

I’m no good at science
Don’t know a lot you know
I’ll never be a professor
And dress in a white coat.

I’m not good at literacy
Can’t write it down on paper
You know I’d really love to
But I’d never make an author.

I’m no good at DT
Can’t make things with these hands
Or think of what I want to build
No good at making plans.

And I’m no good at maths
Can’t add, subtract, divide
Can’t stop the numbers swimming
Before my very eyes.

I’m no good at anything
No I’m no good at all
I don’t know why I bother
Coming to this school.

But no – look you’re forgetting
None of these things matter
What really counts is how you
Make this world a little better.
(C) 2013 David J. Mason from "I know about the Staff Room"

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Fear is ignorance of the world's lack of knowledge

Less 

Senseless people don’t make sense
Headless people don’t have heads
Shapeless people have no form
Harmless people wouldn’t harm
Thoughtless cannot think at all
Lifeless and your life is dull
Fearless folks can’t feel fear
Cheerless folks, well they can’t cheer
Cloudless and the sky is blue
Motionless, the wind won’t move.

Careless people do not care
Hairless people have no hair
Brainless people don’t have brains
Painless people don’t have pain
Timeless and you have no time
Mindless and you have no mind
Faceless folks they have no face
Tasteless folks they cannot taste
Weightless and you float around
Effortless above the ground.

More or less or less or more
Here is a less-on to us all.
(C) 2013 David J. Mason


Paulo Coelho

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”


― Paulo CoelhoThe Alchemist

Friday 28 March 2014

Find your own path

Capital Loss
Some people say
That in Great Britain
The road that
Leads to rack and ruin
Is strewn
With those
Who missed
The turning
For London
(C) 2011 David J. Mason



Roald Dahl

“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”


― Roald Dahl

Friday 21 March 2014

Healthy and Wealthy

Healthy is what you get
From eating fresh fruit and vegetables
Pasta, rice and
Plain potatoes
Don’t spoon the sugar
Cut out the fat
Not too much caffeine
Not too much salt.

Wealthy is what you get
From eating
Everyone else’s
Helping

(C) 2014 David J. Mason 


Tuesday 18 March 2014

Thanks, I’m happy


Thank-you is a thing of the past
Instead you must look
To the next on the list
This is the pointless
Pursuit of
Happiness

(C) 2013 David J. Mason 


Monday 17 March 2014

Live in the moment, live every second...

Scene from a posh Party

- How do you do?

- It’s something innate
A will to carry on
No matter what
Through thick and thin
Rain or shine
Famine or feast
Good times and bad


- What do you do?

- I inhale and exhale
I walk and I talk
I eat and I drink
Sleep and think
And then I excrete
It makes life complete.


- Yes, yes but what do you do?
What’s your profession?

- Avoiding the day of my life’s cessation


(C) David J. Mason 1997 from  "Get a Life" ISBN 0 9521326 3 X


Friday 14 March 2014

Make time just to sit and listen to music



Soul Music


The rhythm of the world
Is not the rhythm of the soul
The rhythm of the world is bang a-bang a-bang!
The soul’s just likes to flow.

The music of the world
Is not the music of the soul
The music of the world is very, very fast
The soul says slow man, slow.

The sound of the world
Is not the sound of the soul
The sound of the world is loud man, loud
The soul is sweet and low.

The words of the world
Are not the words of the soul
The words of the world say go man, go!
The soul’s say whoa man, whoa.


(C) 2013 David J. Mason 


Tuesday 11 March 2014

BE HAPPY... Connect with your inner child

When I grow down

When I grow down
I want to be
More of a seedling
And less of a tree
Or at least
Find the seedling
Inside of me


(C) 2011 David J. Mason taken from the children's collection "Smile"


Monday 10 March 2014

(W)Hole in the Heart

Hole in the Heart

There’s a hole in my heart
And I know it needs filling
With the spirit of life
And the spirit is willing.

There’s a whole in our hearts
And it is overflowing
With the spirit of life
And the spirit is growing.



(C) 2013 David J. Mason

Thursday 6 March 2014

Welcome to my blog

Hello I'm Mr Smile

I was born with a smile on my face - in fact it IS my face!
I like to bring happiness to the world.
I shall post lots of happy things to help you smile through your day.
Sign up
Join me
Pass it on...