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Sunday Thought For The Day

Happy Fruit Grass
Creative Commons License photo credit: library­man

“When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that hap­pi­ness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t under­stand the assign­ment and I told them they didn’t under­stand life.” ~ Author Unknown

Lance writes sto­ries from his heart, aim­ing to inspire and moti­vate, as you align more fully with YOUR true peak. When he’s not here, you can find him hang­ing out with his fam­ily, rid­ing a bike, or just gen­er­ally act­ing goofy.   Sign up for the Thoughts from the Tree­house newslet­ter and get addi­tional inspi­ra­tion in your email inbox!
Lance Ekum
View all posts by Lance Ekum

Comments

  1. Lance,
    You have nailed a recent expe­ri­ence I had with my daugh­ter… her class is study­ing com­mu­ni­ties and the careers you find in them. On an exam there was a pretty sim­ple bonus ques­tion worth 2 extra points… “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My girl (in Grade 3) printed “I think I want to be a vet­eri­nar­ian because help­ing ani­mals makes me happy and Daddy says hap­pi­ness is the key to life.” (Although her spelling was much worse than mine, lol) The mark in the mar­gin was 3/2… the teacher awarded her an extra mark on the bonus ques­tion.
    Had to share that…

    And, as usual, you find the great­est pic­tures to go along with your posts.
    Take care and bless­ings…
    Dar­ren
    .-= Dar­ren Sproat´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Lest We For­get =-.

  2. aclambart says:

    Unfor­tu­nayely I am only just real­is­ing the real mean­ing of the word hap­pi­ness! But mak­ing up for lost time now! And teach­ing my 10yr old boy hap­pi­ness is in the here and now!

  3. Lance this is awe­some :)
    In this hus­tle bus­tle of life..we have for­got­ten our core inner child like inno­cence. Here the author of this lit­tle thought brings out the purity of our inten­tions so beau­ti­fully.
    Love it. And the pic is gorgeous.…so so smi­ley.…
    The sim­plic­ity of this thought truly brings a smile…and pure hap­pi­ness :)
    .-= Zeenat{Positive Provocations}´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Where You Stumble{Inspirational Quote} =-.

  4. Jeanne says:

    You make me happy with all you post.
    thanks for the joy and inspi­ra­tion.
    Bless­ings
    Jeanne
    .-= Jeanne´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Tree of Life writ­ten by my dear friend Car­ole Whynott =-.

  5. LisaNewton says:

    This reminds me of an old episode of the New­ly­wed Game. A wife was asked what she wore to bed each night. She said, “A smile.” The pro­duc­ers of the pro­gram didn’t allow that answer because it wasn’t an arti­cle of cloth­ing, so she just made some­thing up.

    When the hus­band was asked the same ques­tion, he answered, “A smile.” Just as with his wife, the pro­duc­ers told him he needed to answer with an arti­cle of cloth­ing. Offi­cially, the cou­ple got the answer wrong, but we all know, they were totally correct.

    Just as your quo­ta­tion shows, life doesn’t have rules, it is what we make it.

    Thanks for the Sun­day morn­ing mind opener, Lance.
    .-= LisaNewton´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Spirit of Los Ange­les =-.

  6. Love it! :) So many of us go through life with a job that we hate. I did insur­ance for 20 years…blech! My hubby and I are try­ing to instill in our son to fol­low his heart and do what makes him happy!

    Hope that you have a great birth­day! :)
    .-= Natalia Burleson´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Miter Box =-.

  7. Tristan Lee says:

    Wow, that was such as a sim­ple, pro­found quote. I can image a teacher’s reac­tion if a kid were to actu­ally say that to them — embar­rassed and slowly walk­ing away…
    .-= Tris­tan Lee´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..6 Golden Rules for Attract­ing More Wealth Into Your Life =-.

  8. I read the com­ment made by Lisa New­ton and laughed — that’s fan­tas­tic! (A smile… inge­nius!)
    What a great quote, fol­lowed by a fab­u­lous photo. Thank you, Lance, and speak­ing of HAPPYHAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    A quote I found and have on my blog, which I love as much as this quote you’ve fea­tured here today, is: “I finally fig­ured out that the main rea­son to be alive is to enjoy it.” Rita Mae Brown
    They ought to teach that in schools!
    .-= Megan “Joy­Girl!” Bord´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..$1 Ther­apy (Awe­some Free e-Book) =-.

  9. Hilda says:

    Oh to be so wise at any age as this 5 year old was! Happy Birth­day to you Lance. I hope you have a per­fect Sun­day :-)
    .-= Hilda´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Fol­low your heart =-.

  10. Jannie Funster says:

    Whoa, good one, Unknown. One wise mama! One wise kid. She teached him good.

    Chee­rios! For breakfast!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

  11. Joanna says:

    A very happy quote on a very Happy Birthday!

    Enjoy every moment!
    .-= Joanna´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Sun­day School =-.

  12. Lance! I love that quote!
    .-= Jess (Fit Chick in the City)´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Sneak­ing in Exer­cise =-.

  13. Laurie says:

    Hap­pi­ness comes and goes with the ebbs and flows of life. The things, sit­u­a­tions, etc that make us happy today may bring us sor­row tomor­row, ie all the happy wed­dings end­ing in a sad divorce. So I think we need to expand our def­i­n­i­tion of hap­pi­ness to include joy, peace (here I am talk­ing of peace in your heart), love. If hap­pi­ness includes these kind of ideas, then we can all be happy even though we don’t have an i-phone or 102 inch TV. I will tell you Lance, I am happy!

  14. Diane AZ says:

    Great post! Lit­tle kids’ thoughts are so sim­ple and pure. It’s grown-ups who tend to want to com­pli­cate and change things. Happy Birth­day, Lance!
    .-= Diane AZ´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Shadow Shots — at the gar­dens =-.

  15. Hey Lance. What a PERFECT quote for your birth­day today! You are sure under­stand life and what’s it all about… and all of us are sure blessed by your under­stand­ing. Thanks for being YOU… and for shar­ing your YOU with us. Happy Birth­day, Friend!! :) (Cap­i­tal F for a reason!)

  16. Jay Schryer says:

    What a great thought for the day! Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
    .-= Jay Schryer´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Dark Side of Music =-.

  17. Hi Lance,
    Happy Birth­day!!!! Beau­ti­ful quote and I totally agree with Diane. As adults we com­pli­cate stuff. Kids know how to enjoy life and that the secret is to be happy — fol­low your bliss and things you love to do and sud­denly life is easy. I am “get­ting this” more and more and wow is it a beau­ti­ful place to live from! I wish you all the best for your new year Lance. Thanks for all you do and for your friend­ship.
    Love, Jenny
    .-= Jenny Mannion´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Don’t Give Up — Sur­ren­der Instead to Heal and Move For­ward =-.

  18. Happy Birth­day, Lance. Have a glo­ri­ous birth­day. Your Sun­day Thought For The Day pho­tos and quotes always make my Sun­days grand. Thanks.
    .-= Patri­cia — Spir­i­tual Jour­ney Of A Lightworker´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Blog Car­ni­val Against Child Abuse: Octo­ber 30, 2009 Edi­tion =-.

  19. I’ve read this quote a few places lately and I LOVE it! I’m so glad you wrote about it today. And I love the pic too!
    .-= pos­i­tively present´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..words to live by: keep your­self pos­i­tive =-.

  20. Happy birth­day Lance! May this year be your hap­pi­est and most ful­fill­ing yet.
    .-= Diane Fit to the Finish´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..As Big As a Foot­ball Player! =-.

  21. Chris says:

    I LOVE this! I can see from the com­ments that it’s your birth­day. Happy birth­day! And thank YOU for the lovely gift today. :-)
    .-= Chris´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Twenty Years =-.

  22. suzen says:

    Hi Lance!
    What’s this? Another birth­day? YAY! If the Uni­verse has a birth­day book on you, the page for this year would list a bazil­lion names of all those peo­ple you have touched in your spe­cial Lance-way!

    That quote was delight­ful! The things we are taught as kids — wow — we need to remem­ber it! I may be grow­ing old but I never want to grow up! I keep on min­ing mes­sages from early on in my life and, like this one you shared à la quote, rein­stat­ing the mes­sages! How they become lost one can only won­der!
    .-= suzen´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Live This Very Moment and Dream On =-.

  23. So sim­ple and often forgotten.

    a very HAPPY birth­day to you!!! :-)
    .-= Stacey Shipman´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Stress Still High in Adults and Kids =-.

  24. Tim says:

    Hi Lance:

    I love the pic­ture and the quote! Its sim­ple and true. Lance, have a happy birth­day!
    .-= Tim´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Week­end Video Diver­sion: Sesame Street Turns 40 =-.

  25. Evelyn Lim says:

    Lovely thought to go with your birth­day! May all your dreams come true! Hap­pi­ness always!
    .-= Eve­lyn Lim´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Make Peace with Time =-.

  26. Love it! This is the sec­ond time I’ve read it today, so I take that as a divine sign. :)

    Happy Sun­day Lance!!

  27. Evita says:

    How out­ra­geously beau­ti­ful is that!

    …they told me I didn’t under­stand the assignment…”

    Per­haps we could all go back to that moment when we were 5 and real­ize that we under­stood the assign­ment perfectly!

    (Hope you are hav­ing an amaz­ing day — all the best for your birth­day again!)
    .-= Evita´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Web of Ideas and the Future of the World =-.

  28. Oh Lance.….HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!…may your life be filled with love,happiness and good health(mind body heart and soul) ALWAYS.
    With lots of love and prayers :)
    .-= Zeenat{Positive Provocations}´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Where You Stumble{Inspirational Quote} =-.

  29. Lori says:

    Hi Lance!
    Happy birth­day! Put another can­dle on your birth­day cake, you’re another year older today, toot toot!
    :)
    You make ME happy! Thanks for being who you are and for liv­ing life like you mean it.
    You’re an inspi­ra­tion!
    ~xo
    .-= Lori´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Inspi­ra­tional Funny – by Steven at Human Explo­sion =-.

  30. Hi Lance,

    I swear that kid could have been me. When I was a kid, peo­ple would ask me what did I want to be when I grow up and I used to say happy. They would look at me like I had three heads and tell me that I did not under­stand the ques­tion! So yay for not being alone in want­ing to be happy!

    And talk­ing of happy.…HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May this upcom­ing year be filled with great health, suc­cess in the way that you desire, love, wis­dom and numer­ous bless­ings!
    .-= Nadia — Happy Lotus´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..My Novem­ber Dose of Tough Love =-.

  31. Hap­pi­ness is like a but­ter­fly which, when pur­sued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down qui­etly, may alight upon you.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Love that cute photo.
    .-= Grampa Ken on Social Change´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..View­ing Life and Soci­ety at 75 =-.

  32. Angelia Sims says:

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANCE!!!

    Wish­ing you all the happy and bright you can stand.

    Loved the quote and pic­ture, I think that is a great way to under­stand life.
    .-= Angelia Sims´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Our Par­tic­i­pa­tion: The Lev­ity Project =-.

  33. Caity says:

    Oh my gosh that quote is prob­a­bly my favorite one so far. My mother used to always tell me that she didn’t care what I accom­plished in life or what I grew up to be but she did care about one thing — that I was happy. That meant more to me than any­thing I’ve ever learned in life and it meant more to me than any­thing any­one else ever told me. I will remem­ber it for the rest of my life. It will be the one thing that I wish to instill in my kids when I have them.
    .-= Caity´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..3 Brother’s Pizza! =-.

  34. Carla says:

    The last sen­tence hits the nail right on the head. Its really hard to do much of any­thing if you are NOT happy.

    Happy Birth­day, Lance!
    .-= Carla´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Green and Chic Prod­uct: Erbaor­gan­ics Baby Body Wash (dis­counted) =-.

  35. Happy Birth­day Lance,

    I want to be happy when I grow up too. :) Oh wait, I did and I am.

    Great quote and photo, as always. Enjoy your day!
    .-= Bar­bara Swafford´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..If He Can, She Can =-.

  36. Wow, sure wish I could shake “author unknown’s” hand!

    Happy Birth­day, Lance! Yes­ter­day was my daughter’s! How about that!
    .-= Gayle (Gazehound’s Ani­mal Communication)´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Ani­mal Intel­li­gence: the Vole and the Cookie =-.

  37. Brenda says:

    Love the lit­tle story, the cock-eyed smiley-face photo, the cheer­ful com­ments, and a chance to chime in on Happy Birth­day, Lance! Rin and Stimpey’s “happy happy joy joy happy happy joy” is now run­ning through my head for some rea­son. :)
    .-= Brenda´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Awak­en­ing =-.

  38. Lynn says:

    Won­der­ful out­side the box think­ing. Happy birth­day!
    .-= Lynn´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..St. Joseph’s, spec­tac­u­lar and petit paquet =-.

  39. Won­der­ful thought. Happy birthday

  40. Audra Krell says:

    This is so great. And it’s per­fect for today — your birth­day! I believe that you have found the mean­ing of life, that you live ener­get­i­cally, stretch­ing toward hap­pi­ness, allow­ing God to pro­pel your life for­ward toward the the great plans He has for you. Wish­ing you many, many more of the same.
    .-= Audra Krell´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..A Chance to Choose =-.

  41. That is the key. So many of us for­get that hap­pi­ness is more impor­tant than money. Really we want money to make us happy. But, hey, if we are already happy than money has less power over us.
    .-= Karl Staib — Work Happy Now´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..How Your Com­pany Can Bring the Fun Back =-.

  42. Srinivas Rao says:

    Thanks for shar­ing that Lance. That was absolutely bril­liant :)
    .-= Srini­vas Rao´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..How to be a con­nec­tor Part II: World Dom­i­na­tion =-.

  43. Mark Salinas says:

    This put a smile on my face! Thanks Lance!

  44. Wilma Ham says:

    Happy birth­day Lance, you never know how I found out and I wish you kind­ness to your­self, a child in your soup, joy and joy­ful spon­sors in your life.
    Love Wilma
    .-= Wilma Ham´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Ques­tions, the doors to our hearts. =-.

  45. Lance…That 5 year old was you, wasn’t it????
    Reminds me of my days when I ran com­pet­i­tively. I had two coaches. One was full of love and pas­sion for the expe­ri­ence of run­ning. The sec­ond was full of pas­sion and drive for win­ning com­pe­ti­tions. The sec­ond one would always ask me “So Katie, how do you want to do in the race?” inquir­ing about what time and place I wanted.
    Much to his dis­ap­point­ment, I always responded, “I want to run with grace and beauty.” It infu­ri­ated him.
    But the first coach totally got it and that is why I stayed on our team and yep, we were state cham­pi­ons too.
    Spirit first. Action second.

    And dude…happy rockin’ birth­day.
    .-= Katie West/The Lev­ity Coach´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Lev­ity Project is com­ing to Chicago! =-.

  46. Yum Yucky says:

    Ahhh. A smile for the day! So what if it’s 10pm and almost tomor­row. I found my smile…today. :D

  47. Lance says:

    @Darren — Hey Dar­ren, that’s awe­some!!! You are teach­ing your daugh­ter this exactly…and the teacher sees the beauty in it! Thanks so much for shar­ing that!

    @aclambert — That’s it, though…it’s never too late to start. And that’s great you are pass­ing this mes­sage on to your son.

    @Zeenat — Hi Zeenat. I’m not sure if you have seen the movie “Mon­sters, Inc”, but that pic­ture for some rea­son reminds me of the char­ac­ter Sul­ley (just a dif­fer­ent color)! Yes, that purity of just being happy…such a good thought, isn’t it…

    @Jeanne — Thanks so much for being here Jeanne…

    @LisaNewton — Hi Lisa, it’s so good to see you! I love it!! And they sure did get it right…look at that, they answered the same way. And here’s to mak­ing that smile a big part of us…during the night and day!

    @Natalia — Hi Natalia. Hey, maybe you did spend a num­ber of years doing some­thing that didn’t resonate…the thing is, though, that you are not doing that any­more. And even if you were, you always have that choice of what to do. I also know that some­times we can feel trapped in what we’re doing…and there can be some truth to that in some cases — still, though, we can always keep play­ing with those dreams bounc­ing around in our hearts. And what a great mes­sage you are shar­ing with your son! And Natalia…thank YOU for the birth­day wishes!!

    @Tristan — You know, Tristan…I would hope that some teach­ers would see the beauty in those words… Yet, I know that some would not. Sad, isn’t it.…

    @Megan — Lisa’s com­ment was great!! And the Rita Mae Brown quote is an awe­some one — being alive to enjoy life sounds pretty awe­some to me! Thank you for shar­ing that. And…thank YOU for the birth­day wishes — you are awesome!!

  48. Lance says:

    @Hilda — Kids just “get it” sometimes…and don’t even fully real­ize it! Thanks so much for the birth­day wishes.…young lady!! Sun­day has been awesome!!

    @Jannie — Unknown nailed this one, huh!! And that wise mama stuff..something I know you rock at!! Cheerios…yum! Choco­late chip pan­cakes for break­fast. Made by my ten year old…mostly choco­late chips!!! YUM!! Jan­nie, thank YOU for the won­der­ful wishes — you rock!!

    @Joanna — Joanna, thank YOU!! YOu are a sweet­heart always…

    @Jess — It’s a great quote, isn’t it!

    @Laurie — Yes, it’s that deeper con­nec­tion to your heart that brings hap­pi­ness to that deeper level too. And when you do, what a great place of hap­pi­ness to reach! And I know you have reached a spot within you and find peace there…and that’s what makes all the difference!

    @Diane AZ — Kids don’t over­think their happiness…they just are happy. And when they are, there fully in that moment. A great place to be! And Diane, thank YOU for the birth­day wishes!!

    @Kim — Kim, thanks so much for being here today. YOU shine…and I can tell that by your words here today (and always). More than that, though, I’ve wit­nessed that shine of yours in real life…and it is so awe­some! Hey, guess what I’m wear­ing tomor­row, FRIEND!!! More of your awe­some­ness! Thanks so much for mak­ing the whole week­end and my birth­day GREAT!

    @Jay — It’s an awe­some thought, isn’t it! Thanks so much for the birth­day wishes today!

  49. Lance says:

    @Jenny Man­nion — Hi Jenny. Thank YOU!!!! I know you get this — and it’s so awe­some to see where it is tak­ing you! Jenny, I deeply appre­ci­ate your friend­ship, and for all you give of your­self. Send­ing love and hap­pi­ness your way…

    @Patricia — Spir­i­tual Jour­ney of A Light­worker — Thank you Patri­cia! So glad to hear these Sun­day thoughts touch upon some­thing within you…they def­i­nitely do for me!

    @Positively Present — Thanks so much Dani!

    @Diane — Thanks so, so much Diane! Awe­some hav­ing you here today!

    @Chris — Isn’t that a great atti­tude, from the 5 year old! And thank you, Chris, for the sweet birth­day wishes!

    @Suzen — Hi Suzen. Wow, you are so, so super-sweet! Thank YOU so much for the birth­day wishes (and for inflat­ing my head!!). In our phys­i­cal years…yes, we’re always get­ting older. But that defin­tely does not mean we have to grow up. And I know you are not!! Keep that kid-like spirit alive like it so much is today Suzen!!

    @Stacey Ship­man — “Happy” in is most basic form is really pretty sim­ple. How we get to happy…well, maybe that’s where it get’s a lit­tle sticky some­times as adults. It does get sticky and com­pli­cated some­times, but does it really have to? Maybe it’s as sim­ple as just say­ing “I choose to be happy”… Stacey, thanks so much for the birth­day wishes, and the won­der­ful friendship!

    @Tim — Hi Tim. Like I men­tioned to Stacey, up above — it really can be simple…do we allow it to be that way, though? Good for me to think about… Thanks so much for the birth­day wishes!!

  50. Lance says:

    @Evelyn — Hi Eve­lyn. Thank you for the won­der­ful birth­day wishes! Hap­pi­ness is pretty awesome!!

    @Tabitha @ ichoose­b­liss — Hi Tabitha. I know when I start see­ing a mes­sage repeat itself to me…I really start to think if there is some divine inter­ven­tion going on. I’d go with it Tabitha!! And a very happy Sun­day to you too!

    @Evita — It is a really beau­ti­ful mes­sage!! And I love how you used the word “out­ra­geously” in there — so great!! I’m sure you’ve heard of that book — “All I Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten”…that’s quite pos­si­bly way, way accu­rate! And Evita, today has been so won­der­ful! And thank YOU for help­ing to make it that way — you are such a sweet soul!

    @Zeenat — Zeenat, thank you SO SO SO SO MUCH for the birth­day wishes! You shine in all you write, and today I feel that at an even deeper level…

    @Lori — Hi Lori. I can’t find any room on the cake for can­dles!! Yikes! Maybe it’s just because I’ve eaten too much of the cake (yep, we’ll go with that…)! Lori, thank you for your won­der­ful and amaz­ing friendship.

    @Nadia — Hi Nadia. I think that kid could have been you also! In fact, I think that kid could still be you today! Really, you just really seem to live this (look at your name — HAPPY Lotus!). And talk­ing of being happy…YOU make me very happy today! Thanks so much for the won­der­ful birth­day wishes!

    @Grampa Ken on Social Change — I love teh Hawthorne quote you’ve shared…so true. It’s there within, we just have to quiet our­selves to see it.

    @Angelia — THANK YOU Angelia!! You are won­der­ful and super-sweet! Hap­pi­ness is rockin’.…and so are you!!

  51. Lance says:

    @Caity — Your mother is a very wise per­son! If we can go through life and be happy, that will have been a grand life! Not to say there won’t be moments of sad­ness or despair…because there will be. If our out­look, though, is just gen­er­ally all about being happy in life, what a great feel­ing to have!

    @Carla — Yes, that last sen­tence is a pow­er­ful one…really gets to the core of what life is. Thanks so much for the birth­day wishes!!

    @Barbara — Thanks so much for the birth­day wishes!! And hey…you ARE happy!! That’s awe­some, isn’t it!!

    @Gayle — Yes, “author unknown” wrote a really mean­ing­ful piece here!! Thanks so much for the birth­day wishes! And a very happy belated birth­day to your daugher! Tell her that I say “Novem­ber rocks!!”.

    @Brenda — That cock-eyed smile is pretty great! Thanks so much for the birth­day wishes…and for now putting a tune in my head!!!!

    @Lynn — And get­ting out­side the box is so good!! Thanks for the birth­day wishes!

    @Jon — Thanks much!!

  52. Lance says:

    @Audra — Audra, your com­ment today has deep and spe­cial mean­ing for me. You have such a beau­ti­ful way of mak­ing oth­ers feel val­ued — of mak­ing me feel val­ued. Thanks so much for being here today, and even more than that — for your real and won­der­ful friend­ship. You are a sweetheart!

    @Karl — Hap­pi­ness is where it’s at. Money won’t buy the hap­pi­ness for us…it only buys us things that we hope will bring us hap­pi­ness. And hap­pi­ness is really some­thing that comes from deep within, and money doesn’t touch that.…

    @Srinivas — It’s great, isn’t it!!

    @Mark Sali­nas — Great to hear this put a smile on your face!!

    @Wilma — Thank you so much, Wilma! And hey — that child in your soup…that sounds famil­iar!! You are sweet…

    @Katie — Hey Speedy! That five year old…hmmm.…wass that me about 15 years ago??? Could that be?? Hey, I’m just a young­ster!! Could that be??? Okay…I’m sure that make me like 20 years old (I’m going with that!). So…Ms. Run­ner Pants…you’ve been stir­ring things up all your life, haven’t you! (why am I not sur­prised!!) And hey, just so you know — remem­ber how you ran — with grace and beauty…well, you’ve still got it… (although I’ve never seen you run…). YOU are a champ always!! And that IS your spirit shin­ing through!! And dudette…it’s been a great day…all part of a super great week­end! Big thanks and hugs to you…

    @Yum Yucky — I love the atti­tude Josie! Some­times it takes a while…but it’s there! In fact, see­ing you here always puts a smile on my face!!

  53. J.D. Meier says:

    Per­fect quote and per­fect pic … hap­pi­ness is a great way of life.

    Have a happy birth­day.
    .-= J.D. Meier´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Lessons Learned from John =-.

  54. This is won­der­ful Lance!
    Thank you!
    .-= Juliet | Freelancewise´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Vote for Spe­cialised Kine­si­ol­ogy, Vote for Health =-.

  55. Mindful Mimi says:

    So it’s your birth­day? HAPPY HAPPY birth­day. Hap­pi­ness is the key to every­thing. When you’re happy, the rest fol­lows. I am not so happy right now. But I try to keep my spirit up and obtain that state again.
    I wish you all that you wish for your­self and much more.
    Mimi
    .-= Mind­ful Mimi´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Sun­day laugh =-.

  56. BunnygotBlog says:

    Lance,

    This is so sweet, only out of the mouth of babes do we hear the hon­esty of life.
    Thank you so much for this pre­cious moment.
    Big Hug

  57. Lance says:

    @J.D. Meier — Hap­pi­ness is such a great way of life!! Thank you for the birth­day wishes!!

    @Juliet — Thanks so much, Juliet!!

    @Mimi — Hey Mimi!! You are awe­some, thank YOU!! Hap­pi­ness is so good. And that doesn’t mean we’re going to always be happy. We all have moments where we’re not. This too shall pass, Mimi. And brighter days are ahead. You are such a sweet and car­ing person…and I just know that the hap­pi­ness that’s in your heart will be back out soon…

    @Bunny — Hi Bunny. Yes, the mouths of babes can come some pretty pro­found state­ments! This is defin­tely one of them! Big hugs right back to you, my friend!

  58. Miz says:

    I laugh I was so busy wish­ing you happy birth­day I for­got how to prop­erly start my sun­day.
    RECTIFIED.

    On a mon­day :)

    thank you.
    .-= Miz´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Moti­va­tional MatchUps & Two Fit Chicks (video post). =-.

  59. spinDiva says:

    So refresh­ing to read these words. Every once in a while there are peo­ple in my life that love to sug­gest poten­tial careers for me and my son (now in col­lege). The say you should go into tech­nol­ogy, you’ll make lots of money, or, “why don’t you get a nurs­ing degree, health­care is the way to go”– it’s annoy­ing because no one seems to see that we are not look­ing for money or some means to an end, we are striv­ing to stay happy because we love what we do. I tell all my kids often that they need to always strive to be happy in what they do oth­er­wise it’s just point­less. Great mes­sage and what a cool photo! Thanks Lance.

    Terie
    .-= spinDiva´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Avoid Hol­i­day Weight Gain =-.

  60. Oscar says:

    This quote is awe­some! Thanks for shar­ing.
    .-= Oscar´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Do Habit Update 1 =-.

  61. That is gr8! Thank you for shar­ing!
    .-= Trish @imaSUcceeding´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..What can YOU do to make a change? =-.

  62. A thought pro­vok­ing quote, and unfor­tu­nately one of the major prob­lems with the cur­rent edu­ca­tion sys­tem.
    .-= Jake@HypnosisOnline´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Hyp­no­sis Videos =-.

  63. An exam­ple of how upside down our edu­ca­tion sys­tems are eh? That 5 year old (and her Mum) have it so totally right. I’m no teacher but full marks from me!
    .-= Sami — Life, Laughs & Lemmings´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Kick Arse Ques­tion – Sur­viv­ing a Cri­sis =-.

  64. I can’t tell you how much I LOVE that quote! It’s going into my col­lec­tion of favorite quotes!
    .-= Jason of Kim & Jason´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Does United Air­lines Have Adul­ti­tis? =-.

  65. love this one too.. Deepak Chopra tells a story in Hap­pi­ness Pre­scrip­tion about hap­pi­ness in igno­rance or hap­pi­ness in enlightenment.

    I think that’s what this quote says. seek hap­pi­ness in enlight­en­ment. seek ful­fill­ment. make it worth­while. live in the present moment.
    .-= Elliot Lozano´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Shar­ing a Piece of Inspi­ra­tion… Ben Harper’s Bet­ter Way Song =-.

  66. Lance says:

    @Miz — And…I’m super way late get­ting back here (now…who’s laugh­ing??). Any­way, great always, hav­ing you here!!

    @SpinDiva — Terie, this is such an awe­some mes­sage you are shar­ing with your fam­ily! I love this, espe­cially in light of the pres­sures you’ve put up with. Hap­pi­ness is a way bet­ter place to be!

    @Oscar — Thanks much, Oscar.

    @Trish — Thank you Trish!

    @Jake — If we focused our edu­ca­tion sys­tem around this idea of hap­pi­ness, instead of try­ing to have higher test scores…hmmm…

    @Sami — And why is it, that I think you are pretty much just like this five year old?? I’m right, aren’t I?

    @Jason — I know! This quote is just so, so good!

    @Elliot — Hap­pi­ness rocks! And that is all about “liv­ing” in the present moment.

Trackbacks

  1. […] This post was men­tioned on Twit­ter by Dra­gos Roua, Lance. Lance said: New blog post: Sun­day Thought For The Day — http://tinyurl.com/yefmfju […]

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