I Believe

Two and a half months ago, I was telling Brad, our counselor, that I was feeling a little lost because I didn't know what I believed in. He gave Hugh and I homework that day. He asked us to think about the things we believe in and to make a list.  He gave us the example of love.  Brad said that he knows "for sure" that love is real and he believes in its power.

I did quite a bit of thinking about it over the 2 months between our appointments.  At first I started with things like love, heaven, loyalty, family, friendship, etc., but I found that my mental list was getting quite long and it just felt like a bunch of words.  I needed something bigger and here is what I came up with--


I Believe We Are All Connected
I believe that the connections we make to other people are THE MOST important thing there is.  The relationships with our family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and even strangers bring out my strongest positive emotions--love, joy, pride, etc.--and make me the happiest.

I believe that everything we do has an impact on someone's life.  And often times we don't even realize how much we are affecting other people's lives.  It might be a knock on a stranger's van window or cooking a friend comfort food on a difficult day.

I believe my attitude will have an affect on others.  Sometimes putting on a fake smile can turn another person's day around and sometimes admitting faults or weakness can put people at ease.


I believe that the emotions I feel and experiences I have can connect me to anyone else on the planet.  Love and suffering are universal.  Most people have experienced some form of both and everyone has experienced at least one of them.  In that sense, in some way, I have a connection with EVERYONE.

I also believe that technology is making connections even easier to have.  I have connected to other mothers who have lost children through email, social media, and google.  I have also been able to connect to people across the world by making donations to organizations who work with those people. The world is small.

For me, these connections extend beyond this life.  I believe I am connected to Tripp.  I believe he is in heaven, but for me, heaven doesn't have an iron gate with the living on one side and the dead on the other.  I am not sure quite how it works, but I believe we are part of each others lives.

We are all connected.

I Believe Our Purpose On Earth Is To Become The Best Possible Person We Can Be
I don't think people should just float through life without working to be better. . .

Imagine a hockey player.  Imagine he is a good player.  He decides that he wants to get better, so he begins to work at it so he can improve.  He listens to coaches, practices a little longer, visualizes plays, watches games, analyzes, experiments.  The best hockey players in the world do this and they improve.  They become better. And, I think I am safe to say, that even the best players in the world would admit that they continue, on a daily basis, to work to improve.  It isn't just hockey players or athletes who do this.  Teachers, doctors, and businessmen do it.  In fact, I would wager that every successful person works at improving their craft.

Now, what if all these people worked at being the kindest, caring, empathetic, person they could be, too?

I think I am a good person.  But as I reflected during these 2 months of my homework, I realized that although I am a good person, I could be an even better person.  I just need to start making an concerted effort to improve on the person I am.  It was within these two months that I started the happiness project. I don't want to float through life being a good person.  I want to work at being an even better person.

I believe in self-improvement.

What do you believe in?