Happiness Will Come In Waves (Ride The Waves).

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I think most would agree that the majority of people just want to be happy in life. We all want to be able to enjoy and live our lives on our own terms. We want to be able to do all the things we enjoy without criticism and stress. We want to be healthy and have a stable mind, and we want the same for our families. We just want to be able to live a long and good life that allows us to look back and say that we enjoyed this life to the fullest. Now I'm one of those people that feels that happiness is a choice. This is something that we hear others say often, yet it is something that many people don't utilize. That is a topic for another day. However, although I believe that happiness is a choice, I also understand that in this thing called life that we're living, there will always be ups and downs taking place. There are going be periods in our lives where we're riding the waves of joy, and there are going to be moments where we feel that we've been knocked off of a boat or surfboard by those waves. Those moments, which are the moments in our lives that we mostly prefer not to deal with can deal a huge blow to our faith and belief. We often find that those moments are the ones that have the biggest impact on how we view ourselves in regards to being happy. For those that this may apply to, this is something that we have to work on trying to remedy. Happiness often comes in waves, and we have to learn to be able to ride those waves when they come.

Hello once again my friends! It's your guy Brad H. back once again, and I'd like to welcome everyone to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As usual, I hope that everyone has been doing pretty good as of late. We've arrived at another week, and I'm back to give my perspective on a topic that I've been thinking about as of late. One of the common themes of this blog has been me talking about the NBA playoffs on the little soapbox that I've given myself on here. So the NBA Finals have been taking place since the last post. As of now, the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to win game 4 and stay alive. In the last post that I wrote, I mentioned how I felt like the Warriors having Kevin Durant on their team in my opinion would put them over the top. That has definitely been the case so far. Durant has been playing like an absolute madman in this years' playoffs, and that especially applies in the finals this year. That said, I want to give my opinion real quick on the whole "super-team" argument that so many people have with Durant joining the Warriors. I like Kevin Durant, and while I do believe that going to Golden State somewhat taints this championship that they are likely to win, I think it is wrong for people to constantly criticize his decision to go there. In my opinion, this whole star players teaming up with other star players to form super-teams started with LeBron James when he decided to go to the Miami Heat. While James did take some heat for his decision, I don't feel that he has taken as much as Durant. I'm personally not a fan of stars teaming with other stars, and I feel it depreciates the game due to lack of competition. However, if people are going to go at Durant, they need to acknowledge that LeBron was the one that started this trend. That's just how I feel about it. Alright, now that I rambled for a bit longer than normal, lets go ahead and talk about this week's topic of happiness.

As with the usual disclaimer that I give on every single topic that I talk about for the week, I want to say that we all have different thoughts, ideas, and opinions. The objective here isn't to focus on what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to inspire and encourage others to see the topic at hand in a manner that they may normally wouldn't. It's okay if we happen to disagree, or if what I write about doesn't pique others interest. All feedback and opinions that anyone may have on this or any of the other topics I talk about are welcome here. Now as for how this topic came to be, I would mainly credit it to being something that I've been thinking about as of late. It is also something that has become a pretty frequent topic of discussion in some of the conversations that I've had with family members as of late. Besides that, I watched a Youtube video a few nights ago where someone that I can't even remember who it was at this moment was talking about something similar to this. The culmination of all that sparked something within me that told me to come on and talk about this for a bit. As always, anything that I say on here applies to me also. I'm far from perfect, however, I do strive to be one of those people that don't just go around trying to drop advice to others that I don't at the very least heed my own self. The mentality here isn't to judge or condemn, but to rather encourage and inspire if inspiration is needed.

Now this particular topic is one that I've talked about on here before. However, just with anything else in life, there is always new and fresh takes that allow us to explore a topic in a different way. Now as I stated earlier, the majority of us are seeking happiness in life. Happiness is a very good thing right? Now I've already established that I believe happiness is a choice, but despite me having that belief, I know that it is extremely hard to be happy all the time. You can be having the best day in the world right? Things can be going your way for the time being, and then it can all change in an instant. You could receive some bad news that something happened to someone you care for, or you could maybe find out that you have a life changing illness that will affect your quality of life. Hearing things like this aren't going to make you happy at all right? Even if you're having the best day in the world, your mood will change receiving this kind of news. Now this way of thinking is totally subjective to the individual and how they react to receiving bad news. However, I think it is fairly safe to assume that regardless of how well you handle bad news, finding it out isn't going to make you feel good. So how exactly does this relate to the riding the waves of happiness? Well, it is my belief that because happiness comes and goes, we have to be willing to ride those those waves while they're happening.

Okay, now you're probably saying to yourself; "Brad H. what do you mean ride the waves while they're happening?" It's pretty much a comparison to how surfers ride waves when they're surfing. I've never been a surfer, but we all know how surfers excel when they're surfing on smoother waves of water. Then they have those instances where a huge wave comes in and knocks them off of their surfboard. For those of us that aren't surfers, those big waves that knock us off are similar to the unpredictable issues that come our way in life. My thing is that when I say we have to ride the waves of happiness, I'm saying that we have to appreciate and be grateful for those times. We have to be able to see them for what they really are, which are moments. Moments come and go in life, and one moment that you have may be something that you never get another chance to experience. For example, imagine that you've won an award at school or work for something that you excelled in, and you're going to be honored for your achievement. The award that you receive is something that you will be able to treasure for the rest of your life, but being honored is something that happens in the moment. Unless it happens again, that is likely a moment that you will never get back. This is why it is so important to us to live in the moment as much as possible. Moments are similar to quick sparks and flashes; they come and they go.

So how exactly do we ride the waves of happiness? From my perspective, I think it is first important to acknowledge that we'll probably never experience happiness all the time. I think the most we can hope for is to make as much happiness for ourselves as we possibly can. This means trying to have more happy moments than bad ones. Secondly, riding the waves to me means being grateful and showing gratitude for all the good things in life. There are many of us that say that we're grateful to be alive, yet we often complain about how hard our lives are. Yes life is definitely hard at times, but we often focus too much on the bad, rather than being grateful for the good. If you woke up to see a new day, you likely have eyes, ears, etc, which means that you are able to see and hear. Think of all the people out there that can't see or hear and wish they were able to. Think of all the people that are in wheelchairs and will never walk about. See the point that I'm trying to make here is that happiness comes from being grateful for life regardless of how big or small the moments are. So lets try to ride those waves of happiness, because just like anything else in life, they will come and go. The quote that I'm going to leave you all with comes courtesy of emcee stic.man from the group Dead Prez. On his album "The Workout", there's a song called Yoga Mat. He says something at the end of that song that I love. The lyric goes; "Ride the waves and let them pass, don't cling, be detached."

Well I have arrived at the end of another post. I ended up getting this one out later than normal due to a family related emergency yesterday, but I wanted to be sure to finish this since I started it. Thank you all once again for stopping by the another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Like always, I hope there was some meaning and understanding that could be gained from this topic. In the event that wasn't the case for you, your visit and feedback is still welcome and appreciated. I hope you all have a great weekend, and hope you're able to do something fun. There is a lot of bad in the world, but there is so much beauty out there too. Lets try to enjoy it as much as possible. Alright, I'm out everyone, so I'll see you all in the next one. Till then, I wish you all peace and happiness. See you all soon!

©2017 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

We're Just Small Fish In A Gigantic Ocean (Stay Humble And Make An Impact While You're Here).

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I'm of the belief that every single person that is living matters in some way, shape, or form. You may feel at times that you do not matter to the world in general, but regardless of who you are, you likely matter to at least one person. Now although I'm a firm believer that we're all important as individuals, I also believe that no one person is truly better than the next person. It's kinda unfortunate that I have to even bring this up, however, we cannot deny the fact that the society we're living in has painted a false image of how important and relevant to the world that a person should be. We look at these television personalities and celebrities, and often feel that because these people are being broadcast to a wide range of people that they somehow matter more than those who may not have that kind of exposure. Even everyday average people these days have a superiority complex going on. People that may be more well off than others talk and look down upon those that may be less fortunate that they are. Now I'm not saying that every person that is well off thinks this way, but most of us have found ourselves being around people that feel they're better than others regardless of what they feel they're better at. I'm going to attempt to debunk this myth of betterment in this week's topic, and hopefully show why we should always try and stay humble, because at the end of the day, we're all just small fish in a gigantic ocean.

Hello once again ladies and gentlemen. It's ya boy Brad H. back at it once again, and I'd like to welcome everyone to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I hope that everyone has been doing well and maintaining since the last write up. If that hasn't been the case for you, stay strong and keep on holding your head up. As with the normal standard here, I've come to give my perspective for the week on various topics and thoughts that I think about regularly. So how has everything been going with you guys? A lot of wild things have been going on in the world as of late. One thing that I talked about in the last post was the NBA playoffs. We had a good ole I-10 rivalry that happened here in the Lone Star State between the Houston Rockets and my San Antonio Spurs. Now although I'm a Spurs fan first, I do like the Houston Rockets as well. Obviously I wanted to see the Spurs go on and advance to play the Golden State Warriors, but it probably wouldn't have bothered me too much if they happened to lose to the Rockets. However, as much as I hate to say, I think that the Spurs are going to have their work cut out for them going up against the Warriors. The Warriors have truly been on point this entire playoff tournament, and I honestly in my heart feel that the general public wants to see another Cavaliers vs. Warriors NBA Finals. I'm personally not a part of that group, but I also understand that the NBA is a business where ratings and revenue matters. I guess we'll just have to see how this all ends up playing out. It should be a good series, so Go Spurs Go! Hope everyone that likes basketball has been enjoying the playoffs thus far. Now that I've talked about that for a bit, lets go ahead and talk about this week's topic of how I feel that we're all just small fish in a gigantic ocean.

As I always aim to do before getting more into my thoughts for the week, I'd like give a disclaimer and say that everyones individual viewpoints will always vary. My objective here is isn't to focus on what may be considered right or wrong, but rather to hopefully inspire the people that read to think about various topics from a different approach than they normally would. I totally understand if my my viewpoints don't register with others, and any perspective other than my own is always welcome here. As always, the goal that I'm looking to achieve here is to first inspire myself, and then hopefully through the process of writing out my thoughts, inspire others as well. As for insight on how this topic came to my mind for this week, I have to give total credit to my younger sister. She and I were having a discussion on the phone a few days ago, and she mentioned something about small fish in a big ocean. That discussion got me to thinking about how so many people these days feel that they're better than others, and I thought the whole small fish in the ocean is a decent analogy to hopefully get my point across. I want to thank my sister again for the inspiration, and this just goes to show how the interactions with others can often be the spark for motivating us. Before moving forward with this week's topic, I want to stress that I'm in no way conveying that we shouldn't see ourselves as people of value and worth. I'm simply hoping to get others to see that there is a bigger picture at work that is happening.

So what exactly does the small fish in a big ocean analogy refer to? I'm pretty sure that all of you probably get it, but for the sake of trying to get a point across, I'll go ahead and talk about it. I personally see the oceans and large bodies of water that occupy this Earth as being similar to humans and how we interact with the world in general. The planet that we're living on in gigantic, and the same applies to these large masses of waters. So there are all kind of animals that inhabit these waters right? You have your whales, sharks, etc right? Then you have your smaller fish and sea creatures that are existing out there as well. From my perspective, this can somewhat be equivalent to how we are as humans in regards to the way we look, our races, etc. So there's this entire ocean of creatures out there trying to survive, similar to how we as humans fight for survival as well to a lesser extent. So I want you to think about this; if a shark or another of the more powerful creatures out in the ocean eats one of the smaller creatures that are in the ocean as well, does the entire ocean cease to keep existing? Of course not. The same thing applies to us as humans. When a person dies, the world continues to move forward right? Life will end for all of us eventually, but that doesn't mean that the world won't keep on carrying on. This is exactly why I say that no one is better than anyone else, because regardless of how important someone may be, life will continue to carry on despite that person no longer being here.

I know that me saying all of what I said above sounds like doom and gloom, but it is a true fact that death is just a part of life. None of us will be here forever, which is why I feel it is important to laugh and smile as much as you possibly can. Now that I've gotten the whole small fish and big ocean analogy out of the way, I wanna give my thoughts on what we can do to make ourselves more valuable during our time here on this Earth. First off, keeping a level of humility is important, but I feel the most important way to be valuable is to make an impact on the lives others while you're here. From my perspective, making an impact doesn't mean that you have to be a celebrity, TV personality, or athlete. It doesn't mean that you have to have a lot of money or resources, although having those things can definitely give the people that have obtained those things the ability to have a greater impact. I think that the best way to make an impact means leaving a part of yourself behind for others. If you're a parent, it means leaving the values and teachings that you gave to your kids behind for them to have an impact on the lives of others. If you're an older sibling, it means being a positive role model to your younger sibling. If you're a mentor, it means leaving an imprint on those you're teaching. Having an impact means that you were valuable to the life others. It means that you were able to make someone else life easier, or you were able help that person through the trials they may be facing. Again, regardless of who you may be, you can always have a positive impact on the lives of other people.

Now I feel it is entirely okay for a person to have confidence in themselves and their abilities. However, I feel that many people today confuse confidence with cockiness. It's okay to see yourself as worthy and valuable, but also remember that there is a bigger world outside of the one you're living in. Going back to the ocean analogy, some peoples impact can be like a whale, and some people are similar to sharks, squad, etc. Some people are like regular fish, and some are the smaller creatures in the ocean. However big or important you feel you are, try to focus on leaving a lasting impact. When we look at the television personalties and celebrities, try to remember that they are just humans like we are. As I stated earlier, everyone matters regardless of what people may think. The truth of the matter is that none of us are going to outlive this life that we're in, and we're all going to have to exit here eventually. Just like the soldiers that may be involved in a war; when one of their comrades fall they mourn them, but they continue to press on right? That's exactly how this world is. Life will always carry on. To end this topic, the quote I'm going to leave with comes from Behdad Sami. The quotes goes: "Some people like being a big fish in a small pond, others a ferocious shark in the ocean, I rather be the ocean. In the end, fish die."

Well we've reached the end of this week's topic folks. Thank you once again to everyone that stopped by for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As usual, my hope is that there was some meaning and understanding that could be gained from this topic. Even if that may not always be the case of some people, it is totally okay. Your visit and support is still greatly appreciated. If you have any comments or thoughts to share, feel free to leave them for me. Well the weekend is upon us again, and this is Mother's Day weekend. Big shout out to all the mothers out there. I hope you all enjoy your day, and for the people out there that still have your mother in your life, take a little time out of this weekend to spend with your mom. Hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll see you all in the next post. Till the next time we meet, I wish you all peace, happiness, and positive thoughts.

©2017 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.