Category: Feeling Happy

A CALL TO AN OLD FRIEND IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Published on by Brigitte NiocheLeave a comment

…..TO YOU AND HER OR HIM!

During this time of the year I always get a little weepy, and the goodwill towards the world in my heart suddenly awakens from its hibernation it went into after last Christmas.

Getting out my address book all the ghost of the pass stand up – Oh, look there is Maureen – wonder what happened to her – going further there are lots of Maureens I have not been in contact with for a while. Actually rather a long while, which makes me impatient and writing a card and maybe not getting one back won’t do. So I make a phone list – I know phones work in two ways and it is tempting to think – well she could have called me too – but she didn’t!

I had a friend who said  ‘if you don’t call your friends after a while  you won’t have any.’ I first doubted that, but through the years it proved to be true.  The reward of making the first step is hearing the delight in the voice on the other end of the line, “Is it really you Brigitte? who would have thought? How have you been? I often thought of you and wondered how you are.”  It is hard to get a word in at first but eventually you get the chance to say how often you thought of them too!

By making the first step you will not  only find your friends back, but also wonderful memories  of the times you shared together.

Always remember – A Smile Changes Everything

Brigitte

 

 

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Quote Of The Day – Love Has No Age!

Published on by Brigitte Nioche1 Comment
Love has never been a question of age . I shall never be so old as to forget what love is.                                                                                                                                Colette

This is true for me and I hope it is true for you too!!!!

And Never Forget – A Smile Changes Everything!

Brigitte

Your Age Is Nobody’s Business!

Published on by Brigitte Nioche5 Comments

 

No, I won’t tell you how old I am. If I do, you will see me with different eyes, and you will judge everything I do or say with that number in mind.

I made the mistake once telling someone my age. I regretted it instantly and still do. Janet, a friend of mine living in Switzerland who is ten years younger than I, was visiting New York, and it was my birthday. We went to a bar to have a few drinks, when suddenly she said, “So tell me, how old are you today?” And I fell into the trap.

Maybe it was the third glass of wine, or maybe it was because I knew I didn’t look much older than she. Anyway, my ego took over, and I told her.

“Can I help you carry that?” she asked the next day when I was holding a small package. Shit, I thought, why did I tell her? Later, when she asked me if I would like to go to Costa Rica with her, she qualified that things are really quite comfortable there and I shouldn’t worry.

Why would I worry? But she did, now that she knew my age.

It is often said that age is “only a number” and the difference lies in what you do with that number. sorry for the cliché, but this loosely translates into “You are only as old as you feel.”

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If you are in doubt that telling people your age influences their behavior towards you – try it out. Many of my readers have come back to me and confirmed this to be true. It’s is not a matter of hiding our age, no we are proud of it, but it is nobody’s business – remember the time when nobody dared to asked such a question??? Today people do, but we still don’t have to tell them.

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This is an excerpt from my book ‘Living Longer Living Well” (more on my next blog)

And Never Forget – A Smile Changes Everything!

Brigitte

 

Old Friends Can Be New Friends Again

Published on by Brigitte Nioche4 Comments

Women, Girlfriends, Nature, Walk

Articles in newspapers and magazine, including AARP, TV programs, many featuring health experts, and even doctors now all agree that loneliness can cut our live short. But advice how to overcome it varies.  One idea, however,  keeps popping up again and again:

“You must make new friends!” Not impossible but easier said than done. Yes, I am out there meeting new people but they don’t always turn into friends. And if they do we have little history together and making history  takes time (and  how much time do I have?)

So when the other day I was cleaning out a desk drawer I saw an old address book. I opened it slowly and started reading the names – oh, there was Janine’s name – I remember her as a fun person always ready for a joke. And there is Peter’s name – did he ever get  married to the girl he was dating? After thinking and wondering for a while I told myself to stop wondering and to pick up the phone and dial the number I still had – surprise  – it worked-and many other worked too. And if you wonder how to start a conversation after 5-10-15 years, my opening is,  “This is a voice from the  past, this is Brigitte.'” Silence – but not for long,  “Oh, really  what a surprise – how have you been? How nice to hear from you….” and so on and so on.

One of my here is a voice from the past calls was to a couple who had attended my son’s wedding 20 years ago . It took us close to an hour to catch up a little, a promise to meet soon and not to lose touch again was confirmed by exchanging emails.

I have other examples, but I don’t want to bore you with my friends. I am sure  you have an old address book too! Reading through it is a nice way to walk down memory lane and to bring back the past – now being older the past is something we need more than ever.

And it might only be  a phone call away – make that call and say ‘here is a voice from the past!’

And Never forget – A smile Changes Everything!

Brigitte

 

 

Growing Older, Getting Happier

Published on by Brigitte Nioche1 Comment

This is a very positive take on growing older and I wanted to share it with you. Hope these facts make you Happier too.

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Growing Older, Getting Happier
By Nicholas Bakalar
August 24, 2016 4:00 pm August 24, 2016 4:00 pm 48

Older people tend to be happier than younger people, and their happiness increases with age, a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reports.

Researchers contacted 1,546 people ages 21 to 99 via random telephone calls and found that older age was, not surprisingly, tied to declines in physical and cognitive function. But it was also associated with higher levels of overall satisfaction, happiness and well-being, and lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress. The older the person, the study found, the better his or her mental health tended to be.

The researchers used well-validated scales to assess mental health, although the study relied on self-reports and was a snapshot in time that did not follow an individual through a lifetime.  Other studies have found similar results linking advancing age and higher levels of happiness.

The reasons for the effect remain unclear, but the senior author, Dr. Dilip V. Jeste, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, had some suggestions.

“Brain studies show that the amygdala in older people responds less to stressful or negative images than in a younger person,” he said. “We become wise. Peer pressure loses its sting. Better decision-making, more control of emotions, doing things that are not just for yourself, knowing oneself better, being more studious and yet more decisive.

“This is good news for young people, too,” he added. “You have something to look forward to.”

And Never forget – A Smile Changes Everything!

Brigitte

 

Flowers are the Smile of Nature

Published on by Brigitte NiocheLeave a comment

How true! And don’t we all need smiles in our life? I saw this written on a sign in a beautiful garden in Germany – it’s worth sharing and sending you some of the natures smiles as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope your 4th of JULY weekend if full of smiles and flowers

Brigitte

 

appearance self-respect

APPEARANCE EQUALS SELF-RESPECT

Published on by Brigitte Nioche2 Comments

If you are like me and you like looking at pretty things, including  pretty, well-dressed women this is a little reminder not to forget ourselves. The French have a lovely expression when looking at a beautiful woman –  ‘se rinser l’oil’  – it means ‘to feast your eyes.’

And if you tell me that I am putting too much emphasize on appearance, stop and think a minute – doesn’t the first impression influence us in forming an opinion about a person? Of course this is nothing new.

Here are a quotes going back as far as the eighteenth-century.

‘Dress changes the manner’  – French philosopher Voltaire   voltaire

‘People who can’t get  it together are uninterested in themselves’  – American designer Halston

‘A respectable appearance is sufficient to make people more interested in your soul’ – French Designer Karl Lagerfeld

‘The clothes we wear send a message about how the world perceives us’ – Tim Gunn from Project Runway (Maybe it was one of your favorite programs?)

Now looking our best does not happen by itself. Not even the models smiling down at us from the pages of magazines get up in the morning looking glamorous. But we all know they have a lot of help before they are photographed for the pages of Vogue. And even women who are not models, and that is most of us, need a little help. And the person to help you, is you.

Take some time to create the picture you want the world to see   —  and wouldn’t it be nice if somebody would feast their eyes on you?

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And never forget- A Smile Changes Everything!

2016-01-27 12.40.02 (5)Brigitte

 

 

 

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DOS AND DON’TS FOR HAPPINESS – FLOWERS

Published on by Brigitte Nioche4 Comments

happiness flowers

Sharing a few friendly words with another person, even a stranger in a supermarket or a train station, or when the situation allows, is easy. All you have to do is smile, ask a  question, and start the conversation.

This is what I did last Saturday. I walked up to the flower display at Loews, where a lady was looking at the flowers too.

“Aren’t they pretty?” I asked her

“Yes, but then you never know how long they will last, how fresh they are, and if you like them when you get them home.”

This is a DON’T.

Watching her walk away without flowers I was wondering how somebody can have so many excuses for not wanting a splash of cheerfulness in their life. (No, she didn’t look like she couldn’t afford to buy flowers.  She was very well dressed and groomed). And it was not the flowers fault either, they looked very fresh.  It was her negative attitude that prevented her from taking home a pretty bunch of flowers which would have added a ray of sunshine to her day.

Andrew Weil M.D.  who often appeared on Channel 13 giving advice on how to make us feel better, always mentioned that flowers should be part of our life, because, besides their beauty, they give us energy –

 

…but you have to buy the flowers first!

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If YOU have experienced any negative or positive behavior it would be wonderful if you shared it with us. It will remind us how to embrace the positive in life, and how important it is to get rid of anything negative.

Thank you for participating in this quest.

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And never forget – A Smile Changes Everything

Brigitte

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WHY LIVE A COMPLICATED LIFE?

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Why Live a Complicated Life?

  • Miss someone?  ….  CALL                    
  • Wanna meet?  ….  INVITE
  • Wanna be understood?  ….  EXPLAIN
  • Have a question?  ….  ASK
  • Don’t like it?  ….  SAY IT
  • Like it?  ….  STATE IT
  • Want something?  ….  ASK FOR IT
  • Like someone?  ….  TELL THEM


NOBODY WILL KNOW WHAT’S GOING IN YOUR MIND.

IT’S BETTER TO EXPRESS RATHER THAN TO EXPECT !!!  

           We have just one life. Keep it simple. BE HAPPY !!!!

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And never forget….A Smile Changes Everything!

Brigitte

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LOVE HANDLES – DO YOU WANT TO GET RID OF THEM?

Published on by Brigitte NiocheLeave a comment

Good Morning Everyone.

What a silly question you will say. Of course I do – but how? I know from experience that with exercise it is very difficult to lose stubborn fat at a specific place. Exercise firms the body but that little pouch or extra fat somewhere does not seem to be impressed by exercise.

So while visiting my dermatologist to have a mold taken care of I found a brochure in the waiting room that talked about Body Contouring. Never having heard of it (maybe I am a little behind) I read on.

No, it is not liposuction. The brochure explained that it is done with lasers, and best of all the 25 minute procedure avoids surgery. If you are interested in learning more go to http://www.sculpsure.com.

I believe in solutions and having choices. This might be one for you to say goodbye to any little extra padding you might have here or there!

Never forget  – A Smile Changes Everything

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Brigitte

YOUR THOUGHTS – it would be interesting to hear from anyone who had it done, or who is thinking about it – please leave a comment