Self Help ME!

 It should not be a surprise to anyone, that I read great quantities of books. So it needn't alarm you, that I like to throw in a Self Help book, every fourth book or so.
 I have just finished two, that I would like to offer up to any one wishing to learn more about their self!!
 Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live by Martha Beck and The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life also by Martha Beck ( note this is not a diet book!!)

 These two reads, were just so fantastic, that you just have to trust me. I think all humans should be trying to better themselves, it takes research and work, but we are so worth it. We benefit, and those we surround may reap the rewards. I too believe in good meds, and a therapist, but knowledge is power,  keep reading.
I also believe in deep knee bend praying, and some holy water thrown about! I engage in yoga, zumba, tai chi, chi chi, ho ho, and he he!! Whatever it takes, to live a happy life and pay it forward.

Let me just temp you with some lines from these two pills, take with a tall glass of something!!

The North Star:
     * Any good Buddhist will tell you, the only way to find permanent joy is by embracing the fact that nothing is permanent.
     *she gave me some of the best advice I've ever heard. " Listen," she said, "you're supposed to avoid stress and get lots of rest. But if your soul wants to dance, staying in bed is stressful!"
     *Thanks for sharing Yoda, but I have rent to pay and a cat to feed!
     *we choose elements of what William James called "the blooming, buzzing confusion" around us, and build our stories from a very limited selection of facts.
      *some people have the maternal tenderness of a starving crocodile!
Are you healed now, feeling better, finding your own North Star? I had highlighted 79 places, this book is a keeper.
So I liked this woman, so I downloaded her next book, Joy Diet, one I liked Joy in the title and it was not about weight loss.
 Here goes.
      * doing nothing is the most productive activity you will ever undertake
      *always end with me hunched at my computer, muttering and rocking like Rain Man when he couldn't get cheese puffs. ( you have to read the book! this is about a child asking for something a million times!)
      * I suggest that instead of spending your idle time stewing in guilt, you do nothing with pride and gusto.
      * the typical human mind is like a supercomputer possessed by the soul of a demented squirrel.
      * Michelangelo once said, " If people knew how hard I work, they wouldn't find my achievements so remarkable."
It takes WORK to be remarkable, it takes WORK to be kind and live a life of Joy. People who read self-help books tend to be members of the High Achievement Club. I feel like if you are reading my blog, you too are in my club. Always learning, seeking to be better and understanding.
Picasso said, " I have worked all my life to learn how to paint like a child." This is gold.
This blog makes me happy, these books helped me write this blog, hope you get a chance to read them.
You were born for Joy.
psssss. My favorite shrink asked me, " Why do you think you are suppose to be happy Bonnie?" I think I will send him these books, AND charge him 200 dollars an hour!! ( I do love him as a shrink!) ( he just needs some joy juice!)