HGC

Fickle are emotions,
And fleeting happiness can be.
Yet these aren't constant like oceans,
Because we have the response-ability
To ignore these notions.

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Henry George Champe would have been 98 years old today. He was the kindest, most pleasant, and most gentle soul I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I count myself incredibly lucky that not only did I meet him, but I got to spend my childhood growing up with him. His ideas were well before his time. In recent years, I've seen quite a few TED talks and other such things that talk about manufacturing happiness. But Harry was the OG. He was able to manufacture happiness from seemingly minute things in his everyday life. Whether it was a glass of ice cold root beer or painting his car orange, Harry did things that made him happy and that happiness came through in his personality. He was so happy as a person that he had to give some out to people he bumped into each and every day. He was overflowing with happiness and he did his best to help other people reach the same heights.

I remember going to lunch with him one afternoon at the Big Boy on Pontiac Trail, and as we finished our lunch, he cracked an enormous grin. He had brought a stuffed animal with him for the specific purpose of seeing the waiter's smile when he gave it to them. The mere thought of making someone else smile made him happy. He really understood how to get the most out of life. He left the money and the animal on the table and we walked towards the door, but he stopped short, turned around and waited for the waiter to see what he had left for them. When the waiter had walked back out of the kitchen and saw the gift Harry had left her, she couldn't help but smile widely.

Harry was the master of happiness, and I am ashamed that at times, I forget his teachings. My goal this year is to remember Harry whenever I need a pick-me-up. Remember Harry and put his ideas to work for myself, and in turn for others.

ARC

The Five Love Languages

New year, new resolve
Time to get back on the horse
And sprint back ahead

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This book was written by Dr. Gary Chapman, and although he rubs me the wrong way personally, there is some really high quality information in this book. He talks about how there are different languages that people speak in regards to love. There are different things that make each individual feel loved, and they fall into 5 different buckets (in no particular order):
   Touch - running your hands through their hair, kissing them on the cheek, making love
   Words of affirmation - "I love you", "You look great today", "I'm so grateful for everything you        do"
   Acts of service - cooking dinner, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes
   Gifts - bringing home flowers, getting tickets to a movie or sporting event, surprising them with a      new toy
   Quality time - sitting and talking, going to museums, going on walks
No one speaks exclusively one language and everyone appreciates each of these buckets to some degree. But you do have a primary, secondary, and so on and so forth.

The key to having a strong relationship isn't just finding someone else that speaks the same language as you, rather it's speaking to them in their primary language. You could have the same primary language as your SO, but fail to speak to them in that language and the relationship will suffer because of it. You need to discover your SO's primary language, and help them to understand your primary language so that you can converse in the most beneficial way.

If my primary language is Quality time, someone could buy me thousands of dollars worth of gifts, and I still won't feel as loved as if they spent an afternoon with me at the museum walking and talking and experiencing with me.

In my particular order:
Touch
Quality Time
Words of affirmation
Acts of service
Gifts

ARC