I was talking with MaryLee Johnson not long ago and she told me in my last report I should have also mentioned The Wall Street Journal as another great information source. She was absolutely correct and I wanted to pass that along. Thank you, MaryLee!

I have had more time than usual to read this winter and spring. It looks like the cold, wet spring will continue for a while. We can usually count on an 80-degree day or two in February, but not this year. It has been the first time that all of my tulips haven’t opened up in a three- or four-day span, and all the freesia hasn’t blasted open all at once. There is something good in anything. This brings me to a book I am currently reading. My dad bought a dozen of these books and handed them out to anyone who would take one. I always take him up on any of his offers because we think alike. My dad has given me tons of great business, as well as life, advice, so when he talks, I listen. This particular book of the month is Happy for No Reason by Marci Shimoff.

I can honestly say that I am truly happy 95% of the time. It is the other 5% that bugs me sometimes. I think the majority of people have ‘that percentage’, whatever it may be, which keeps us from being truly happy 100% of the time, no matter what the circumstances may be.

Aristotle wrote “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”.

Is it really possible to be happy 100% of the time? Shimoff says yes. She studied 100 people, who had extraordinary events happen in their lives, yet they remain extremely happy everyday. She found they all followed three basic principles:

1. What expands makes you happier. (The Law of Expansion)
2. The Universe is out to support you. (The Law of Universal Support)
3. What you appreciate, appreciates. (the Law of Attraction)

For more explanation of these laws, you need to read the book. They are simple yet so important. Shimoff also lists a 7-step approach to being happy with similarities to building a house.

1. The Foundation—take ownership of your happiness.
2. The Pillar of the Mind—don’t believe everything you think.
3. The Pillar of the Heart—let love lead.
4. The Pillar of the Body—make your cells happy.
5. The Pillar of the Soul—plug yourself into spirit.
6. The Roof—live a life inspired by purpose.
7. The Garden —cultivate nourishing relationships.

One reason I’m enjoying this book so much is that it reminds me of ASCFG members. Most are truly happy. Most are inspired by purpose, are certainly cultivating nourishing relationships, and strive to keep that garden growing. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative things that happen around us every day, and it takes time and breaking of old habits to truly be happy for no reason. But if any group has the power to be happy and to spread that happiness, it’s the ASCFG.

As you get wrapped up in the business of the growing season, remember what Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.”

I wish a great season for everyone, with plenty of sunshine!