{"id":379462,"date":"2014-07-11T19:42:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-11T19:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2014\/07\/11\/oh-100happydays\/"},"modified":"2014-07-11T19:42:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T19:42:00","slug":"oh-100happydays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2014\/07\/11\/oh-100happydays\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh, #100HappyDays"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/div>\n
Oh, Happy Days.<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

#100HappyDays!<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

JOURNEYERS!<\/span><\/b> Did you see the Today show this morning?<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I must admit I did not. It is a rare occasion I watch television or film, but I can happily report that I obtain the vast majority of my worldly news via The Huffington Post or through you, my friends, through your blogs and your social media pages and through our wonderful in-person and cyber conversations.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

That is how I learned about the #100HappyDays craze<\/span><\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I must admit that at first, I was a little, teensy-weensy, jealous.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Okay, maybe more like Pluto-sized envious.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

#HappyHappens is the VERY thing we\u2019ve been doing for four-and-a-half years, that\u2019s like a #GazillionHappyDays!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only been #1004HappyDays since that very first post Webs of Joy<\/span><\/a>.<\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

That\u2019s #143Weeks+3HappyDays!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And as much as I love math, I\u2019m no Rainman. These numbers are coming to you from the brilliant minds behind this great webpage<\/span><\/a> I found via Google, a<\/span><\/span>company that definitely knows how to keep #HappyHappening in the work place<\/span><\/a>!<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

As I read that Today piece about Dmitry Golubnichy, the mastermind behind #100HappyDays, I began to feel that green-eyed sensation wash over me like a tidal wave.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Some people have all the luck<\/span><\/i>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And then I remembered my newfound friend, Angela Schmoll, who I first connected with via my work on grief and healing.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

A stray comment on another site led her to my #HappyHappens column, which led her to a deeper reflection, which led her to this beautiful journey into joy<\/span><\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

An in-person meeting will one day headline this series, Journeyers\u2026I just know it\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

At a time when I felt like the work I love so much wasn\u2019t making a difference, Angela reminded me that we can change the world by effecting the life of but one person.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that Bill Winston quote: \u201cTo the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
One simple moment bringing two people together, forever enriching both lives.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Somehow Dmitry Golubnichy has created a social media movement that has landed him on the Today show and one that could land him a book deal.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The coveted contract with a powerhouse publisher like Simon & Schuster or Random House.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

BA-BAM!<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

New York Times Bestseller!!<\/span><\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Just. Like. That.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Even as I felt the pointed horns begin to protrude from my skull and my blood turn green, I remembered several things.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Firstly, though I dream of one day waking up to some forty-thousand followers, I am not only grateful for the forty-some people that join me each week, I do not write for that reason.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Stories and words are my silver spoon; they are what keep me healthy and whole, richer than any class or blue ribbon chocolate peanut butter pie.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

As I was trying to find the person who wrote something like \u201cWrite because you love to write, not because of the money,\u201d I stumbled across this poignant post<\/span><\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

It was as if these words, \u201c<\/span>We begin to focus on the audience more than the act of creating, and ultimately, our art suffers,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> <\/span>whispered into my ear Breathe, Annah, just focus on breathing your life out and onto the page the way you were born to<\/i>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Jeff\u2019s words not only highlighted something I\u2019ve known for quite some time, they reminded me of why I write.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I write because I don\u2019t know how not to write.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I write because it makes a difference in my life.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I need to say that again\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I write because it makes a difference in my life.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Every person whose life I somehow touch is the whipped cream atop my favorite slice of dessert.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Along the way, I have let the numbers influence my decisions, have allowed the comparison of others\u2019 stats create disappointment and deter me.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And I have to admit I\u2019ve been pretty anxious about how my lack of platform<\/i> might tarnish my chances at winning the Hay House book proposal contest.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

So, I spend what free time I do have reading countless other fabulous blogs, and trying to navigate a few shares and comments on Twitter and Pinterest and Facebook and on those other wonderful writer\u2019s even more wonderful-er sites.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Okay, okay, I occasinally lose track of time playing Candy Crush, too\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known for months that I spend more time trying to connect with others than I spend connecting with myself.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Dmitry Golubnichy didn\u2019t set out to change anyone\u2019s life other than his own.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

He set out to build #100HappyDays.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

He created it. He published it.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And people came.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

There are millions who will hop on this bandwagon just because of the firestorm that has taken over social media and the Today show.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

They will be but a flash in the pan, people whose sparks will burn out faster than the shooting stars that fill my happy as they flit across my nighttime sky.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

They will remember neither feeling nor fame and will move on to the next Mr. or Mrs. Fifteen Minutes.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

But then there will be others like Angela\u2014hopefully millions of Angelas\u2014people who will relate to Dmitry\u2019s endeavors on a deeply personal level.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The spiritual calling will become their own and they will pay it forward simply by breathing their own happiness out into the world around them.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Thank you Dmitry, for your #100HappyDays that have lived on and for bringing me back to another of my own\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Moment by moment, Journeyer, #HappyHappens\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Until next we meet again, yours in healing, hope, and happiness\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>~AE<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Soon\u2026<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh, Happy Days. #100HappyDays! JOURNEYERS! Did you see the Today show this morning? I must admit I did not. It is a rare occasion I watch television or film, but I can happily report that I obtain the vast majority of my worldly news via The Huffington Post or through you, my friends, through your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1257,316,1259,320,1260,1261],"class_list":["post-379462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-100happydays","tag-happyhappens","tag-dmitrygolubnichy","tag-random-happiness","tag-the-today-show","tag-today"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Oh-23100HappyDays-Image.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}