By Tammy Seibert
It is the beauty secret we don’t consider to be the most important, and yet it has the most profound effect.
Happiness is directly related to inner beauty and our inner beauty is what truly makes us SHINE.
Happiness starts within. It is important to look within to find our own contentment and ultimate joy and we cannot depend on others to do the work for us. With many of us becoming Empty-Nesters, it is up to us to revisit old pleasures that brought a smile in the past. It is so easy to forget when they are lost in the mundane of everyday life while raising our families. Once we understand our own happiness we can share it with others.
When Marcie asked me to be a contributor to this blog, I didn’t hesitate to say yes and jump in with both feet. Fashion, photography, blogging, social media, creativity and finding my tribe of like-minded women gives me so much joy. Conscious Choice is creative, the heart of authenticity. You should make a list of ten things that bring you joy and then you should start doing those things immediately.
My List of Ten
- Love – daily kisses, touch and happy pandemonium from my family and rescue pup Berkeley Rue, and spending quality time with friends
- Water – the color of turquoise, pools, glimmering in the sunlight, lakes, oceans
- Tea – Mornings and afternoons
- Spirituality – Journaling and Meditation and quiet time alone
- Nature – Gardens, flowers, trees, taking long walks and hikes
- Romance – Candlelight, driving in a convertible for date night, mystery
- Music that stirs me – I play piano and clarinet and sing and I love musicals
- Books – my ultimate weakness and inspiration…reading
- Fashion – designing outfits, shopping for bargains…fashion magazines
- Creativity – Everyday I need to create something on some level, blogging, photography, painting, writing, and cooking
I do believe happiness begins with a grateful heart. We can appreciate the beauty around us or we can ignore it and dwell on the negative. I choose to appreciate the beauty and romance in the everyday. I am very fortunate that for the last twenty years of owning A Spot For Tea, I have been allowed to play dress-up for children’s tea parties and am now coordinating and catering to families on one of the most important days of their lives at Walnut Creek Wedding Chapel.
It is about riches but not about wealth. I have known those with so much who have so little and those with so little who have so much. If we are grateful, that adds an inner beauty that far outshines anything else. No label on a dress can give you what inner happiness can. Hey, remember this isn’t a dress rehearsal…you only get one life to live.
The Real-Real Behind the Scenes
My parents are 80 and 76 and this picture was taken at The Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Show in January. I bought my dad “The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer” and I am currently reading “The Blue Zones of Happiness.” My parents are an inspiration to me because they have lived with purpose and chosen to be very active in their own aging process. Health and happiness are not something we should ever take for granted.
A Little Background Music
Of course!
Shopping Links
Chiffon Bohemian Floral Split Front with Tie Maxi Dress, Oshoplive, $30.
Floral Bohemian Long Cover-Up, Oshoplive, $36.
Floral Bohemian V-Neck Maxi Dress, Oshoplive, $26.
Women’s Packable Felt Hat, Magellan’s, $20.
*Photos of Tammy by Marcie Everhart
