Smile first

 

 First Stop Paris

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2012

For about a year now I've wanted to write a blog about
happiness.  I'm not exactly an expert, but I've taught
courses on change management, and for about eight
years a psychology course at a community college,
and in countless cases I've seen what works.

Who am I?  I'm an artist and a teacher, a mother of
two sons and a very happy wife.  My expertise on
happiness is partially anecdotal, and also from
research because I find the topic endlessly fascinating.

What's odd is that we often hone our skills in happiness
at very hard times in our lives.  I started wanting to be
happy probably at birth.  But really began working on
it when I was the mother of a young child, my first born,
and worried that my own lack of understanding of how
 to be happy would get in his way.  He is a grown man now,
and married the one he loves this year, so I feel like my
decision to figure out how to be has worked out well
for him.

With one reason for my passion

 for happiness -- Christopher

I'm calling the blog Smile First -- because that is the
most basic rule for happiness.  Try smiling -- even
if times are hard.  Even if you've been crying because
of a horrible loss.  It is known that smiling  tells
the brain that you are happy.  We smile when we're
happy, and smiling also makes us happy.

Last night I watched a Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy --
she explains about a great study she carried
out at Harvard on Body Language.
That's also where I got the idea for my blog title.
I'm sure I'll be linked to lots of Dentistry blogs,
but I have long wanted a place to talk about
happiness in addition to my talk about art.  I do
try to combine the two because they are linked in my
mind.  But from time to time when the happiness
writing urge hits.  This will be the place.

Have a smiling first day.