Happy - Pharrell Williams (Music Video)

We watched the movie, Despicable Me 2 with the kids, and this song called, "Happy" (2013) by Pharrell Williams was featured.  It is so upbeat and fun.  Hope you enjoy it!

Get happy!

- Angela G. Gentile

Choose to be a Flourisher

"Flourish"
 Photo credit: Angela G. Gentile

About 17% of Americans are flourishers, says a study in American Psychologist. They have a positive outlook on life, a sense of purpose and community, and are healthier than "languishers"—about 10% of adults who don’t feel good about themselves. Most of us fall somewhere in between. 

"We should strive to flourish, to find meaning in our lives," says Corey Keyes, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at Emory University. "In Sardinia and Okinawa, where people live the longest, hard work is important, but not more so than spending time with family, nurturing spirituality, and doing for others."

I choose to flourish.  What about you?

Want more? Check out the book, Flourish by Martin Seligman: 

Have an awesome day!

Angela G. Gentile

Keep Learning to Keep Your Mind Active and Your Spirit Happy

I have always said that it's important to keep learning.  If you are not learning, you are not living.  Learning new things that interests you keeps your mind active and the spirit happy.  I believe a commitment to lifelong learning is an important key to aging well. 

As a case in point, consider my husband (47).  In the last three and a half years, he has committed to learning how to fly airplanes.  On top of his full-time day job, he has put in countless hours of studying, as well as many hours of both ground school and flying lessons.  On June 19, 2013, he took his flight test, and passed.  He is now an official "Pilot in Command" (PIC).  We, his family and friends, are very proud of him!

What are you going to do to keep your mind active?  What can you do to make your spirit happy?

If you liked this post, you may also like: Flying High

-- Angela G. Gentile

The Happy Secret to Better Work - Video

Check out this great video on happiness and positive psychology.  The Happy Secret to Better Work (2011) is an entertaining, funny, and informative 12 minute Ted talk by Happiness Researcher, Shawn Achor.  He is a Harvard graduate, and has taught his "Happiness" course there for over ten years.



Click on the arrow above, or go to this link:  http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

I believe that it is very important to focus on what is good in our lives.  I make an effort, every day, to find goodness and joy no matter where I go.  I limit my exposure to the news, which helps a lot.

Have an awesome day!

-- Angela G. Gentile

Gay is My Middle Name

No joke.  My middle name is Gay.  Every little girl's nightmare. I remember as a child, I would be teased by the kids at school for having the middle name, "Gay".  They would joke and say that I was gay (homosexual), because my middle name was Gay.  I would try to hide my embarrassment, by telling myself that my middle name was actually "Gayle".  You know, like Oprah Winfrey's best friend, Gayle King.  My mom would tell me that the name Gay was a nice name back in the day (I was born in the mid-60s).  I was always ashamed of my middle name, and would try to hide it.  My mom had a friend who's first name was Gay.  I remember having a special bond with her, in name only.  I remember watching reruns of "The Flintstones"cartoons, listening to the theme song that promised, "you'll have a gay old time" when you're with the Flintstones.  I tried to make peace with my middle name, but it didn't come for a long time.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being homosexual.  It's just that back then, homosexuality was not as accepted as it is now.  Kids have teased each other based on their name or nickname, or middle name for ages (and they most likely always will).  My husband's nickname was "Aggie".  You can just imagine what the kids did with that one.

According to Mirriam-Webster's dictionary, the first and second definitions of "gay" are, HAPPILY EXCITED (as in merry), KEENLY ALIVE AND EXUBERANT, HAVING OR INDUCING HIGH SPIRITS.  It can also mean, BRIGHT & LIVELY and BRILLIANT COLOUR.  (On the other hand, gay can also be another word for a homosexual.)

As I have matured, I have become to appreciate the original meaning of gay, as happily excited, keenly alive, exuberant, and having high spirits.  My middle name has become one of my mottos in life.  I like to live life with a positive, upbeat outlook.  I want to live life with exuberance.  Life is so short, so why not choose to live it with high spirits.  I love to fill my life with bright, lively and brilliant colours. I guess you could say that "Gay is my middle name". 

Have a wonderful day!

-- Angela Gay Gentile

Once a Mother, Always a Mother

When I was 12, I learned about how grueling and painful childbirth can be.  I remember saying to my mom, "I don't want kids".  It was because of the fear of childbirth.  As I got older, I started to realize how important it was to me to have children of my own one day.  I started fantasizing about the ideal family - a boy and a girl.  I wanted them at the same time.  Twins.  How perfect would that be.

I got a puppy when I was about 16.  It was my trial run at being a mother.  I had enjoyed babysitting, but I had never really taken it that seriously.  Kids were cute, but I really didn't know what to do with them when they were crying.  Raising that little puppy was fun.  I learned about responsibility.

I moved away from home, to attend university.  It was about a 4 hour drive from home.  Soon after, I fell in love with a man who I could see being my husband and father of my children one day.  We married in 1990, and started planning our future together.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get pregnant.  It took visits to the specialists to find out what was wrong.  I started to come to the conclusion that I was not going to have children of my own.  I applied to go back to Graduate school.  Although I was devastated, I had considered other options such as adoption.  I still felt it was in my future to have children one day.

Once I had relaxed about trying to get pregnant, and changed my focus onto other things, I became pregnant!  My 2 and a half year journey of infertility was ended when we did a home pregnancy test.  Oh, the joy!

My pregnancy was uneventful, but the labour was very difficult.  It ended in a Cesarean section, and a beautiful baby boy.  Motherhood was all that I had dreamed of.  I was very happy.

My second baby came sooner than we had expected.  With the difficulty of conceiving the first time, I thought for sure it may take another 4 years or so.  2 years and 4 months later, our beautiful baby girl was born.  Again, an uneventful pregnancy, but a difficult delivery.  This time it was a forceps delivery.  I had said that I didn't want any more children, because for sure, the third one would kill me.

Raising two children has taught me so much about how tough it is to be a mom.  I have also learned that if you put forth a lot of time and effort in the beginning, it really pays off in the end.  I have two amazing children (now teenagers), and I love them both so dearly.  The intensity of looking after little children is now gone.  Watching my children mature and plan for their own futures is such a joy to watch.  These two special people have been given to me (and my husband) for only a short time, to help nurture them and raise them into responsible, wonderful adults.  Then they will move on to build lives and families of their own.

Almost 18 years later, after my first child was born, I am preparing for my son's grade 12 graduation.  It is amazing how the time flies.  Before you know it, your precious little baby is a man.  He will start university in the fall.

One thing I know for sure, is that once you are a mother, you are always a mother.  I work with older adults and I see 80 and 90-year-old women who still speak highly and fondly of their adult children.  Family is so important, and keeping those relationship and ties strong as we age is even more important.  Being a mother is one of the most important, sometimes difficult, and rewarding jobs that I know of.  I hope you, too, are able to enjoy all that motherhood has to offer.

Wishing all of the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day, today and always.  And let us not forget all those who have come before us.

And thanks, Mom.  You are the greatest!

~ Angela G. Gentile

Inspire Your Brain (Don't Ignore It)

Photo Source:  http://blog.hunch.com/?m=201012

What to do -  How to inspire your brain:

Take care of stress.

Avoid dulling routine.

Do something creative every day.

Read poetry, spiritual material or anything else that makes you feel uplifted.

Take time to be in nature.

Bond with another person who is heartwarming.

Pay attention to being happy.

Make sure you take time every day by yourself to relax, meditate and self-reflect.

Deal with negative emotions like anger and anxiety.

Focus on activity that makes you feel fulfilled.

Give of yourself.

Follow a personal vision.

Attach yourself to a cause that is bigger than you are.

Take the risk to love and be loved.

What not to do - How to ignore your brain:

Get set in your ways.

Don't look beyond your opinions, likes and dislikes.

Isolate yourself from others.

Take relationships for granted.

Reconcile yourself to going downhill as you age.

Look upon the past as the best time of your life.

Forget about having ideals.

Act on selfish impulses.

Don't examine what makes you tick.

Give in to anger and anxiety.

Let life take care of itself.

Go along to get along.

Assume that you are automatically right.

Avoid anything new or challenging.

Put up with stress.

Take no emotional risks.

Distract yourself with mindless diversions like watching sports for hours on end.

From, "Super Brain", by Deepak Chopra.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/04/health/chopra-better-brain/index.html?hpt=hp_abar#cnn-disqus-area

Cuteness Overload

Watch as these 11-month-old twin girls react to their daddy's guitar playing.  It makes me happy.  Nice to see how music can bring so much joy to these little ones and their parents.



Click on the arrow above, or go to this link on YouTube, to see 11 Month Old Twins Dancing to Daddy's Guitar:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to7uIG8KYhg&feature=player_embedded

Have an awesome day!

Angela G. Gentile

Don't Be Afraid to Be "YOU"

Phyllis Diller, 1917-2012

When I learned of funny lady Phyllis Diller's death, I was quite surprised.  I had just been reading quotes on aging the day prior, and there were a couple of her quotes that made me laugh:  

I'm at an age when my back goes out more than I do.  -- Phyllis Diller

I don't know how you feel about old age...but in my case I didn't see it coming.  It hit me from the rear. 

-- Phyllis Diller

Phyllis Diller died at her home at age 95 on August 20, 2012.  I started looking for some videos of her, and found one where she talks about what she has learned about life.  She speaks very highly of a book called, "The Magic of Believing", by Claude M. Bristol.  I watched the video and thoroughly enjoyed her inspirational messages.  Some of the takeaway messages I get from her are:

Keep learning, up until your last breath.

Our minds are so great - it's a great computer.  

Don't be afraid to be "YOU".

Be the best YOU.  Be kind, gentle, sweet and darling.

Imagine wearing an imaginary white-feathered cape, so the negative, critical remarks bounce off you like water off a duck.

Think private, positive thoughts.

Be happy.  Convert everything in your life into love.

See her in this video, being interviewed by three different people at three different stages in her life.  She talks about "The Magic of Believing".  The video is called, Phyllis Diller on "The Magic of Believing", the book that shaped her life.



Click on the arrow above, or go to this YouTube link:  http://youtu.be/Ma0FbWLSOcU

What a beautiful woman.  She will be missed.  Rest in peace.

Have a great day,

Angela Gentile

Good Time (Music Video)

Here's a fun, upbeat song called, Good Time, by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen (2012).

Fun can be had at any age.



Click on the arrow above, or go to the following link:  http://youtu.be/H7HmzwI67ec

Have a great day!

Angela Gentile

Memory Bank



Image source: http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/at/memory-bank-061912.jpg


A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

“I love it,” he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait,” I said.

“That doesn't have anything to do with it,” he replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away, just for this time in my life.”




Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.



Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.


Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.


*Special thanks to Teresa, for sending me this email.


Angela Gentile

Aging With Greys

I am getting older.  We are all, aren't we?

I have a great interest in the study of aging.  Maybe it's because I am getting to that certain age, where I am noticing grey hair and wrinkles, and I am reading magazines that have advertising for things like Botox and Restylane.  Cheers of  "look younger", "fight the signs of aging" and "anti-aging technology" grace the pages of the magazines and TV ads.  As a middle-aged woman in a youth-obsessed culture, it's difficult to avoid these types of messages.

I did a little research and discovered some popular American personalities that were born in the same year as me, 1966.  What I came up with was Janet Jackson, Salma Hayek, Halle Berry, Cindy Crawford, and Daisy Fuentes.  I actually had no idea that these women were all my age.

When I look at these ladies, I can't help but notice they all look beautiful and I don't see a speck of grey (at least in the pictures I found).  They don't appear to have any wrinkles, either.  Are these the role models I have for women in my age group?  I thought Cindy Crawford looked really good, but then I found an article that said she most likely used Botox.  Am I at the age where women my age are starting to think about injections?  Surgery?  Plumpers?

I plan to age with greys - I used to colour my hair, but now I just highlight.  I think, if I colour my hair to hide the greys, when will it end?

Don't get me wrong, I am not against women dyeing their hair.  I am all for supporting women in what they want to do to make themselves feel better.  If a dye job can bring a woman a sense of well-being and happiness, then I am all for it.

Embrace the age you are, and enjoy the inner beauty that shines through.  When you are happy in your own skin, when you are being true to yourself, it is easy to accept that beauty is more than skin deep.  There is beauty in every age.

Have an awesome day!

~ Angela Gentile

How to be Happy

Found this on Pinterest.  Makes me thankful for my mental health.  Saw the musical, "Next to Normal", last night.  It's about a wife/mother who has mental illness (bipolar disorder) and how it affects her and her family.  It was eye-opening, and a great story.

Have an awesome day!

Angela Gentile

Happiness is a Clear Horizon

Found this gem on my Facebook page today, from Happy, A Documentary.  It's a short clip on how Mr. Alfred Hitchcock defines "happiness".  He says happiness is when you have a clear horizon, and there is no destruction, or hatred, only creativity.

Click on the arrow above, or go to this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14dOICbwSIs

Have a happy, creative day.

Angela Gentile

Coffee with a Smile

Source: http://i.imgur.com/0OduK.jpg   

Saw this picture on Reddit.com.  Had to share.  By FerociousImbecile.  

Caption was: This morning ;o)  

Have an awesome day!

Angela Gentile

Go with the Flow and be Happy

I saw a private screening of the film, "Happy" (2012) and in it a pyschologist by the name of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talked about the concept of "Flow".

There is a video on YouTube in which the psychologist describes the concept.



Click on the arrow above, or go to this YouTube link at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjliwSJGDiU&feature=related

A great description of FLOW is described 1:26-3:32.  Flow is "being completely carried away almost like being in a river and the flow of the river takes them on".  Flow happens in Arts, Sports, Music and every time a person is really involved in what they are doing.  They have very focused, and very clear goals.

I know I feel "flow" when I am writing.  It's a creative outlet for me.

When do you feel flow?

Special thanks to Lululemon and Peg City Yoga in Winnipeg for putting on such a great show.  It was fun to be in a room full of happy people, lying on blankets and pillows, eating popcorn and all kinds of candy. Couldn't help but be happy!

The Happy Movie is available online or at Lululemon stores (for about $28).  See the trailer here.

Have a happy day!

Angela Gentile

Imagine Hearing Your Voice for the First Time

I first learned about this video from Huffington Post.  I love happy news stories.



Check out the full article here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/sara-churman-deaf-woman-_n_989220.html


Amazing what science can do.

Amazing to realize those things most of us take for granted.


Have an awesome day!

Angela Gentile

A World of Happiness Through Dance

Dancing is an expression of happiness all over the world.  Take a look at this video - it will make you smile!

"Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth"

Find the original post here: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080722.html

Have a great day!

~ Angela Gentile

Happy Road

Have a great day!

~ Angela Gentile

Where is Your Happy Place?

When we want to kick back, relax, feel joy and be happy, we can escape to our "Happy Place". You may have heard the term used before. This is when we either envision a calm place in our mind, or when we actually go to a physical space. We can be on our own, or with people. We all have a happy place. Do you know where yours is?

If I've had a busy, hectic day, my happy place is usually relaxing with a good book. If it's nice out, the most happy place for me is reading a book outside on my garden swing. Having nature around me, in all its glorious sights and sounds, makes me feel happy.

Where is your happy place?
Have a great day!

~ Angela Gentile