I absolutely ADORE my job … I get to spend at least eight hours a day learning and studying ‘happiness’. As part of my journey of being a happiness blogger, it is a true privilege to research and read articles on happiness throughout my day. I happened to stumble upon an ‘April 2025 Happiness Calendar’ published by Greater Good, which offers daily tips and activities to help promote well-being and foster connections throughout the month of April.
This month’s theme is about inviting people into your life, encouraging meaningful interactions and shared experiences. Each day offers a small, actionable tip—like reaching out to a friend, practicing gratitude, or engaging in acts of kindness—to help build stronger relationships and spread positivity. I thought of my first two blog posts and how this April calendar serves as s bridge between the two published posts.
I am fortunate to be taking a beach vacation during the first part of this month and decided to implement some of the suggestions from the calendar to help boost my connections with others while on vacation. Sometimes being on vacation, I find myself so engrossed in my favorite book or taking in my surroundings that looking up and making human connections almost feels like a lost art for me. I downloaded the calendar and decided to be mindful about my interactions with others. Click on calendar below:
GGSC_Happiness_Calendar_April_2025.pdf
Let me share some insights of my experiences and how these small yet powerful tips moved me and allowed me to change the way I see things and become a better friend and partner.
April 2nd – Help your neighbor. We are blessed to have the most amazing neighbors. They are both thoughtful and very generous. I know we won the neighbor lottery with them both. Unfortunately, I don’t get to spend as much quality time as I would like and really wanted to find a unique way to give back to them considering how much they give to us. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a solo traveler. It’s very difficult for me to share trips with other people (except for immediate family). My neighbors had yet to visit the beautiful beaches of Mexico and felt they deserved a paradise like getaway. We have been countless times and suggested they join us on our next vacation. We were LUCKY they said… ‘yes’!!!
Being able to have a shared occasion like this was truly an unforgettable experience. Nothing can bring you closer than sharing time spent together outside of your own environment and in a different country. It was so refreshing to get to know each other at a deeper level, without the constraint of time or having to hurry back home to get ready for work. I highly recommend taking a trip with those people whose company you genuinely enjoy. We all had such a wonderful time and look forward to our next adventure together.
April 6th – Watch an Inspiring movie. I did it! I took the article’s advice and watched ‘My Old Ass’. Nothing can transport you to another time and place as quickly as a movie. A movie with meaning and one that pulls at your heart strings too. Warning… it is a light-hearted kinda movie but encourages a sense of warmth and comfort in loving all that you have gone through and all that’s still to come. What I most appreciated about this movie is how often I found myself looking back into the past and appreciating all those mistakes I made and a part of me wishing I would have been a little messier. I wish I would have allowed myself to fall madly, deeply and insanely in love… without the worry of heart break. As I am getting older, I am realizing that there’s no such things as mistakes. It was all meant to be so that you would be successful at building a life worth living. Do I recommend the movie? Why …. yes, I do. (watched it on Prime Video)
April 11th – Make small talk with a stranger. As we were going down the elevator to make our dinner reservations, I greeted the lady that joined us on our trip down. She was upbeat and full of energy. I asked her how long her vacation trip was and she joyously yelled out ‘three weeks’! My eyes widened and she saw my amazement and then added, “I am here for a 3-week cancer treatment.” She had the biggest smile on her face and so full of energy. Immediately I was touched and thought to myself every day was a gift. I felt so grateful to be healthy, to be able to take a nice vacation and extremely grateful to have met her, even if it was just for a couple of minutes.
You never know what kind of battles others are facing. It’s important to be concerned and curious about those nearby. Most importantly, try to be honest and share something personal even when it’s a stranger asking. You just don’t know the immense impact you could be making in their life. I feel technology, specifically our phones, has transformed us into robots and slowly we are losing the gift of human connection. Let’s make an extra effort to keep it alive. Don’t be afraid to step out of your hotel room without your phone, especially if it’s for a short trip down to grab some lunch or a drink.
Every day we are given an opportunity to break off from the norm and do something spontaneous. It doesn’t have to be so elaborate. The gestures can be small. I encourage you to make it a habit to do something every day that has the power to make you smile. I highly recommend April date the 14th. It’s such a beautiful meditation that will surely leave you feeling loved, invigorated and extremely joyful. Do it, I dare YOU!
