Amy Newmark's Blog - Posts Tagged "happiness"

Forgiveness is one of the best tools we have at our disposal to create a better life for ourselves. It really is an amazing tool... you can transform your life in just one one second — just by deciding to put the past in the past, where it belongs!

In our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Forgiveness Fix we have a collection of stories that show you how to look beyond the hurt and use the power of forgiveness to move forward.

Here are previews of two of my favorite stories from the book that show how you can use forgiveness to create a better life for yourself:

Let family back in
In "There for Each Other" Lauren Magliaro describes how her father and his younger brother were estranged for many years, not even talking to each other when they attended family functions. But when Lauren’s father was hospitalized with a life-threatening brain aneurysm, his brother showed up to help the family, and whatever had transpired between them was put in the past. Lauren’s father recovered, and the two brothers enjoyed twenty more years together until Lauren’s uncle tragically died at age 58. Lauren says, “Though devastated at the loss of his brother, my dad was there for my uncle’s wife and three grown sons, the same way my uncle had been there for me and my mom two decades earlier. I miss my uncle every day, especially seeing him and my father together. They always reminded me of the importance of forgiveness, and that all things are possible with love.”


Make sure you understand what lay behind a hurtful action.
One of the best ways to find forgiveness is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and try to understand his or her motivation and circumstances. It took years, but in her story, "No Fault," Christy Heitger-Ewing eventually got over her feeling of abandonment after her mother’s suicide—by recognizing her mother’s mental illness. She began attending a support group and came to realize that her mother was in agonizing emotional pain and that it wasn’t her fault that she died. As Christy sees it, “She didn’t choose to become inflicted by a chemical imbalance that messed up her brain any more than a cancer patient signs on to have cancer cells ravage her body.” Christy was able to stop feeling hurt and instead feel gratitude for the forty-six years that she had with her mother.


Amy Newmark

It's so true... we never stop needing our moms. They always know the right thing to say and the right thing to do. And somehow, like magic, they do it all!

In our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Moms, you'll find 101 stories of gratitude, wisdom and miracles lovingly collected from the Chicken Soup for the Soul library.

Here are previews of two of my favorite stories from the book where we see the magic of our moms:

Moms show us how to be of service to others.
In John Dorroh's story “Mom’s Secret Mission” John tells us that his mom would disappear every Christmas Eve for a few hours and he never knew why. It was only after her death that he learned where she had gone. A man wrote to him and explained that John’s mother had come to their house every Christmas Eve for the past seven years, dressed as Mrs. Claus and bringing gifts for the whole family.

Moms are always there when we need them.
Tiffany Mannino, in her story “Never Too Old to Want My Mommy,” recalls the day that she told her mother she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother helped her through every step of her treatment and Tiffany says, “She was attending to my every need, both physically and emotionally, but who was attending to her needs?” She adds, “I know what my mother would say if I asked her that question. She would say, ‘That’s just what you do when you are a mother.’”


Amy Newmark

Although it is the last chapter in our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness, it also happens to be one of my favorites -- and that is "Get Outside in Nature." I love the sense of community I feel when I spend time outside. It makes me very aware that I am but a tiny cob in the gigantic machinery of life on our planet. And... it makes me happy!

When I go outside to take a hike I also love the fresh air, I love that I am getting a dose of vitamin D, and I love that all of this is improving my overall health and fitness. I sleep better too... who doesn't love that?

Here's a sneak peek at two of my favorite stories from the "Get Outside in Nature" chapter:

In her story, "The Trail to Myself," Ann Morrow discovered the peace that comes from getting outside. On the morning of her forty-fifth birthday, she stood at the bathroom mirror and realized that the woman looking back at her was angry, stressed and unfit. That's when she decided to reclaim control of her life... she grabbed her coat, walked out the front door and began her walking journey. Walking led to a thirty-pound weight loss for Ann, and it set her back on the path to rediscovering her creative side, too.

In JC Sullivan's story, "Shinrin-yoku Is Good for You," JC tells us that she never went hiking, even though she lived next door to one of the best hiking areas in Los Angeles. Finally, a friend forced her to go for a walk, and JC was hooked, enjoying all the health benefits of what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing."

See you out on the trails!



Amy Newmark

Christmas is truly a magical time... I love all the holiday decorations around the neighborhood and of course, I love putting up the Christmas tree. The lights, the ornaments, the piney aroma... it truly makes this time of year so special. It's one of the reasons why Chapter 2 from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Christmas, celebrates Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes... and the inspiration behind each of them!

One of my favorite stories from the book is written by Michele Sprague. In the story "Ragged, Forlorn... It's Perfect" Michele tells us that it was months past Christmas, and she still hadn’t taken down her little eighteen-inch Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the mantel. It was sparse, misshapen, and it only had one ornament. Her daughter pointed out that it hadn’t looked good at Christmas, and it still didn’t look good.

But Michele found special meaning in that little tree. She had found it her first Christmas after her divorce, hidden in a corner of the store among some toys. The next year, when she was more back on her feet, that sad little tree was back on the mantel, but a beautiful six-foot Christmas tree stood beside it, nicely decorated with ornaments made by Michele’s daughters.

And her daughter was still telling her the little Charlie Brown tree needed some help—some lights, more decorations… Nevertheless, both trees went up every year.

Ten years later, Michele remarried and continued the tradition of putting up both trees. Her new husband, Larry, suggested they leave the Charlie Brown tree up all year, complete with its one ornament. “It’s simple and reminds us of what’s important,” he said. “Life doesn’t have to be filled with glitz and glamour for us to be happy. This simple, little Charlie Brown tree reminds us to enjoy the little things, which are often beautiful.”

Happy Holidays!
Amy Newmark

All You Need Is Love — it's a common cliché and a popular iconic song. But it's more than that. Love is powerful and beautiful. Love is a miracle that can happen when you least expect it — in new relationships and in old ones, at any age and any stage of life. And really, who doesn't love a good love story? I know I do!

That's why our team was so excited to put together our new book. Chicken Soup for the Soul: All You Need Is Love. The book is filled with stories of love, happiness and second chances.

Here's a sneak peek at two of my favorite stories from the book:


Don't turn down that blind date.
In Janeen Lewis’s story, "Miracle Meeting," Janeen's fellow teacher said there was someone she should meet, Janeen was flat out not interested. It was the son of a fellow teacher, one who Janeen had never met because she had died in an automobile accident before Janeen started working at the school.

Janeen’s teacher friend kept asking, and Janeen kept saying no. She was dating someone else and it was going fine. But then that man broke up with her. And Janeen wondered if she would ever find the right man.

The next school year came, and Janeen was living in a new apartment. Winter came, and one wintry February morning Janeen was scraping her windshield and talking to an attractive, friendly guy who lived in her building. The subject of where she worked came up… and that’s when Janeen learned that this eligible young man, who was indeed of great interest to her, was the blind date she had been turning down for more than a year.

Eventually they got married, and Janeen changed her last name to Lewis from her maiden name, which was Miracle.

When love doesn’t die.
In her story, "Roses in Winter," Christine Trollinger loved the miniature rosebush that her husband Gene bought for the little spot of dirt in front of their house. And he loved to take care of the bush and pluck a rose for Christine every now and then. Unfortunately, the bush died right at the time that Gene learned his cancer had come back. He bought her another one, which stayed alive but failed to bloom all summer. Happily, it finally started blooming in October.

That December, Gene entered the hospital for what would be the last time. Christine says, “Through those dark days, the little blooming rosebush gave me comfort as I returned home each evening from the hospital.” The day before he died, the weather turned cold and the roses began to die. Those dead blossoms only made Christine’s pain worse.

It snowed the day of Gene’s funeral, and the rosebush was covered. But that night, when the outdoor lights turned on, Christine saw a miniature rose peeking through the snowdrift, looking as good as if it were June and not December. That little rosebush has survived 15 years now, and it continues to cheer up Christine. And last winter, on the anniversary of Gene’s death, that rosebush bloomed once again in a snowstorm.



Amy Newmark