Sally Huss - Addicted to Happiness!

Kindness Is Necessary

"Kindness is good.  Kindness is wise.  Kindness is necessary."

(Happy Musings is a newspaper feature syndicated by King Features that I create each day to remind us all that “Life is wonderful!”  I offer it here to brighten your day.  Please share it with your friends.)

More kindness is more better!  Kindness has to be one of the big virtues.  There is a woman I know who exemplifies it.  She is kind from her head to her toes.  Her name is Nada and she is the tennis hostess at the club where I sometimes play tennis.

Now if you don’t know what a tennis hostess is, I’ll tell you.  It is the most important position at any tennis facility whether at a private club, a public rec center or a hotel with a tennis operation.  She or he must be the most diplomatic, efficient and gracious person on staff.  She or he, more than any other employee, represents that facility to its public.  It is rather like being a hostess at a restaurant, except that the tennis host or hostess must put people together in games and not offend anyone.   That person must do this juggling of courts and people of all levels of ability with the utmost kindness.  Nada is a pro.   

Now if we could get our politicians to do the same.  The more people on our little planet, the more kindness is needed.

Please send me your thoughts on kindness.  Thanks.

Smiles,

Sally

(To view my gallery of original art and peek at my extensive line of bright and happy products, including THE HAPPY BOOK, bibs, nursery wall décor, totes and purses, and gifts with thoughtful thoughts, go to:  www.sallyhuss.com)

Love Is All

"Love is all there is worth having or giving or being."

(Happy Musings is a newspaper feature syndicated by King Features that I create each day to remind us all that “Life is wonderful!”  I offer it here to brighten your day.  Please share it with your friends.)

This is one of the first Musings I created.  It says it all to me.   

Our identification is critical.  If we identify with our bodies or our minds or personalities, we are never satisfied.  I think identifying with our true nature, love, sets things right.

At one point in my life I focused exclusively on the heart, on love.  I meditated on it.  I wrote books about it, drew pictures with hearts and love themes.  I ate love, drank love and lived in an atmosphere of complete love.  It was amazing what happened.  People sent me flowers with loving notes and gave me gifts with hearts on them.  Chuck Barris even gave me a plant made of heart-shaped leaves.  I hung it in my little studio.   

Please let me know if you have found anything better than love in your life?  I can’t imagine, but do let me know what you think.  Thanks.

Smiles,

Sally

(To view my gallery of original art and peek at my extensive line of bright and happy products, including THE HAPPY BOOK, bibs, nursery wall décor, totes and purses, and gifts with thoughtful thoughts, go to:  www.sallyhuss.com)

Talking To A Friend

(Happy Musings is a newspaper feature syndicated by King Features that I create each day to remind us all that “Life is wonderful!” I offer it here to brighten your day. Please share it with your friends.)

 

Isn’t this the truth?! Sometimes the presence of a friend and a few words are all that you need to put you right again. There is steadiness in friendships. There is a continuous opportunity to share. Sometimes it can be by phone or e-mail, but the contact is what is important. 

In this life that seems to be speeding up and filling up with activities, strangers and mechanical devices, a friend is more valued than ever.

I love my friends. As odd and assorted as they are, they are mine. Once loved, never unloved, I say.  

Please let me know what you think of this Musing and what a friend means to you. Thanks.

 
Smiles,

Sally

 
(To view my gallery of original art and peek at my extensive line of bright and happy products, including THE HAPPY BOOK, bibs, nursery wall décor, totes and purses, and gifts with thoughtful thoughts, go to: www.sallyhuss.com)

It Starts With A Kiss

(Happy Musings is a syndicated newspaper feature that I create each day to remind us all that “Life is wonderful!” I offer it here to brighten your day. Please share it with friends.)

This idea has never failed to insure that my day is wonderful. It seems to me that how you start something has a lot to do with how it turns out. I’d love to hear what you think about this.

 

Smiles,

Sally

 

(To view my gallery of original art and peek at my extensive line of bright and happy products, including THE HAPPY BOOK, bibs, nursery wall décor, totes and purses, and gifts with thoughtful thoughts, go to: www.sallyhuss.com.)

How Thoughtful Is Life?

(Happy Musings is a syndicated newspaper feature that I create each day to remind us all that “Life is wonderful!” I offer it here to brighten your day. Please share it with friends.)

This is such a lovely idea. I remind myself of this truth now and then when things seem difficult. Then too, life seems to remind me. It is good to know that we are all included.

 

Smiles,

Sally

 

(To view my gallery of original art and peek at my extensive line of bright and happy products, including THE HAPPY BOOK, bibs, nursery wall décor, totes and purses, and gifts with thoughtful thoughts, go to: http://www.sallyhuss.com)

 

More Good News!

The La Jolla Light was kind enough to print a wonderful article about our new gallery.  See what you think.  Click on the article to view.

   

The Happy Musing for today is good any day. 

How do we get to a sharing, caring world?  I suppose by realizing humanity is one being of which each of us is a part.  What do you think?

Smiles to you,

Sally

Just in from Salt Lake

Hi All,

Very good news!  The Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City has signed on Happy Musings.  These little life thoughts with their bright pieces of art will dance daily on the masthead.  Take a peek.

 

You, too, can choose to be happy, author says

by Carma Wadley

Deseret Morning News

     Sally Huss has learned one of life's great lessons: "Happy days are made by happy people.  Happy people are made by choice."

     You, too, can choose to be happy, she says.  "If you wait to be happy, you will wait forever," she said.  "If you are happy now, you will be happy forever."

     If it seems that Huss is speaking in aphorisms it's because she is.  Huss, and artist and writer, is the creator of a new newspaper feature, "Happy Musings," which begins in the Deseret Morning News today.  It consists of what she calls "life thoughts"--simple, uplifting ideas that she hopes will remind people that even if these aren't the easiest of times, it is possible to be happy.

     "Happiness is a state," she said in a telephone chat from her home in La Jolla, California.  "You move into it.  It's the same state where you find love--not romantic love, but universal love--and it's possible for anyone to move there.  Happiness has less to do with circumstances than with attitude."

     That was a lesson Huss learned early in her life.  When she was 10 years old, she set out to be the best tennis player in the world.  She was very successful and by age 15 was ranked No. 1 player in her division in the United States.  At 19, she won a semifinal match at Wimbledon.

     "I realized that I thought I had to win to be happy.  If I didn't win, I wasn't happy."  But she also realized she didn't want her happiness tied to wins; she couldn't win forever, so that meant she couldn't be happy forever.

     She eventually left competitive tennis and returned to her interests in fine arts.  She went on to a varied career, doing research and production work in film and television, managing Paul Simon's music publishing company, teaching tennis to the likes of Barbra Streisand and Joel Grey, running a club in Aspen, writing children's books, painting for galleries.  Her artwork has been picked up for everything from greeting cards to wallpaper, clothing and purses.

     "But it was always art and thoughts together," she said.

     Along the way she has become a student of happiness, not just waiting for it to come along but actively looking at what it is and how to work toward it.

     It can be an elusive thing, she said,"but it's all about trusting life."

     It doesn't mean that nothing bad will ever happen.  But a positive, happy attitude will help you deal with what does happen.  "If your inner space is happy, you can deal with the outer things as they come.  If we depend on things ourside ourselves to make us happy, we won't be happy."

     But that's what too many people do, she said.  Too many of us accept the notion that we can find happiness in things.  "Everyone tells us we need to buy things to make us happy," she said, but you can run out of things.

     One of her books, called "The Happy Book," is a series of 30 exercises that people can do to become happier.  And that can improve you life in numerous ways, she said.  "One thing I learned teaching tennis is that if you are happy, you perform better.  You're more relaxed and that translates to better performance."

     That applies in other parts of life, too, she said.

     Her ideas are not new, Huss said.  "There really aren't any new ideas.  But I think they come through me in a certain way, with my own sense of whimsy and lightheartedness, that seems to connect with people."

     It is very gratifying, she said, when someone tells her a particular musing meant something important to that person.  "A lot of people collect them.  That's really fun."

     You never know what will strike someone at any given time, she said.  "I hope my sayings will trigger a reminder in a person of what is important, that they can hang on to what is useful and let go of what isn't."

     Huss arrives at her "musings" by writing every day.  "I write about themes.  I write about what's happening.  I just write."  Periodically she will go back through her writing and pull ideas that seem to be "worthy."

     Then she runs them by her husband, Marv.  "He's a very practical person.  He used to be head of promotion and marketing for Hallmark, so he's perfect for the job.  He lets me know if they get too esoteric or don't make sense."

     She doesn't worry about running out of ideas because life is filled with ideas, she said.  Life is--and should be--filled with happy thoughts.

     "A happy person makes for a happy family," she said.  "A happy family makes for a happy community, and a happy community makes a better world.  So being a happy person is the most important thing in the world."

I hope you enjoyed this article.

Smiles,

Sally

Mother's Day Contest!

Hi friends,

Well, we love mothers.  Mothers are the only ones who can improve the world -- one child at a time.  How important is that?!  How important are mothers?!  We have created a contest with a terrific prize, but more importantly, it is an opportunity for you to express your views on motherhood. 

We invite you to participate in this wonderful contest to honor MOTHERS. 

It is very simple:  tell us your best inspirational mother story - about your mother, a favorite mother or a story about your experience as a mother.  Make it between 500 and 1,000 words long.  Please email your stories to sally@sallyhuss.com with a subject line that says Mother's Day.  Our team will read all stories submitted and pick the one we think will be the most inspirational for our readers, and then we will print that story for all to enjoy.  We may wish to print a couple of the other stories as well.

                                     

The winner of the contest will receive a Mother's Day Pack of Gifts, which will include a framed 11x17 print, a small stripe heart tote, a notepad, a pen, a keychain, and a magnet--all  of these items are appropriate for a mother.

We look forward to reading your story and hopefully you will enjoy writing it.

Thanks and smiles, Sally

GOOD WISHES FOR YOU

“Good wishes for you float in the air waiting for you to breathe them in.”

 

Ahhh. To breathe in what you want or need is a great secret. I was thinking of the air when I wrote this. I know air is not empty, but actually filled with infinitesimal particles of subtle matter. This matter, I believe, is full of wonderful things. I was also thinking of the good wishes our friends and families hold for each of us. They may not say them, but they wish them for us. So it occurred to me that it is a lovely idea to know that those kind thoughts, which are of this very subtle matter, are held in the air for each of us. And, we can breathe them in and receive their benefits. I like this idea. I’m sending you good wishes now. Breathe them in, please.

 

What have you found to be true of good wishes? I would like to know.

 

Smiles to you,

Sally

SUNNY YOU!

"A bright day is one you brighten."

Hi Friends,

This blog is a continuous stream of information about happiness.  As you may know I do a newspaper feature called "Happy Musings".  As I write these "Musings" daily I will pass them on to you with some additional explanation.  I hope send some information back to me on how they affect you, what you think, etc.  It is helpful to me to know if these "Musings" are clear and useful.  Here are my thoughts on this one:

I live in California, Southern California, so most of my days are sunny.  Many of you live where the sun's shining is hidden.  You have to be your own sun.  Everyone does really.  It is amazing what a sunny disposition can do for a day.  We bounce off of each other.  The bouncing is much better when it's from one bright being to another, and the day shines as well.

Have you changed a day?  What does this thought mean to you?

Smiles to you,

Sally

P.S.  Good news!  I was just informed that the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City began running my "Happy Musings" on Mondary, March 10th.  It is located in the Family etc. section of the paper, in the top, right corner of the masthead.  CARMA WADLEY was kind enough to write a wonderful article announcing the arrival of "Happy Musings" in that paper and I am sending it along to you here.

YOU TOO CAN CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY by Carma Wadley (March 10, 2008)

Sally Huss has learned one of life's great lessons:  "Happy days are made by happy people.  Happy people are made by choice."

You, too, can choose to be happy, she says.  "If you wait to be happy, you will wait forever," she said.  "If you are happy now, you will be happy forever."

If it seems that Huss is speaking in aphorisms, it's because she is.  Huss, an artist and writer, is the creator of the new newspaper feature, "Happy Musings," which begins in the Deseret Morning News today.  It consists of what she calls "life thoughts" -- simple, uplifting ideas that she hopes will remind people that even if these aren't the easiest of times, it is possible to be happy.

                                    HAPPPY MUSINGS -- by Sally Huss

                   "Kindness is good. Kindness is wise.  Kindness is necessary."

"Happiness is a state," she said in a telephone chat from her home in La Jolla, Calif.  "You move into it. It's the same state where you find love -- not romantic love, but universal love -- and it's possible for anyone to move there.  Happiness has less to do with circumstances than with attitude."

That was a lesson Huss learned early in her life.  When she was 10 years old, she set out to be the best tennis player in the world.  She was very successful and by age 15 was ranked as the No. 1 player in her division in the United States.  At 19, she won a semifinal match at Wimbledon.

"I realized that I thought I had to win to be happy.  If I didn't win, I wasn't happy."  But she also realized she didn't want her happiness tied to wins; she couldn't win forever, so that meant she couldn't be happy forever.

She eventually left competitive tennis and returned to her interest in fine arts.  She went on to a varied career, doing research and production work in film and television, managing Paul Simon's music publishing company, teaching tennis to the likes of Barbra Streisand and Joel Grey, running a club in Aspen, writing children's books, painting for galleries.  Her artwork has been picked up for everything from greeting cards to wallpaper, clothing and purses.

"But it was always art and thoughts together," she said.

Along the way she has become a student of happiness, not just waiting for it to come along but actively looking at what it is and how to work toward it.

It can be an elusive thing, she said, "but it's all about trusing life."

It doesn't mean that nothing bad will ever happen.  But a positive, happy attitude will help you deal with what does happen.  "If your inner space is happy, you can deal with the outer things as they come.  If we depend on things outside ourselves to make us happy, we won't be happy."

But that's what too many people do, she said.  Too many of us accept the notion that we can find happiness in things.  "Everyone tells us we need to buy things to make us happy," she said, but you can run out of things.

                                       HAPPY MUSINGS -- by Sally Huss

                               "A person who is like the sun, shining equally

                                       on everyone is very great indeed."

One of her books, called "The Happy Book," is a series of 30 exercises that people can do to become happier.  And that can improve your life in numerous ways, she said.  "One thing I learned teaching tennis is that if you are happy, you perform better.  You're more relaxed and that translates to better performance."

That applies in other parts of life, too, she said.

Her ideas are not new, Huss said.  "There really aren't any new ideas.  But I think they come through me in a certain way, with my own sense of whimsy and light-heartedness, that seems to connect with people."

It is very gratifying, she said, when someone tells her a particular musing meant something important to that person.  "A lot of people collect them.  That's really fun."

You never know what will strike someone at any given time, she said.  "I hope my sayings will trigger a reminder in a person of what is important, that they can hang on to what is useful and let go of what isn't."

                                               HAPPY MUSINGS -- by Sally Huss

                                       "A day filled with joy awaits your involvement."

 

Huss arrives at her "musings" by writing every day.  "I write about themes.  I write about what's happening.  I just write."  Periodically she will go back through her writing and pull out ideas that seem to be "worthy."

Then she runs them by her husband, Marv.  "He's a very practical person.  He used to be head of promotion and marketing for Hallmark, so he's perfect for the job.  He lets me know if they get too esoteric or don't make sense." 

She doesn't worry about running out of ideas because life is filled with ideas, she said.  Life is -- and should be -- filled with happy thoughts.  "A happy person makes for a happy family," she said.  "A happy family makes for a happy comminity, and a happy community makes a better world.  So being a happy person is the most important thing in the world."

*************************************************************************************************************************

To date we are in a small number of newspapers, including The Orange County Register and The Desert Sun in California, but well received by those papers.  I would appreciate your help in spreading the word.  If you would like to see these happy thoughts with their brightly colored illustrations in your local paper, please contact your paper's feature editor to view this blog and contact me at sally@sallyhuss.com.  Thank you for your help in spreading happiness.

Please accept my FREE "Happy News" newsletter by signing up at sallyhuss.com.  "Happy News" is a twice monthly dose of uplifting stories, tips, "Happy Musings" and fun-filled exercises for greater joy from The Happy Book.  Join us in our quest to make every day a happy one by making every person a happier one.  I hope you will share this blog and/or my newsletter by forwarding them to your friends and family wherever they may be.

If you would like a copy of my Happy Book you may order the book from sallyhuss.com.  These are daily exercises for greater joy and they are FOOLPROOF!