I have a notebook that I paste snippets of this and that into. If I'm flipping through a magazine and I see an illustration that grabs me, I'll tear it out for my notebook. When I visit art galleries I pick up the postcards that are often on offer (they're usually extras of the invitations that were sent out for the show), These too get glued in my notebook.

Of course, my notebook also has words in it. If I read a great quotation I jot it down in my notebook. Or if someone says something nice to me I record it in my special book.

And when I get photos of people or things that I find especially dear, I add them to my notebook rather than leave them hanging around in a drawer waiting to be put in an album.

On a practical level, I find it important to have my notebook accessible. I keep it on the table next to my reading chair, as that's where I'm most likely to be tearing things out. I also keep a glue stick handy so I can paste it in right away.

In this way, I create a deeply personal record of things that bring me joy. It's always there to brighten a rainy day or to provide inspiration for artwork or writing.

Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deeper essence, something helpless that needs our love.
~Rilke

We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.
~Anais Nin

We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.
~Carl Jung

For after all, the best thing one can do when it's raining, is to let it rain.
~Henry Wadworth Longfellow

A wise person once said to me, "We become like the 5 people we spend the most time with."

That's a powerful statement.

Think about it: even as adults we are subtly influenced by "peer pressure". We tend to pick up on the attitudes, language and mood of the people we hang out with.

So who are the 5 people you spend the most time with? Do they embody the "Welcome Joy" attitude towards life? Or are they negative, cynical and blaming?

And how do they treat you? Note who you enjoy being around. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself "after spending time with this person, do I feel stronger or weaker?" The answer can give you important clues on who to spend time with.

If you want to feel joyful, choose to have people in your life who:

· Treat you with love and respect

· Want the best for you as you define it

· Help you find out what you want to do and how to do it

· Encourage you to explore all your talents and interests

· Are thrilled when you succeed

· Listen to you when you need to complain

· Help you learn from failure without making you feel like a bad person

I encourage you to spend less time with critical people and more time with those who appreciate you. You'll notice a difference in how you feel about yourself and how much joy you experience.

Note added June 4, 2007: This article was chosen to be included in the following blog carnivals: Powerful Living; Positive Thinking; Observations on Life; Brain Fitness; Happiness Carnival and Carnival of Life.

Let the good in me
connect with the good
in others,
until all the world
is transformed through
the compelling power
of love.
— Rebbe Nachman in The Gentle Weapon

"It is only when we realize that life is taking us nowhere that it begins to have meaning."

-- P.D. Ospensky