Life On The Razor's Edge

I work for Gary's Knife Sharpening and I am a knife cutier. But I'm happy with just enjoying the right now, the present and celebrating it. Connecting with people. I like good food and animals and laughter. I dont know. Hope, love faith. All of that. I start to think about... I try to notice my thoughts and if they are true or if they are just 'what if-ing'. You know when you start to let your mind take control and it goes haywire. So the things I dont know, it's fine. Be here now. Then i try to do something special and try to turn my focus on to what does make me feel good. Like hiking. I'll go hiking. I go to Runyon Canyon I have lots of dog friends so I'll go hiking with them. Grab a dog, go up a trail and have fun. Outdoors and I try to hook up with friends all the time and we just share and relate. Creativity makes me happy.

AK: What got you into knife sharpening?

"Well I was living in Minnesota and I wasnt happy. On paper it looked good, but it didnt unfold that way. So I knew Gary and he wanted to expand his business but he needed someone he could trust and he said, 'why dont you come back to LA and become a knife sharpener?' And I already wear a lot of different hats so why not knife sharpening? I dont just do this, but I like the farmer's market environment and I like the whole philsophy of foods and people. So I like those aspects and there are others things I do that make me happy."


- Christine, Los Angeles originally from Ohio

Feline Fancy

Is watching videos of cats on YouTube an acceptable answer?"


-Molly Lambert, 26 from LA

"Defining Myself For Myself"

Being good to myself. And by that, I don't mean pampering my body at the spa, exercising or eating the healthiest food all the time. I mean forgiving myself, not judging myself, letting myself live by my own rules, letting myself decide when and if the rules should change and knowing that 'doing my best' every day doesn't mean being the best every day (or maybe ever).

Even if I fall short of what I expect, I don't punish myself.

The knowledge that I'm on a journey and it's completely my own, unique, completely average and, yet, enormously special and meaningful makes me happy. Knowing that everyone else, judging me, as they are, by their own journey's rules, cannot know what's right for me, makes me happy.

I spent what seems like a lifetime trying to live by others' rules and abide by the world's collective definition of being valuable, intelligent, capable, etc. Well, actually, it was the United States' and New York City's version of those things.

Now that I'm 'defining myself for myself' - to paraphrase Audre Lorde - I feel like I've walked out of Plato's cave and discovered the ideal.

The Song of the Sannyasin says 'thou art that' and it means that we're all part of one living, breathing life and are never separate, never more or less than that. I see that this is true and it's this knowledge, and meditation on it, that, ultimately, makes me happy."

- Melody Wells, 28 and an aspiring nonprofit communications leader/nanny in NYC (with her mom as a little girl and now)

Enjoying the Blessings that God has Given Me

To answer your question happiness is a state of being and a choice. I chose to be happy by enjoying the blessings that God has given me. I am happy in marriage (love), happy being a mom, and happy being me!

Happy in marriage looks like this. I expect Tyson to add to my happiness and not MAKE me happy. I love me totally and that allows me to love him and accept his love. We are imperfect people so I am happy with him and his flaws and expect him to be the same with me. I am not trying to change him to make me happier, I will accept and love the changes that he makes in his life. I love being married to Tyson and when I add to his happiness mine increases and vice-versa. He can’t take my happiness away unless I allow him to.

Being a mom automatically can raise your level of happiness. My day truly begins when my kids wake up and I see their first smile of the day. I love when I do little things to make them laugh! God gave me the best kids for me. Even when they are driving me crazy, I can still smile and be happy that them little jokers belong to me. LOL! I think that being a mom has made me appreciate the little things that I might pass by because I am too busy most of the day. My kids make me happy!

I am happy being me. I am a true DIVA no matter what the world might say or think. Others may look at me and see an overweight, gap toothed, loud, black woman and guess what, they are right. I am comfortable in my own skin. I do not let the world determine my worth. I am valuable because I say that I am. If people chose to stay away from me because of a preconceived notion or prejudice, then they miss out on the pleasure of knowing me. Not my fault. LOL! I know what I bring to the table and if you want to sit and feast then come on. If not, your presence or lack thereof does not make me happy nor break my happiness.

I know that is more than what you might need, but that is where I am today when it comes to my happiness."

- Genny Moore, Los Angeles preachers wife and mother of three whose laugh is just as infectious as her love of the Lord.

Kabbalah's Key to Happiness

At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all of your experiences - the good and the chaotic. Whatever enters into your life is something you have to fully own.

Even if an event in your life doesn't make sense in the context of this life experience, you have to accept that it's a lesson you need to learn from. It may even be a lesson held over from a previous incarnation.

Today, remember that fully understanding and accepting responsibility is the only way to find happiness, fulfillment, and your purpose on this journey.

-Daily Kabbalah Tune Up: Key to Happiness (Thanks to Amber Knowles "shooting happy people makes me happy." www.amberknowles.com)