Boo and the Balloon of Happiness

Dear Reader:

A week (from yesterday) Boo and Jake will celebrate our birthdays!

We will drink and be merry! There will be balloons and happiness because the secret is in giving happiness to others.

In fact Jake’s gift from me is already signed, sealed… soon to be delivered!

My favorite anecdote on balloons and happiness popped up last week… just in time to share!

” The Balloon of Happiness”

Fifty people once attended a seminar where they were told a group activity had been planned. Everyone was given a balloon and asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then they were all collected.

The balloons were put in a separate room and the attendees were told to find their personal balloon within five minutes. Chaos ensued!

The attendees were pushing, shoving, and colliding with each other. When the five minute bell rang-no one had been successful in finding their own balloon!

Now each person was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person’s name on it. Within three minutes everyone had his/her own balloon.

The speaker spoke quietly-” This is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness, not knowing where it is!

Our happiness lies in the happiness of others. Give them their happiness; then you will get your own happiness. Life is about “we”… never “I.”

So until tomorrow… It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is happily pursuing happiness for others that fills us up.

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday I went to see Ben and take his weekly supply of Pepsi’s and crackers! Happiness is. And he was beyond happy-in ten days interested participants will be taken to one of the golf courses and allowed to play! Wellmore loves Ben and the staff has gone out of their way to find him and others a real golf course-not his self-made putt-putt hall! ***Thank you Meghan for all your creative endeavors to make all the Wellmore residents happy!

My first pumpkin this year!

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Boo and the Balloon of Happiness

  1. Rachel Edwards says:

    Sweet story …and a great activity. Love that the people are so attentive to the needs of their patients…Ben has a purpose now!

  2. Nice story and photos lovely, I so much like the sweet girl’s photo 🌷🙏♥️🌷

Leave a Reply