Animal University is pleased to introduce Erica Nelson as today’s guest blogger. She is the author of Happiness Quotations: Gentle Reminders of Your Preciousness. To buy the book, go to Erica’s website, www.happinessquotations.com.
By Erica M Nelson
One bright January morning I was riding my horse Dakotah right behind the back pastures of the ranch where he is boarded, when this picture of a gift wrapped book showed up in my head.
Each day since October 2010 I had written pages for my new book “Happiness Quotations: Gentle Reminders of Your Preciousness.” Each day I had asked for inspiration. Many mornings out riding my 20-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse, I found inspiration on horse. I had to start bringing a pad of paper with me but it was awkward to ride and write. So I would get into my car and scribble all of the notes and then get back on his back.
In January, it was around the 20th, I remember getting completely inspired with the book cover.
When I wrote my first book, the publisher came up with the cover, and that was good. But this felt even better! A gift! The book as a gift! I came home from that beautiful morning at the ranch and sent a note to my publisher, Nancy Cleary. She loved the idea and sent me some sketches within a few days.
The book cover was born!
It is a good thing I was out riding on that January morning. The book is now ready to launch with support from
luminaries like Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Marci Shimoff, author of “Happy for No Reason.” The celebrity endorsement list is long!
It all starts with getting inspired, and that’s easy when you have pets who love you in your life each day. Here is one of the quotations, just for you:
Happiness Quotation # 80
Pets Teach
Pets are present. Animals live for right this instant. If you can talk to your pet, they are looking around, right now, considering what is good (or what they need) right now. When you pet your dog, or ride your horse, you can tap into that space of feeling present. Consider living in that space of being present. In your present, what is? This is the key to happiness.
A lot is written about the power of the present. What is new today about your life? In a flash, millions and millions of experiences happened in the last 24 hours. Everyone on the planet is different now than they were yesterday. Your experiences shape you and teach you. The answer to a question will never be the same two days in a row. How different is that from what many learn in school? So different!
You think you can predict how someone will react. What if they just lost someone? Will they act differently? What if they won the lottery yesterday? Check in before you communicate. Be in the present. Learn from animals.
To get inspired from Erica Nelson’s happiness quotations, go to www.HappinessQuotations.com.
