He opened with his pop-raspy voice intro to the first song; and then BURST FORTH into FULL OPERATIC VOICE! What a VOICE! My mom exclaimed: ‘Wow! Buy me that CD!’ and she handed me $20.00 to pay for it! OH! …and her breathing started to calm!

I’m told my own singing voice can be very soothing, comforting, relaxing, and healing. I’ve had people buy my CD ( A Night at the Piano Bar with Helen of LAFOLOT) to give to freinds with health challenges.

The POWER of THE VOICE! With tone, with a look, with a feeling behind a word or statement – we have THE POWER to instantly change a mood, a situation, become a negotiator, an instigator, etc.

The POWER of THE VOICE! In Laughter Wellness and Outlook Shift Engineering talks, I share about ‘empathic response’ studied by Neuropsychologists. This is an area of the brain that receives WORD-VOICE and FACIAL-PHYSICAL transmissions from others with whom we are interracting. AH! MAZING! I say!

WE, have THE POWER – to diffuse or use! WE, have THE POWER to feel, assess, and SHARE-CARE due to the NATURAL empathy response of our AH! MAZING! BRAINS!

WHAT A GIFT!

I’m listening to my Russell Watson ‘THE VOICE’ CD as I type this. I LOVE the male, tenor voice!

Music, Voice, Word, Facial Expressions have such POWER! When I want to RESET, or have a personal OUTLOOK SHIFT – I often turn to MUSIC! ART! ENTERTAINMENT! SOCIALIZATION! LAUGHTER WELLNESS!

All these are received by the brain and have the power to:

MOTIVATE ME TO GET UP AND MOVE! CLEAN! Get OFF MY SEAT – and MOVE MY FEET!
to, RELAX, INSPIRE, FEEL, HEAL and MEDITATE!

In a slump? Feeling jittery or agitated? Need to relax and relieve stress? Need to get up and move?

Think Music, Voice, Action (Acting) and watch yourself move in a different direction!

Highlighted Helen! ‘Outlook Shift Engineer!’
Living BOLD and in ITALICS!
Live Life! Laugh Often!

I thought, ‘how sad’ – this Crow has ‘something to crow about’ and no one – not even another crow, is able to hear.

I then thought, how many times in life do we have ‘something to crow about’ and WE aren’t heard nor noticed.

I am passionate about what I do, ‘Outlook Shift Engineer!’, Laughter Wellness (Healthy Socialization) and Healthy interaction through smiling and kindness – but so many times – I feel like this Crow – in the middle of a busy intersection, not being heard nor noticed.

I was cleaning my office this morning and noticed all the ‘THANK YOU NOTES’ and ‘NOTES OF APPRECIATION’ I have ‘salt and peppered’ around my desk. These ‘PRICELESS FORMS OF COMMUNICATION’ are highly cherished! I keep them around to ‘keep me going’ when I ‘FEEL LIKE THE CROW WHO WAS NOT HEARD.’

The ART of communication is a wonderful, priceless thing!
The ART of listening.
The ART of a kind word, a smile, a simple FREE-ly giving gesture.

I was driving along the road and saw a woman in the lane to the right of me, her window halfway down – and a cigarette in her hand. Normally, I would get very annoyed, because of not wanting to breathe in the smoke and I would be judgemental.

I did an OUTLOOK SHIFT at that moment, put on my CLOWN NOSE – looked to the right in the woman’s direction (my car window was up) and I WAVED and SMILED!

The woman instantly waved and smiled back at me. I felt good that I had ‘changed my outlook’ and chosen to SHARE A HEALTHY SMILE AND A WAVE with this soul – traveling on the same road of life as I.

May you have a day filled with ART-full, Kind, Free-ly given beautiful communication -

and while ‘THE MASSES’ may not HEAR you nor I – perhaps, like me – being the only one noticing the CROW ‘CAWING’ out its message – you, too – will have ‘one special soul’ with whom to share your message.

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com
Outlook Shift Engineer!
Live Life! Laugh Often!

Little bird, little bird
did you hear me
as I thanked you
for having blessed this Earth with your presence?

Little bird, little bird
Little bird, little bird
I’m sure you heard. Peace.

As I walked towards SUBWAY at Windsor Park shopping center, today – I thought I saw a dark rag or paper on the ground. As I got closer, I realized it was a little black bird, with orange accents on its wings. It was about 2 feet from the sidewalk curb, perfectly in tact. I reached down to nudge it, it didn’t respond. It looked like it was asleep on its side. I slowly started to reach around it – in the event it was alive. There was no movement. I realized it was dead.

I didn’t want the beautiful creature’s body to be run over by a vehicle. I slowly, gently picked it up and took it over to a small cement-curbed island in the parking lot. It had a tree and two spirea bushes on either side. I placed the bird gently in the shade of the one spirea bush and said in my mind a little prayer: ‘Thank you little bird, for having graced this Earth with your presence.’

I felt the bird deserved a proper burial. A woman was walking towards me and asked, ‘Is it a bird?’ I let her know it had died. She immediately started to tell me how her children had been upset to find a dead bird in their driveway, and they had decided to give it a proper burial to make them feel better.

When I was taking a photo after feeling I wanted to write about it – another woman came over to ask what was up? I let her know I had found the bird and placed it by the bush, and was going to write a story about it. She said: ‘That was SO NICE of you to pick it up and bring it over here. She reached out to gently touch my shoulder.’ I told her I had said a blessing for it.

Just then, a young couple came walking by and asked what was going on. The woman told them and the guy called over: ‘Make sure you say a prayer for it!’

AH! MAZING! how much attention ‘little black bird with orange accents on its wings’ was getting. The 2nd woman that talked to me had noted: ‘ISN’T IT SUCH A PRETTY BIRD! What kind is it?’ I let her know I wasn’t aware, but also thought it to be so pretty.

It’s said that LIFE imitates ART. I say ART and ENTERTAINMENT imitates LIFE! Songs, plays, paintings are all done from FEELINGS about LIFE; about EXPERIENCES and HOW we VIEW Life situations! Life and Death are written and sung about all the time. Sometimes it’s a COMEDY, sometimes it’s written as a Tragedy. Sometimes, the audience is caught off-guard and feels AWKWARD that they are LAUGHING about the play topic of Life or Death. Isn’t it interesting?

Death, itself can bring up awkward feelings. I met a woman while working at a parttime job, yesterday. She was looking for a card to celebrate an elderly couple’s wedding anniversary – but the problem was – they had just lost a 2nd daughter to Lupus! The comedy/tragedy of the situation was – the daughter had been found dead in the garden. The wonderful thing was – the daughter did not have to go into a nursing home; she died doing what she loved, gardening. Can you see this scene in a play? Can you see and feel the awkwardness of the audience? Can you see how it could be done as an awkward-dark comedy or a tragedy – depending on how it is written?

A woman shared with me, that she was at her mother’s funeral. Her mother really HATED one particular song often sung at church. So WHAT did they play at her mother’s funeral? THAT SONG! What happend? The woman said she could HEAR her mother talking about it and the woman started to shake so strongly from laughing (at her mother’s funeral), that those around her thought she was CRYING and tried to console her, which made her laugh more!

The comedy and tragedy of life! I went to see the show SYLVIA at Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg, last Sunday. I sat there with my JAW DROPPED as I realized: ‘THIS PLAY IS EXACTLY HOW I’VE BEEN DEALING WITH MY LIFE THESE LAST FEW YEARS – with menopause and change of life!’ I sat in shock and laughed at the same time!

I’m GLAD that I was there today, to remove little black bird with orange wing accents from the road, before an unknowing vehicle would remove its identifiable form from site. I’m glad I got to see this beautiful creature, take it to a proper final resting place; and say a blessing of appreciation. I had just read a meditation magazine moments before; about appreciating everyone and everything I would encounter this day – and then – there it was LITTLE BLACK BIRD!

So little black bird inspired me to take its photo (ART), to WRITE a BLOG, and to WRITE a little poem at the beginning of this BLOG. What an INSPIRATIONAL Life and Death this little bird had on this Earth!

Thank you, little black bird – for CREATIVELY INSPIRING me! This one was FOR THE BIRD.

Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com

Living Life! Laughing Often! and always remembering … ‘a little kindness goes a long way’ *tweet

What type of art do you like? Traditional, Impressionistic …

What type of music? Classical, Jazz, Contemporary, Rap…

Just as music, sculpture, oil paintings, pencil sketches or any other creative expression can take many forms; so does LIFE!

I mention, in my book, that I was talking to a woman at Bethany Towers one day. I encountered her in the lobby. She was having a little trouble opening a jar lid. She also happened to be in a wheelchair. She also happened to be fairly young. I smiled and started a conversation with her. I was there to conduct my HEALTHY HAPPY HOUR – Laughter Club.

I told her that ‘if she wanted help opening the jar’ – I would certainly try to assist – but that I was also AWARE to ‘allow her to ask for help’ rather than my ASSUMING that she needed it, just because we were physically diffierent in our abilities.

She smiled, we talked a bit – then she gave me the jar to see if I could open the lid.

I was talking to her about a Star Trek – Next Generation episode where: One of the crew had ‘fallen for’ an alien woman who was wheelchair bound. The reason she was in a wheelchair on their spaceship, was because her planet had no gravity; hence the occupants had no muscle mass. So, when he went to her ‘cabin’ – HE BECAME PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED, because she had no gravity in her cabin quarters – to suit HER needs. HE became AWKWARD – floating around awkwardly. On the OTHER hand – she became GRACEFUL – floating FREELY in air space – moving easily about.

It was an interesting episode – causing awareness in – ‘what is normal’? ‘what is average?’ ‘what is accepted as handicap or different?

As I talked to this woman who expressed life with physical and speech limitation in ‘our world’ – I told her I considered her A PICASSO.

I told her I feel we all express life SOMEWHAT LIKE ART! Some people are Traditional paintings

i.e., 2 arms, 2 legs, 1 head, all the basic body parts that we consider THE AVERAGE or THE NORM.

Then – there are those who express life as: PICASSOS! Daring TO BE DIFFERENT! Some folks ‘fade into the background’ as IMPRESSIONIST paintings, and it takes a BIT to FOCUS in on them. Some express as WATER COLORS, living a quiet, soft existence. Some are POP ART – with BRIGHT, LOUD COLORS – saying: I’M HERE! I’M ALIVE, NOTICE ME!

So what are you? How do YOU express life? I don’t need to know. I don’t need or mean to label -

my point is: It’s ALL just LIFE EXPRESSION – and we are ALL ‘magnificently, created WORKS OF ART!’

Step back, let go of the instant judgement and take a gander at the GALLERY OF ART walking around you today.

BEAUTIFUL! isn’t it?

Helen M Szollosy – expressing herself as Singer, Writer, Speaker, Author, OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER!, Laughter Wellness Facilitator

Author: ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love’ or Growing Up With The Embarrassment of Prejudice www.lafolot.com/books/

We had been WARNED that ‘the end was near’!

As of 6:00pm California-time, May 21, 2011 -

the Rapture was to BE! (*hee hee!)

While driving down the road to get a bite to eat at Olive Garden Restaurant -
(I tried using THE RAPTURE as a reason to NOT have to PAY for my food –
but … they wouldn’t BUY it! *ha ha ha)

I saw a car license plate to the front and left lane of mine that started with the letters:

END #### (END!!!! OH NOOOOO!)

The car in front of me had a license plate with the first three letters:

HLP #### (HELLLLLLLP!)

THE END! (the rapture) HELLLLP!

Gotta LOVE how ‘nature’ brings a BIT O’ THE HUMOR into the silly antics of US HUMANS!

Are we all N.U.T.S. ??? (Not Understanding The Silliness)

Prior to that, I saw a license personalized license plate: KAT BARF

So, in the END, with a little HELP, we’ll all be able to LAUGH IT OFF!

From one silly human to others …

LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN! Life, it’s meant to be lived!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
O.S.E. (Outlook Shift Engineer)
www.lafolot.com/drive-yourself-happy

My tank was on empty, we had a couple ‘dumps’ of snow last evening and earlier in the day; I have a mother and sister in nursing and hospice care -

so what do I encounter when I finally get out to fill up my tank?

A man stops and smiles after paying for his fuel. He says: Are you a speaker? I answer ‘yes’ and ‘smile’ as I see that he’s noticed my magnetic car advertising.

To make a long story short – in addition – I’ve haven’t been able to keep up with my business handlings as well as I would have like; due to a lot of family needs surfacing (relocating my mom, closing down an apartment, closing out an assisted living apartment, etc.)

WHAT? Do I find in the small container I keep on the floor near my passenger seat (for business supplies) – A FULLY PACKED PAMPHLET about what I do! Miracle of Miracles! So he got to take a lot of information with him; in addition to what I shared face-to-face.

Somebody is watching out for me through all the ‘not fun stuff’ going on (which is one of the things I teach – how to work through or should I say RIDE through, more easily!)

AH! MAZING! Oh! Yes! and due to my radio commercial station forgetting to contact me regarding continuing my AD – they automatically offered me a FREE WEEK of Advertising!

AH! MAZING! Go figure! I certainly DO Live Life in AH! MAZEMENT! Have to shake my head side to side and smile and laugh over this day and this week!

AH! Yes! I can’t forget to mention the DRIVE MYSELF HAPPY moment I encountered, when I stopped at a shopping plaza parking lot; afterwards, and saw the license plate: JOYN-LIFE ‘Joy In Life?’ or ‘Join Life’ – no matter how you SEE it; it was a message gratefully received!

Full of it – GRATITUDE and AMAZEMENT, that is!

May you find – amidst some of the ‘overflowing piles of laundry of life situations’ – that you are being entertained by angels, unawares.

Highlighted Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com

Just in case you need a smile – I’m sharing one with you right now.

When I went to the chiropractor the other day, I took my earrings off in the car and set them in a container in the shift box area of my car between the seats; to keep them safe.

Well! Disliking having to wear so much bulky clothing in the winter, I had an afterthought and took my coat off, scarf, and fur head/ear protectors and tossed them on the passenger seat. I get tired of all the bulk, and just parked near the doctor’s office door.

When I got back to the car after my appointment, I noticed only 3 of the earrings were there!

I have LEARNED NOT to get overly upset about ‘the small stuff’. I have enough ‘bigger stuff’ to deal with, than to get upset over earrings (a brain damaged sister in a nursing home – due to being hit by a drunk driver at age 19, now 63 – for whom I’m her representative … as well as other challenges).

So I chalked it up to an ‘OH WELL …’ maybe I’ll find them on the floor of the car, later.

The next morning, I put on a freshly washed sweater, slacks and shoes to go out and START MY EARRING SEARCH – between the seats, etc. It’s pretty cold and windy here, so I had to REALLY want to look.

I talk about SEEING WITH NEW EYES, REFLECTING ON THE GOOD, SHIFTING ONE’S PERCEPTION, RE-LOOKING at Situations, etc. – from a positive persective.

Well! Because I can’t stand winter, all the bulky clothes, and getting ALL TANGLED UP every time I take ‘all my stuff on or off’ when coming or going (I wear my eyeglasses on a chain around my neck)… I had noticed – earlier in the week – I had lost the little plastic piece that helps the glasses rest higher on the nose. Only one side! So my glasses had been lop sided!

LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN EVERYTHING -

in the process of searching for the earrings – which I found!

I FOUND THE LITTLE PLASTIC PIECE down between the seats! WHAT WERE THE ODDS! [if I hadn't lost the earrings, I wouldn't have found the eyeglass part!]

It could have been ANYWHERE – a restaurant, doctor’s office, on the ground somewhere…

I had to SMILE! My gift for NOT getting upset about the earring possible loss, approaching it with an even temper and positive attitude, GOT ME A PRIZE!

And – to top it all off; when I got back into the house – I FOUND THAT CLING FREE DRYER SHEET THAT HAD FALLEN OUT OF THE SWEATER THAT I HAD JUST PUT ON BEFORE GOING OUT!

Laugh out Loud! *BIG SMILE! (I have many fun stories about lost and found dryer items… but I’ll save that for later!)

So, when you lose something – don’t LOSE IT (your cool, that is) –
take it easy and you never know what your PRIZE may be as a result!

Living in GRATITUDE!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Live Life in A-Maze-Ment!
www.lafolot.com

Well! I was driving in a shopping plaza and noticed the obviously weary
Salvation Army Bell Ringer – out in the cold. She was getting up from taking a
rest on the curb.

I am short of funds – but I pulled my vehicle to the curbside -
rolled down my window -
reached over to my passenger seat for the:

Dollar Store FELT, DEER ANTLER HEADBAND WITH BELLS (I had been using the last
two weeks to attract smiles/laughs)

and I HANDED it to her through the window. HER FACE BEAMED A SMILE!

I said: Here, these oughta make you feel better and attract more donations!

You would have thought I had given her gold! She took them and reached her
gloved hand into the car to shake my hand and wish me a Merry Christmas!

*sigh .. last year I gave my tinsel deely bobber headband to the Salvation Army
worker outside the same store and got the same reaction! I wrote a blog called:
Gift of the Tinsel Deely Bobber Headband

This is what I share in my motivational-inspirational talks -

it doesn’t take money to make someone’s day -

the LITTLEST, SIMPLEST things bring the BIGGEST, HEART WARMING smiles.

I live life in A-MAZE-MENT! There was a book written called ‘Don’t sweat the
small stuff.’

On the other hand – I TRULY FEEL it’s THE SMALL STUFF – the Positive Side of it
all – that LIGHTS UP THE WORLD!

“Lots of LITTLES make a BIGGLES of GIGGLES and SMILES!” – my latest Ha Ha Helenism.

…I’m smiling … and it feels good.

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM

[it feels good because it's been a stressfull 2 years w/ my oldest brain damaged sister (as a result of being hit by a drunk driver was she was 19 - now age 63) going into a Nursing home and this past week - helping two other sisters get my mom over to an assisted living building. In the middle of it all - the fire alarm went off at the new place IT WAS A MESS! My blood pressure has been all over the place ...]

I REALLLLLLY NEEEEEDED THIS SMIIIIIILE OPORTUNITY – I’m grateful it POPPED into my lap this evening.
Grateful for the gift of the deer antlers with bells! Oh? Wasn’t it for me?

I used to really dislike grocery shopping. Now, I PURPOSELY do ‘frequent’, ‘inefficient’ shopping so I HAVE to go back more frequently! Nuts? Oh, no! There’s a ‘madness to my method!’ HA HA!

Being a newly independent business owner, it give me more visibility! Since I work from home, it gets me out of the house for FUN socialization! Why? because I talk to people at the grocery store, joke and spread compliments and smiles!

Today, I was nearing the end of an aisle when a young woman stops her cart – OBLIVIOUS – blocking my exit. She didn’t notice me and proceeded to slowly walk around her mini-cart and reach on the bottom shelf for the plastic iced tea container. FUNNY PART WAS – the mini-cart was loaded with 6-packs of soda all around the top and bottom edges of the cart.

I ‘just stood there’ watching. I found it funny. She was moving in slow motion, oblivious. She finally noticed me, and apologized. I laughed, smiled and said “Oh! don’t worry – I do laughter wellness for a living and I was getting a kick out of watching the whole thing!” The HILARIOUS part was, she was double-checking that the iced-tea was INDEED sugar free! HAHAHAHA – she had tons of sugary soda in the cart! (I know – it could have been for several different people, it was just funny.) We talked about food carton labeling a few seconds and went on our merry way.

When I got over to the dairy aisle, I noticed a woman with beautiful, long, healthy, black, shiny hair! I have a cosmetology license, so I KNOW healthy hair when I see it! I said: ‘Excuse me, I don’t normally do this, but I have to tell you you have the most beautiful, shiny, black hair I’ve ever seen! What do you do to it?’ She was an woman possibly in her lat 30s or 40s. She said: ‘Oh! I’m getting it ALL CUT OFF for LOCKS OF LOVE!’ [I was impressed!] She said: ‘I never use hot blow dryers on it.’ It was amazing!

Besides making ‘frequent’ trips to the grocery store (on a daily basis), I also walk from one end of the store to the other – not in a down and up the aisle pattern. Why? It GETS ME MORE EXERCISE and I feel SILLY doing it! It’s fun! I make my Grocery List in my head by getting the first letter of each item needed and making a word out of it! For example, yesterday it was WAT or TWA (Trans World Airlines!) HA HA Water, Apples, Tea bags! I just remember the word or phrase and off to shop I go!

IT’S FUN, SILLY and puts a smile on my face as I remember my items without writing them down! It’s a GREAT EXERCISE for THE BRAIN, too!

As I checked out, I wished the Indian/American cashier attendant Hello! in HINDI (I know a couple Phillipine/American women there, also – so I get to with them Hello, Goodbye, Thank you in their languages, too!)

As I walked towards the exit, I see a TALL, Model-like young woman in Shoe Heels that were almost as tall as me! They must have been 4 1/2″ heels! Talk about A HEALTHY WORKOUT while BALANCING on those things! I left the store in my SENSIBLE SNEAKERS with a SMILE on my face!

Here’s to healthy, happy, inefficient, social grocery store shopping! HA HA HELEN of LAFOLOT style!

Spread those SMILES by the MILES!

and DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY! to the grocery store!
www.lafolot.com
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT

‘DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY!’ moment! HA HA!

I was heading out of my Mobile Park to turn onto the main road -
I looked at the first three letters of the license plate
in front of me.

GBL – Ha Ha Ha! That’s GOBBLE! for Thanksgiving! How appropriate!

I went to record my FIRST RADIO AD for a small local radio station- WOO HOO! It went well! I used my THEATRE VOICE! Ha Ha! [ fyi - it will air Monday Nov 29 7:41 AM each weekday before the Comedy minute through December 25, 2010 - 1230 AM Fortress - a local - southcentral PA radio station]

Afterwards, I headed out into Holiday shopping traffic to do some food shopping and head over to my favorite office supply store for my 2011 business wall calendar.

When leaving the parking lot to drive home – I looked at the car in front of me. The first 3 letters on the license plate were:

ELV

HA HA! ELVES! How appropriate for the Holiday Season!

Guess I’m ‘DRIVING MYSELF HAPPY!’

Have a Ha Ha Happy THANKSGIVING and Holiday Season! No matter your belief system or options for celebrating or not – just BE!
*Weeeeeee! *tee hee!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
Live Life! Laugh Often! and DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY!