Often people confuse happiness with being in contentment.

Happiness is Joy.
Joy is an emotional state of mind.
Like all emotions they tend to rise and fall in severity.
It's unhealthy to try to hold onto an emotional state.

If contentment is the center (standard emotional state), joy and anger are extreme periods of emotion which rise and fall according to stimuli.

You get periods which cause joy and you get periods which cause anger. Since those emotions flex, trying to live in constant joy or anger can cause depression. Its unnatural and impossible.

Depression is self-sustaining extreme periods of all emotions. It can cause you to feel you have no control over your own feelings or your own life.

Most of life is non-eventful, emotionally speaking.
If those periods of non-emotional events are 'empty' you think you can't feel happiness.

When you gain emotional maturity, its easier to feel contentment during those non-event periods of life.
You realize happiness (joy) and anger (malcontent) are emotional states which are not meant to last a long time. You have control over malcontent and experience greater sensitivity to the moments which bring you joy.

You still get happy but its more powerful
You still get angry but it is less severe and debilitating.
Non-eventful periods of life are reinforced by contentment.
Contentment becomes your ... middle ground, so to say.
When contented, there's no room for depression to take hold.

Life can be hard.
Everyone builds a delusion about something.
When the delusion is broken, we get confused.
That confusion of life's expectations affects contentment.
Accepting the reality of your own life, without the delusional gloss allows you to be contented because reality is always reality.

We all set expectations on life. We are taught what to expect by the other people we meet.
We build delusions based on other people's examples of what life is supposed to be.
When our own lives don't match those expected results it confuses expectations. Natural contentment eludes us.

Remove the delusions and see your own life's reality. Set your own expectations based on what you know about your own life.
Delusions can be broken but reality is reality and applies no matter the expectation.

Understanding that, allows contentment and natural expression of emotion.

If you 'feel nothing' you are telling yourself to feel nothing and denying your own emotional expression. Feeling 'numb' emotionally is a form of depression.
I've felt the same way before and its soul-wrenching.
I needed to come to grips with my expectations and remove the delusions I built so I could embrace reality.
Once that was mastered (It took a long time), I found inner contentment and my moments of joy were so much sweeter. It also allowed me to make better decisions which lessened the malcontent and anger I felt. It gave me control of my own emotional stability.

Many, many things in life bring me joy now.
Few things make me angry and when I am angry, I can control and remove the anger from my decision making.
I never really feel over-whelming sadness anymore. I still feel sadness when it is warranted but it doesn't consume me.

If you allow someone else to tell you how to live your life, you are living their lives ... not yours.
Take back your life and live your life your way.
You are the only expert on how to live your own life, because it is YOUR life after-all.
Without YOU your life is a lie.
Those lies (delusions) bring malcontent because things in your life don't align with delusional expectations.

Put your head on right...see the reality of your life and take control of it. It should be the easiest thing you can do.
Nobody can do a better you, they don't walk your path.

Made a playlist today - Best played on SHUFFLE

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlZFKHUoVKGR_7RLd1g0EK60_VnJniuL_

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlZFKHUoVKGR_7RLd1g0EK60_VnJniuL_

I finally worked up a notepad of my TV show collection.

Television Show Universes

Amazing Stories Universe
~Amazing Stories (1985) Complete
~Amazing Stories (2020) Complete

Babylon Five Universe
~Babylon 5 (1993) Complete
~Crusade (1999) Complete

Battlestar Galactica Universe
~Battlestar Galactica (1978) Complete
~Battlestar Galactica: 1980 (1980) Complete
~Battlestar Galactica (2004) Complete
~Caprica (2009)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Universe
~Angel (1999) Complete
~Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (1997) Complete

Chicago Universe
~Chicago Code (2011) Complete
~Chicago Fire (2012) Current
~Chicago Hope (1994) Complete
~Chicago Med (2015) Current
~Chicago PD (2014) Current

Cosmos
~Cosmos (1980) Season 1 {Sagan} Complete
~Cosmos (2014) Season 1 {Tyson} Complete

Criminal Minds Universe
~Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016) Complete
~Criminal Minds: Original (2005) Complete
~Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour (2011) Complete

CSI Universe
~CSI (2000) Complete
~CSI: Cyber (2015) Complete
~CSI: Miami (2002) Complete
~CSI: NY (2004) Complete
~CSI: Vegas (2021) Current

FBI Universe
~FBI (2018) Current
~FBI International (2021) Current
~FBI Most Wanted (2020) Current

Godzilla Universe
~Godzilla Power Hour (1978) (animated) Complete
~Godzilla: The Series (1998) (animated) Complete

Lost In Space Universe
~Lost In Space (2018) Complete
~Lost In Space: Original (1965) Complete

NCIS Universe
~NCIS (2003) incomplete
~NCIS: Los Angeles (2009) incomplete
~NCIS: New Orleans (2014) Complete
~NCIS: Hawaii (2021) Current
~NCIS: Sydney (2023) Unreleased

Night Stalker Universe
~Kolchack: The Night Stalker (1974) Complete
~Night Stalker (2005) Complete

Outer Limits Universe
~Outer Limits: The Original Series (1963) Complete
~The Outer Limits (1995) Complete

Primeval Universe
~Primeval (2007) Complete
~Primeval: New World (2012) Complete

Star Trek Universe
~Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) Complete
~Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) Complete
~Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) Complete
~Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) Complete
~Star Trek: Voyager (1995) Complete
~Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) Complete
~Star Trek: New Voyages aka {Phase II} (2004) Complete
~Star Trek: Continues (2013) Complete
~Star Trek: Discovery (2017) Current
~Star Trek: Discovery Short Treks (2018) Current
~Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) Current
~Star Trek: Picard (2020) Current
~Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) Current
~Star Trek Image Bank - Photos
~Star Trek Schematics - Photos

Stargate Universe
~Stargate: Atlantis (2004) Complete

S.W.A.T. Universe
~S.W.A.T. (1975) Complete
~S.W.A.T. (2017) Current

Swamp Thing Universe
~Swamp Thing (1990) Complete
~Swamp Thing (2019) Complete

Twilight Zone Universe
~Twilight Zone (1959) Complete
~Twilight Zone (1985) Complete
~Twilight Zone (2002) Complete
~Twilight Zone (2019) Complete

War of the Worlds Universe
~War of the Worlds (1988) Complete
~War of the Worlds (2019) Current
~War of the Worlds (2019) 3-Part Miniseries Complete

_________________________________________
-----------------------------------------

TV Shows Completed (Stand Alone Series)
~All seasons complete~

10th Kingdom (2000) 5 Part Miniseries
100 Years of Horror (1996)

Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
Altered Carbon (2018)
Andromeda (2000)
APB (2016)
Ark II (1976)
Ascension (2014) 3 part miniseries
Ash VS Evil Dead (2015)
Away (2020)

Barney Miller (1975)
Bones (2005)
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)

Childhood's End (2015) 3 part miniseries
Continuum (2012)

Defying Gravity (2009)
Dimension 404 (2017)
Dinotopia (2002)

Earth 2 (1994)
Emergency (1972)
Eureka (2006)
Extant (2014)

Falling Skies (2011)
Firefly (2002)
Flashpoint (2008)
Forbidden Science (2009)
Friday The 13th - The Series (1987)
Fringe (2008)

Game of Thrones (2011)
Gargoyles (1994)

Haven (2010)
Homicide: Life On The Street (1993)

Invasion (2005)
iZombie (2015)

Jonny Quest (1964)
Jupiter's Legacy (2021)

Kindred The Embraced (1996)
Kingdom Hospital (2004)

Limitless (2015)

Man from Atlantis (1977)
Mars (2016)
Monsterland (2020)
Mork & Mindy (1978)

Night Gallery (1969)
Nightflyers (2018)

Odyssey 5 (2002)

Person of Interest (2011)
Police Squad (1982)
Poltergeist The Legacy (1996)
Powers (2015)
Prehistoric Park (2006)
PSI Factor - Chronicles of the Paranormal (1996)

Quantum Leap (1989)
Quincy M.E. (1976)

Sanctuary (2008)
SeaQuest 2032 (1993)
Siren (2018)
Sliders (1995)
Space Above and Beyond (1995)
Special Unit 2 (2001)
St. Elsewhere (1982)
Supernatural (2005)
Surface (2005)

Tales From The Crypt (1989)
Tales From The Darkside (1983)
Tarzan The Epic Adventures (1996)
Tell Me A Story (2018)
Terra Nova (2011)
The Big Bang Theory (2007)
The Expanse (2015)
The First (2018)
The Green Hornet (1966)
The Last Ship (2014)
The Librarians (2013)
The Lost World (1996)
The Mentalist (2008)
The Shannara Chronicles (2016)
The Unit (2006)
The Wild Wild West (1965)
Third Watch (1999)
Time Trax (1993)

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964)
Voyagers (1982)

Warehouse 13 (2009)
WKRP In Cincinnati (1978)

X-Files (1993)

_________________________________________
-----------------------------------------
TV Shows Currently Running
~ Stand Alone Collection ~

9-1-1 (2018) ~ Season 5

Are You Afraid of the Dark (2019) ~ Season 3

Creepshow (2019) ~ Season 4

For All Mankind (2019) ~ Season 3
Foundation (2021) ~ Season 2

Invasion (2021) ~ Season 2

La Brea (2021) ~ Season 2

Moon Knight (2022) ~ Season 1

Orville (2017) ~ Season 3

Walking Dead (2010) ~ Season 11
Wheel of Time (2021) ~ Season 2

Special Characters all seem to work EXCEPT shift 8 star (asterix).

Special Characters ▲ ▼ ╞ 0 Ç ü é

Special Characters ¶ § ▬ ↨ ↑ ↓ → ← ∟ ↔

Special Characters ♂ ♀ ♪ ♫ ☼ ► ◄ ↕ ☺ ‼

Special Characters ☺ ☻ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ • ◘ ○

Special Characters ( ) _ + \ |

Special Characters ^ &

Special Characters ! @ # $ %

Special Characters ~

Special Characters `

For me, seeding wasn't really needed.
My children were naturally curious about the sciences pre-puberty. That was easy.

Puberty is when the real challenge started.
Social dynamics of teens can be scary and confusing to young minds.

Post-puberty issues then focused on responsibility and maturity. Luckily, my children had the capacity to understand the complexity of adulthood because they were raised with 'practice scenarios'.

Parenting is more than providing answers and challenges to your children. You need to be able to allow them to fail, make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.

Many parents think of discipline as punishment but discipline is best taught using reinforcement.
Seeding is only part of the strategy and only applicable some of the time.

Seeding also happens during the normal day without intent.
At all ages I explained many things inspired by their questions while and after watching TV shows and movies.
Many of their questions dealt with physics and sociology.
"Dad, if a car flips over does it always explode?"
"Dad, if I meet a girl should I tell everyone she's easy?"
"Dad, Why do airplanes stay in the air?"
And on and on...

Plus there are real-life encounters which inspire curiosity as well.
"Why did the mother bird push her babies out of the nest?"
"What are those big cans on some of the telephone poles?"
"Why is the river faster here but not over there?"

I remember one time when my daughter was asking if her friend could say the night. I looked at her and asked "Only if she is a nitrogen breathing surface dweller." My X burst out laughing but my daughter had no idea why and had such a perplexed look on her face I had to explain.
From that point on my daughter knew air was not just oxygen and nitrogen is in higher concentration.

Every seeding exercise doesn't have to be a formal learning progression. Kids respond to light humor and jocularity faster than serious talks. Its more effective when you can incorporate the seeding into their real-life drama.

Me personally, I often seeded myself.
In kindergarten I was a stacker. I had/have a knack for balancing objects. As that developed I personally became curious about gravity. As a got older, my curiosity expanded to physical sciences.

What it all boils down to is, Seeding only works when the child has interest in that subject.
So with the very young it might be best to first seed many different things and take note of where the interest peaks. The older the child is, the more directly you can ask them what they are interested in.
To 'push' a child in the direction YOU want them to go is not fair to the child, or yourself.

Love isn't found or hung on to, its felt.
Love can rise and fall within you many time to varried levels but once love is no longer felt at all, it can't be held, only felt again.

Love is a feeling within you.
You can demonstrate your love to another but you can't make them feel your feelings.
If they feel love for you in return, it is always their love they feel, not yours.

The trick is to find someone who demonstrates their love for you effectively and in turn, you demonstrate your love for them effectively.

Tony Joe White had a gift.

LOL, weekends are already fun!
Hell, even the weekdays are fun...

I don't think that's a good idea.

Y'see, common sense requires commonality. We are from different parts of the world with different cultures. Plus, my experiences with my children happened 30 years ago and probably do not quite fit even the children in my own culture today.

What you need to do is step back and look at your proposals rationally using what you actively know is common in your own culture/environment.

My input on such subjects are merely suggestion to consider, to create a view of what might work that you could use to apply to your own culturally unique circumstances.

My comments are never meant to be authoratative in nature, merely ideas which might create inspirational consideration.

Imagine a group of scientists are brainstorming on a project but have reached an impasse, their creativity and imagination have all panned out as ineffective.
Then some stranger (say, the custodian) walks by and says something just right and the scientists open a new train of thought which allows them to make progress or figure out something which had previously eluded them.
Sometimes clarity requires simplicity. Over-thinking can complicate a simple solution.

That's what I try to do...be the custodian or random guy who says that thing which opens closed minds.

Your project is 'your project' written for your culture with your morals and goals. For children who live in your social environment.

Right now, my children are dealing with grandchildren who have grown in an environment far from the one I taught my kids. Nearly all my grandchildren have a game system and a phone.
The are exposed to stimuli my children at that age never encountered.
Luckily, my children have fond childhood memories and pass those things to their children.
But, not every family is ever going to be the same. What worked for my children usually didn't work for my friends and co-worker's children.

I was personally involved with my family but not all parents have the time or the will to be.

Just as there is no encompassing step by step instruction on how to love there is no encompassing step by step instruction on how to raise children.

Its a case by case, child by child, trial and error duty as a parent which takes personal discipline and dedication to each individual child.

Three cheese ham & mushroom omelets

Mustard fried potatoes & egg scramble

Redneck Lipstick barbecued baby back ribs
w/ homemade macaroni salad and freshly picked corn on the cob.

Poorman's meal

Alfredo chicken & linguini w/sweet peas.

Fresh homemade maple syrup, apple cider & apple butter

Fresh picked sweet Georgia peaches

Hot Italian sausages with onions & peppers

Blooming Onion with honey Dijon mustard

Bacon ranch suddenly salad - cold

Cold turkey sammiches

Fluffernutter sammiches

Oreo cookies & ice cold milk

Corned Beef & Cabbage boiled dinner

Reuben on Rye

Homemade peanut butter fudge

Chef Salad w/bacon ranch

Homemade macaroni & cheese

Toasted cheese sammiches & tomato soup

Homemade chicken & dumplings w/biscuits

Shrimp cocktail

Butter fried small-mouth bass or trout

Spice cake w/powdered sugar

Grilled 1 inch thick Rib Eye or Porterhouse

Stuffed mushrooms

Combo meat shish-ka-bobs w/mushrooms

Apple Crisp

Fresh garden tomato sammiches

French fries spritzed w/malt vinegar dipped in ketchup or Redneck Lipstick

Toasted blueberry bagels w/cream cheese

-------------------------------------------
DQ Mushroom Swiss Burger w/chocolate milkshake

Fazoli's Sampler platter w/strawberry lemonade

McDonald's McRib

Wendy's Baconator & large fries

Sonic's Ocean Water

Lee's Fried Chicken

Blimpie's Blimpy Best

Damon's Ribs

Ryan's Carved Ham

Blind Tiger's Royal Reds

Jack In The Box Jumbo Jack

Huddle House Breaded Mushrooms

Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips

Brooklyn Pizza Stromboli

Greenville Diner: Doc's Club Sammich w/French onion Soup

Smokehouse's Bar Burgers w/cheese

Popcorn Shop's Hot Fresh Cajun Crawfish Popcorn

Sloppy Dog's Cajun Gator Sausage - smothered

Red Lobster's Lobster Surf & Turf w/side of grilled shrimp

--------------------------------------

Big Chicken Dinner

Slow cooker chili w/cornbread

Homemade beef stroganoff w/shiitakes

Strawberries dipped in lemon pudding