14. The letter P.

This week’s mailout is brought to you by the letter P.

This time, we’d like to point out the plethora of pros there are in being a patient person. Not only does patience mean you can take the time out of a paragraph to produce perfect alliterative sentences, it can also get you through a lot of less-than-positive situations. Bex would like to use a personal anecdote to demonstate this.
I have a 4-month old baby sister called Ella and sometimes she cries an awful lot. Anyone who’s been in close proximity to a crying baby knows that its a distressing noise – it has to be, babies need to scream for others as they can’t care for themselves, after all. It does make my house a pretty stressful environment, particularly for my mum who gets little sleep and has to keep on top of day-to-day chores while looking after a noisy Ella. Tonight we watched one of those how-to videos linked in this message about how to cope with a crying baby. One point made a lot of sense. Time passes and things change! The older a child gets, the more independence he or she gains, the less he or she will cry for help. It really is the same with everything. Eventually, situations get better. Life comes in seasons, summer will follow winter and with some patience, everyone can last out the bad times and anticipate the good times to follow. You know that thing you’re worrying about right now? Picture yourself in a month’s time. Chances are, the thing won’t even matter anymore! And then comes patience. It really is a good thing.

*wwwell Good*

[two interesting websites]
http://www.eyezmaze.com/eyezblog_en/blog/2005/09/grow_cube.html
http://x-entertainment.com/articles/0913/

*videos*

[a nice video]
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-give-a-homie-handshake
explore the website after watching this, it’s full of useful and fun things to learn and do!

*cheerthefuckup-pics*

[some fun and nice pictures]
http://mattstuart.com/

To finish, we’d like to invite you to invite your friends, as the numbers are dwindling and that’s something that makes us slightly worried. The fact that so many of you have stuck by us is incredibly nice, and it must mean you like these messages and the group at least a little bit. We do want to share it with as many people as we possibly can though, so if you agree with what we say, share it with your friends! You might just cheer them up that little bit extra.

Love,
Bex & Sam.
xx.

13. Shark Attacks: unlucky for some.

Hello everybody! How are you? We hope you’ve been happy in our absence, but not because of it, of course. Sorry for the slight lack of messages the last couple of weeks. We hope you have been looking after yourselves and eating right and sleeping okay. That’s important.

This week we have picked out a couple of fantastic movie clips for your viewing pleasure!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoUpF7rvfnk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nzd0R_OeOc

And some ingenious sandwich/lunchbox designs.
http://flickr.com/photos/kitsa_sakurako/sets/72157603564413806/

CTFUI recommends:
1. Sorting out and/or decorating your house/room. It’s really nice to sort out your things and to make your space your own. Fill it with favourites – pictures of friends and memories of good times.We think that houses/rooms are about being lived in, not being show-homes and it is nice to make it comfortable. This week make your space more special.

2. When in a public place, turn on your bluetooth and search for people with fantastic bluetooth names such as ‘hawtlegs’ on the train or ‘dougie fresh’ in the hospital. Then try to match the name to the people around you.

3. Send in your own recommendations so that we can share them with everyone else who is part of this group.

Have a good week and look after yourselves! See you next time.

love,
Bex & Sam.
xx.

12. Winter is whipped away.

Hello to all 1075 members! How’s it going?

This weekend marks the changing of the clocks and beginning of summertime in our part of the globe, it’s inevitable that most of you will be looking forward to the weather getting warmer and the days being lighter, which can be a lovely thing. However, we wanted to use this opportunity to remind everyone that winter can be just as wonderful too! Of course, some of our members in far away places might be looking forward to colder weather around this time of year, so it’s a good time to think about beautiful cold-weather things like…
- seeing your own breath in the air
- admiring frost patterns decorating car bonnets
- hearing the wind blowing cold outside while you’re wrapped up warm in bed
- picking up leaves that are frozen rigid
- skating on ice
- non-aggressive snow ball fights
- sledding
- making snow angels
- cracking the ice on frozen puddles

and of course, building a snowman friend!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daiharuki/360064291/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreasmarx/111282578/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/redshoesannarbor/291997849/

*wwwell Good*
[an interesting website]
As suggested by Mr Dan Gay, a new member of the group, the dictionary.com word of the day page. Learn a new word today!
http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/

*videos*
[a nice video]
There is only one video this week, because it is a little longer than usual and particularly epic. We think it is sufficient by itself and we hope you like it as much as we do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVYWJOEy9A

Thank you for listening and hope you have a good week!

Love,
Bex & Sam.
xx.

For newer members, older messages are here:
http://cheerthefuckupism.wordpress.com/

11. Cuddled into delay.

Hello everybody! We’re sorry we didn’t send out the message last night, but we were cuddling. We thought you would understand! Last week saw us break the 1000 members mark, which was really exciting to see. Now at 1068, it’s growing ever larger, which means the message of Cheerthefuckupism is being spread. We only have you guys to thank for this, and we’re ever so glad that you appreciate it and enjoy it.

Here are this week’s links!

*wwwell Good*
[an interesting website]
http://www.foundmagazine.com/

*videos*

[a selection of nice videos]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4YRhrDod9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jEVl-1RSQ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYp2Aloz-uE

*cheerthefuckup-pics*

[some fun and nice pictures]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroenjeroen/2325207416/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/venaglia/1819142046/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yonizur/448740698/

This week we’d like to open out the writing bit to all of you. We’re inviting you to write a message of well wishing and optimism to help your fellow cheerthefuckupists to cheer up! Since we’ve heard that some people find the messages slightly impersonal, we think it’d be nice to hear something back and give you the chance to get involved and introduce some new opinions and viewpoints. If you have some thoughts to share, a funny anecdote, a description of a beautiful experience or an optimistic passage on a subject of your choice, we would really love to hear it. If you think of something, even if it’s just a few lines or a whole paragraph, send it in to one of us and we’ll pick some for next week’s message. After all, you all have good things to share, not just us.

Have a great week doing what you do!
Love,
Bex & Sam.
xx.

10. If you listen, you can hear it.

Bon Giorno, cheerthefuckupists! We hope you’ve had a cheerful and productive week and that the month of march is going smoothly for you all. We’re delighted to see that the group now totals 996 members, which is, of course, only 4 away from a nice four-figured 1000! Reaching that many members is certainly a milestone, to see it as something reachable makes us very happy indeed. So, a huge thank you goes out to anyone who has invited friends and thought that our little group is good enough to share. We really do appreciate it.

*wwwell Good*
[two interesting websites]
http://peoplecollector.net/
http://www.pbfcomics.com/

*video*
[a nice video]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4VNMERVsC4

*cheerthefuckup-pics*
[some fun and nice pictures]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/good_day/111551078/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matilde/127790236/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/toastforbrekkie/234615767/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ukaaa/1102090491/

*cheerthefuckup-product*
[cool thing of the week]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keepon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewGk7aKjk7k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VKE_VoXzNI

We’ve thought about dreams a bit this week. It’s funny that, in dreams, you can create faces and places and experiences that don’t really exist. Think about a time when you’ve seen somebody or a place in a dream that you have never seen in reality. Its interesting to wonder where these things come from and fun to realise the way your mind interprets elements of the day in different ways when you’re asleep. It’s a nice thing to share with others. We hope that this week brings you sweet and enjoyable dreams.
What is really interesting about dreams is that they’re the only place you can really find silence. Silence doesn’t exist when we are awake. There are always distant cars or birds or just wind to create some kind of soundtrack to our lives. This night-time soundtrack is special – its what we hear in our most private and reflective moments, just before dreams. With that, here is an extract from a book called ‘if nobody speaks of remarkable things’ by Jon Mcgregor.We hope you find something in it.

“If you listen, you can hear it.
The city, it sings.
If you stand quietly, at the foot of a garden, in the middle of a street, on the roof of a house.
It’s clearest at night, when the sound cuts more sharply across the surface of things, when the song reaches out to a place inside you.
It’s a wordless song, for the most, but it’s a song all the same, and nobody hearing it could doubt what it sings.
And the song sings the loudest when you pick out each note.”

love,
Bex+Sam.
xx

for the new members, older messages are here:
http://cheerthefuckupism.wordpress.com/

09. Sleep, letters and raindrops.

Bonjour! That is french for hello. There are a massive 964 of Cheerthefuckupists, a large number have joined this week which is very encouraging and beautiful to see. So thank you all for inviting new people you think will agree with the ideas and feelings we are trying to share, or thank you for finding us and joining!

Here is a bit about sleep.
Sleep feels lovely. You can’t deny that there’s something blissful about getting to go to bed after a long week and lie in for hours on a saturday morning when you don’t need to be anywhere. There is definitely such a thing as too much sleep though. Notice how, the more you lie in over the weekend, the harder it is to wake up properly? We shouldn’t need a double espresso to get out of bed. Instead, get the right amount that you need and spend the rest of your time doing something you wouldn’t normally do with the extra time you’ve saved yourself – go for a walk, paint something, write a letter to a friend – ooh! Letters! Letters are really lovely too. It’s so nice to get something through the door from a friend, some handwritten words and nice pictures and thoughts. It’s such a lost art in our time of facebook and everything being easy and immediate. There’s something really lovely about the anticipation of receiving a letter, and knowing time has been taken over it. That its personal. If you feel inclined, we recommend writing a letter this week.

Anyway, it’ll feel so much better to go to sleep when you really do need the energy. That is our tip for this week. We hope that doesn’t sound really preachy! We’re feeling tired and its hard to focus. That’s kind of what inspired this!

*wwwell Good*
[an interesting website]
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=irule

*videos*
[a selection of nice videos]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCf4hsqXYZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToX_wcKabiY

*cheerthefuckup-pics*
[some fun and nice pictures]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ttriolo/454818003/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/latitudes/86719967/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/version-3-point-1/403661676/

We’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who offered feedback and suggestions for the improvement of the messages, we found the most popular response was, in general, to have more happy words and less links so we’ve tried to take a step in that direction. Let us know how you feel about it!

Have a good week, and ignore that weather nonsense. Rain is free water, wind makes kites alive. If it is a rainy afternoon, try watching the drops going down a window or lie in the dark and listen to them falling and splashing on the windows or roof.

love,
Bex+Sam.
xx

for the new members, older messages are here:
http://cheerthefuckupism.wordpress.com/

08. It’s not you, it’s them.

Dear each and every one of the 858 Cheerthefuckupists,

This week we want to know: is this going anywhere? We’ve noticed an awful lot of people leaving lately which significantly outweighs the number of people joining, and so we put it to you – what can we do to make these messages better and to perhaps stop this continuing to happen? Your suggestions are most welcome. We’re growing a little concerned and we really don’t want to lose faith in this little project just yet or at all.

A bumper amount of things to make it wonderfullly rich, this time, and we hope you enjoy each and every one of them!

*wwwell Good*
[an interesting website]
http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

*videos*
[a selection of nice videos]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg5SaVARh4A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmP3kXcTsQE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzMuax75s3M

*cheerthefuckup-pics*
[some fun and nice pictures]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/poorusher/130732872/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaetanlee/298178764/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meram/476781773/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattgypps/110176633/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/afroswede/22237769/

*chatthefuckup*
[discussion board things]
Things to do when you’re bored?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=4101&uid=21128523168
Things that make you smile?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=3807
Films that cheer you up?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=4058
Which animal cheers you up?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=3915
Cheerthefuckupist meals?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=4013
What is your favourite word?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=3988

*cheerthefuckuplist*
[a list of nice things]
taken from the Ladybird Book for Boys and Girls.
‘things i can hear’
a stick dragged along railings
a squeaky swing
the school bell at the end of the day
wellington boots in deep mud
the crunch of fresh snow on a winter morning
a fire engine
a train hooting far away
the ring of a shop doorbell
the crack of a cricket ball on a bat
milk sucked up through a straw
a crisp packet blown up, twisted, and burst
gargling after brushing teeth
ice-cream van chimes
a merry-go-round
whispering
thunder
the clip-clop of horses’ hooves
the crackle of a bonfire
cracking ice on a frozen puddle
a cat purring

*quote me happy*
[some inspirational words to finish this message]
“Watermelon – it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”
-Enrico Caruso

Let us know what you think will make these messages even better, and remember to share this group/vision with any friends you think will appreciate it!

Have a brilliant week and take care of yourselves. Remember – if it’s a bad day, it isn’t the end of the world. You still have people to help you out and remind you that life is wonderful.

love,
Bex+Sam.
xx

07. bored = board games.

hello hello hello!
we realise this is a day late, but hope you appreciate that we are normal people like you, and things can happen which prevent us getting messages out on time. yesterday, as we advised in our quick message – we didn’t want to wake up a sleeping baby. we hope that you have all survived this monday and hey, it’s one day closer to another weekend now!

the topic of this week’s block of text is ‘those’ sundays. you know, the ones where there is nothing on tv, the internet has run dry on you and you have no idea what to do with yourself. from our personal experience, and discovery this weekend, we suggest trying out board games or card games with friends or family. there is a certain sense of accomplishment by physically playing a game, rather than plonking yourself down infront of the television and shooting some aliens apart with a big flaming gun. it brings back a sense of family and friendship. if you’re bored on sunday, or indeed – any day of the week – we suggest digging in that cupboard and pulling out some old board games. you might just enjoy yourself and rediscover some old memories!

now it’s time for some visual and audio/visual things to make you smile.
[hopefully]

*cheerthefuckup-pics*
[some fun and nice pictures]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bright/15054132/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jot_de/140510153/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vwmang/110643753/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/baboon/35353733/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/regardless/343659643/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/base_gee/1407977381/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucidpieces/68957640/

*videos*
[a selection of nice videos]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkTpwhhgsRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbbxA8a_M_s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY4Epc2XSGc

*quote me happy*
[some inspirational words to finish this message]
“Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.
-A.A. Milne

so, thats it for this week folks, keep your head up and out of the sand, notice the world around you and dig out some old games if you’re bored! have a brilliant rest-of-the-week and remember that smiles and laughter are infectious – so get infecting! wave to a stranger [who looks friendly], smile on public transport, say your please and thank you’s and show appreciation for the ones you love.

Lots of love,
Bex+Sam.
xx.

for the new members, older messages are here:
http://cheerthefuckupism.wordpress.com/

06. Cheerthefuckupists, Combat Boredom!

hello dudes, dudettes and everyone who doesn’t wish to fall under those titles! did you have a good week? we hope so. you deserve it. we’ve gained another 48 members since this time last sunday, bringing the total to 850, so an extra loud ‘hello’ in their direction! this week we tackle the subject of boredom.

boredom can grab hold of you at anytime of the day, but especially when you have work to do which you are putting off, or indeed, when you have nothing to do at all!

boredom is probably the second most often used answer to the question ‘how are you?’ closely following tired. we’re all over-stimulated by television and computers and all sorts of things like that – which feed us large amounts of information in a short time. when we don’t have this we get bored because the real world doesn’t offer such rapidly changing environments and situations. obviously things happen, but what if nothing ever happened? we would sit infront of the tv and this would be the situation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4pY3QtiGyo

in order to combat this ‘boredom’ that everyone supposedly feels – this week’s finds will hopefully give you some things to do, if only for a few minutes…

*things to do when you’re bored: let’s help each other out.*
Mr Delong Lu came up with the idea of a list of 99 things to do when you’re bored, so i’ve started a discussion thread post thingy to get the ball rolling, so to speak.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=4101&uid=21128523168
post something that you do when you’re bored that occupies your time and helps you escape from the clasps of boredom!

*chatthefuckup*
[discussion board things]
here are some other interesting discussions going on which you can take part in if you’re bored!
Things that make you smile?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=3807
Films that cheer you up?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=4058
Which animal cheers you up?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=3915
Cheerthefuckupist meals?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=4013
What is your favourite word?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=21128523168&topic=3988

*videos*
[a couple of fun videos]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPNxTCp9mEQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDuK46ZqFM

*quote me happy*
[some inspirational words to finish this message]
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865)

next time somebody asks you how you are, think before you answer. if you do feel bored, do something about it! if you feel tired, then you need more sleep or to slow down a bit! if you’re happy, share it! the world is not a boring place, it is what you make it. if you’re bored – go out and do something, see a friend, go and explore the world! you’re all brilliant people and the world needs more like you. go out and cheer other people the fuck up! remember to be safe and take care of yourself, and have an awesome week!

Lots of love,
Bex+ Sam.
xx.

for the new members, older messages are here:
http://cheerthefuckupism.wordpress.com/

05. day 45: love day.

Good morning, afternoon, evening or night!

This week we encourage you to think about every single person you love, or who loves you. By that we mean all kinds of love, not just the sexy kind. This week, we see Valentines Day once again, which is a day devoted to buying cards or stuffed toys to show people you care about that you can’t make something better by hand. But we urge you to remember that this is not what it is all about. It is a designated day to show appreciation for the people you love, although you should do that every day of the year. It is important to remember that you are loved, even if you aren’t “in a relationship” – there are always going to be people who love you.

here’s the good stuff:

*cheerthefuckup-pics*
[some fun and nice pictures]
http://flickr.com/photos/jcgr1/1341675871/
http://flickr.com/photos/residae/1179578510/
http://flickr.com/photos/52956146@N00/867489643/

*videos*
[a selection of nice videos]
It’s Flashmob week!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X4GMXavfKPY
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bj0Ma2CsHME
(read the information to know what they say!)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo

*quote me happy*
[some inspirational words to finish this message]
“Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.”
Iris Murdoch (1919 – 1999)

Before we finish, we’d like to say how nice it is to see so many new people joining in the fun, bringing the total to 802 members. It’s nice to see lots of names that we don’t recognise, and to see people who may not know each other discuss things in the….discussion board. It really is so encouraging. We hope that these messages continue to bring you smiles. Remember to love and look after yourselves and each other. In the end, that is all you will ever need.

Lots of love,
Bex+ Sam.
xx.

for the new members, older messages are here:
http://cheerthefuckupism.wordpress.com/