Happiness is ... the month of August and a Wacky Holidays calendar!

Welcome to a new month of awareness and crazy-bizarre celebrations!

I am only going to give you, dear reader, a sampling of what's in store for this month, but if you click on this link you can see the full list displayed on Brownielocks.com. For that matter you can see celebrations for the whole year. They also have a rather exhaustive write-up on the authenticity of their holidays which you can read here.

August is, among other things ...

• American Adventures Month
• American Indian Heritage Month
• American History Essay Contest (8/1 - 12/15)
• Black Business Month
• Cataract Awareness Month
• Children's Eye Health and Safety Month
• Happiness Happens Month (this is officially my favorite thing going on this month)
  
• National Inventor's Month
• What Will Be Your Legacy Month
  

There are a few I left out of that list for purposes of saving me time and space on this post. It's obvious though that there are many various issues and events that are completely worthy of our attention. Why not spend a few hours this month learning more about Native American heritage for example? There is so much beauty and strength in Native American lore; of course, not all of it is beautiful and mystical, but I cherish every bit of it. I used to be much more passionate about Native American history, but I don't love it any less.

And how about Black Business Month? I don't know anything about it but I am certainly open to learning more.

Most poignant to me is the last bullet point, What Will Be Your Legacy Month. That is something that applies to all groups of people, no matter what their heritage. I believe that is something that all of us could afford to spend more time focusing on. It is the reason my profile thumbnail takes a verse from the book of Proverbs: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." According to the website, it is our time to put our rights and responsibilities as U. S. citizens to work by brushing up on our knowledge of the Constitution in order to pass on that knowledge to our children. Because after all, if we don't do it ... who will?

Otherwise, since I am posting this so late today (for the East Coast anyway), I'm going to leave you with one of tomorrow's Daily observances which in my opinion is an awfully good way to kick off this month: International Friendship Day, August 2. Will friendship be part of the legacy you leave behind?