Edie’s Three
By: Edie Tuck
Tags: Forgiveness, Top 3, Laughter, Money, Life Lessons

“Top 3 is a publication where Medium writers support other Medium writers by promoting each other’s work. Medium members are encouraged to post three stories from other writers that they enjoyed reading.” — Daryl Bruce

With the new changes from Medium, please read the stories below and support your fellow writers! :)

Who Really Wants to Make $25K a Month?

By: Shannon Ashley

I do, I do!

Do you write for money, or just for the pure pleasure of writing? I think, if we’re honest, anyone who chooses Medium as a platform is to write on is at least looking to benefit from at least a little bit of a payout.

I’ve often heard the phrase “money doesn’t buy happiness”, and I used to take it at face value. Now? Not so much. Although it’s true that it can’t buy love or magically erase all of your worries and problems, it brings peace of mind, and to me, that’s a very big part of happiness.

I grew up with more month at the end of the money, every single month. With a single mother on social assistance, life may always be full of love, but it isn’t usually full of much else. After nearly forty years on this earth, I’m only now beginning to get my finances in some sort of order. That being said, I’ve got a really long way to go. The ultimate goal is to be able to write for a living and be able to be financially secure and independent.

Oh, but all the beautiful things I can do with $25K per month! The first thing on my list would be to have a home base for H.H.U.G.S., my unregistered charity for the homeless and be able to actually make a real difference. $25K per month can most definitely change lives.

You Used to Laugh, But Now You LOL

By: Zulie Rane

How often do you laugh? I mean, really laugh. Not just a scoff or a chuckle here and there? This article made me stop in my tracks. I love laughing, but she’s hit the nail on the head.

As we grow older, we get lost in the world of text and emojis and we lose the authentic laugh. How many times have you used the laughing-to-tears emoji, or even just the smile emoji, when you’re not actually laughing or even smiling? I do it all the time! We throw it on there, add a few LOL’s and LMAO’s, but who’s really laughing their asses off?

We need to find our joy again. That pure, unadulterated joy that makes us laugh until we cry and our sides and jaws hurt. The kind of ‘ugly cry-laughing’ that sometimes won’t let you stop for breath.

I think to do that, we need to put down the phones and get with some real live people again.

Why You Should Forgive Yourself — Even When It Hurts

By: Spencer Sekulin

“To err is human, to forgive divine. All people commit sins and make mistakes. God forgives them, and people are acting in a godlike (divine) way when they forgive.” This saying is from “An Essay on Criticism,” by Alexander Pope.

We are our own worst critics, and even the most self-centered of us might be self-deprecating behind closed doors.

There is no perfection among the human race. We don’t expect it of anyone else, so why then, do we seem to expect it from ourselves? Mistakes are a part of life — without mistakes, we cannot grow, or learn, or become better versions of ourselves.

Forgiveness is the one act that will truly make you feel like the world has lifted from your shoulders. Give yourself permission to make mistakes, and always, always forgive yourself for them, no matter how terrible they seem.