What Makes You Happy

I’m sure, that it isn’t always the big things in life that brings you happiness. You see, big things like a new car, or a new and bigger house or that special exotic vacation are simply things – that is, things that become memories all too soon. The thrill of acquisitions no matter what they are represent but a small moment in time especially when compared to all the other moments throughout a life time.

Happy Being The First

Maybe, on the other hand, what makes you happy could simply be the opportunity to be the first person to take off the top of a new jar of peanut butter. It is the mundane experience of being the first person to dip your knife into the freshly revealed, smooth, creamy top that gives you an opportunity to be the first one to enjoy its taste.

There’s just something about being able to be the first person to disturb that creamy peanut butter that loses its appeal after someone else has beat you to it.

Being Happy With A Good Book

If you are an avid reader, you may find that those very few times when you can curl up with a marvelous book sitting in your favorite chair or on an old chair by the river front or pristine lake offer you the moments of happiness that have eluded you throughout most of the year. Now, I recognize that this great book may now be on an e-reader of some kind or another, but the feeling is the same.

It is a joyous occasion when all things of life fade into the distant background as the words on the page or screen immerse you into an entirely new reality or circumstance.

Happiness Is Helping Others

It is one thing to help yourself but it is even more rewarding to help others. Take for example the volunteer work that you may offer to an organization such as a food bank. This is an occasion to celebrate that you are able to offer food to someone or to a family in need.

And, it is not a feeling that suggests that food bank clients are any less worthy or that you are more worthy. It is, instead, recognizing that each and every one of us could easily end up needing the same kind of assistance through the vagaries of life.

There is something so special about helping those in need that only such an experience can reveal firsthand. No, it is not going to be celebrated by national new networks or granting you that special service ribbon.

Instead, it is the happiness of heart; the giving to others; the smile on a face, or the thankfulness of a person who through no fault of their own need that extended hand of assistance.

The Joy Without An Alarm Clock

Maybe you’ve started to panic just as you peered at the alarm clock beside your bed deadly aware that you are very late for work. As you bolt out of bed, your memory banks awaken to pleasantly shock you that it is your day off. As you slump back upon your bed, you are elated that you don’t have to rush out of the house to scramble as quickly as possible to work all the while wondering what valid excuse you can offer your boss for your tardiness.

In Control Of Being Cheerful

Who is in control of your happiness? Is it your spouse, or friends, or family? It is none of the aforementioned. Instead, you realize that inner contentment is in your control. It is up to you to decide whether you will be happy or sad. It is up to you to live life on the right side of the bed or the wrong side of the bed.

In other words, you are happy because you can decide to be happy no matter the situation or circumstance. It is not dependent on possessions or external things. You are able to be happy because you practice being happy. You have decided to be at peace; a peace that comes from within not dependent on something outside of you.

The Happiness Of Grandchildren

Do you see them? They are playing with the garden hose, dashing to and fro trying to spray the other. They jump, slide and dive as if they are riding on waves of air unable to remain in one spot. These are the delights of happiness with grandchildren. They are the links to the future with an opportunity to guide them, nourish them, encourage them and to laugh with them. hese are moments of happiness that can never be duplicated.

The value, the love, the care, the joy, and the realization that you can help, and protect such a marvelous gift of life are true ingredients of what constitutes happiness.

Simple Happiness In A Small Place

With a shovel in hand, the earth splits beneath your hands. With your old rake, you ensure all the little debris is gone from the winter months. With an old tablespoon, you expertly carve a little depression several feet long. With a skilled hand, you place the seeds just right and cover them with earth.

The hose may be old but its nourishment is the same as if it came out of the newest watering gadget. It isn’t what water comes out of but, instead, it is that it is an essential ingredient to new life. You are a gardener. You have a small space in your yard but it is your space. It is a space dedicated to whatever it is you desire to grow. What makes you gratified is the total process – the digging, the cleaning, the planting, the watering, and the watchful eye of a gardener.

The Process, Preparation and Smells

You know what’s expected. You’ve done it before many times. One might think that you aren’t happy because you seem to do it over and over again to the point that you must be weary of doing it. But, nothing could be further from the truth.

It is a desire to put smiles on the faces of those who can enjoy; it is an opportunity to be creative, skilled and appreciated afterwards. It is your time that no one else wants to share with you or to take away from you.

Why is this?

It is because you are the most lighthearted when you are the home chef; the person who excels at creating and preparing the mouth watering meals and the “oh to die for” desserts. It is the time when your personal satisfaction is at its peak knowing that you are having fun when everyone else thinks it is drudgery. It is a time when the smells sneak quietly throughout your home enticing and inflaming pallets ready to dive into a meal of perfection. You are the skilled, happy home style chef.

Inspirational Quotes That Say It All

“But what did I learn about what makes me happy? Happiness is an active choice. Happiness lies in small things. Happiness is most real when it’s shared with others. To achieve happiness, it helps to appreciate and accept uncertainty.” Dmitry Golubnichy, Can You Be Happy for 100 Days in a Row?

“There are moments and days when I want to freeze time, and there are days I wish away.” Sarah Williams, Cupcakes On A Tuesday

“No one ever finds life worth living – one has to make it worth living.” Winston Churchill

Being happy is something that each of us determines, it is not something that we find outside of ourself, it is within us and our choice.” Catherine Pulsifer

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