What Makes You Happy
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Maybe it's the trees outside your window; they produce oxygen, create shade, are the perfect canopy on warm summer days. Or perhaps it's the Starbucks your coworker brought you this morning; warm, tasty, filled with enough caffeine to truly wake you up and get you started on that project you've been putting off. It could even be the blanket you found draped across your body this morning; spread across you by a loved one, a token of their affection, something they thought you'd be thankful for when you woke up.
Unfortunately, people don't often see these acts or objects as things that provide happiness. When asked what makes us happy, we're content to respond with friends and family, along with a sundry of other typical things. Waking up to a new day is certainly something that makes people happy, but rarely do they explain why. Is it because you've got another shot at your dreams and aspirations? Or are you just glad to see the sun shining through your window one more time?
The things that make me happiest in life are the ones I don't recognize right away.
Like the way a good book can pull me into its world, distracting me from whatever problems might be taking place in my life. Because when it finally let's me out of its clutches, I've forgotten all about that stress-inducing issue I was dealing with earlier.
Or how my husband will get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and kiss me on the forehead before going back to sleep. Sometimes he'll say 'I love you' before lying back down, unaware that I'm awake and hearing his sentiments.
It's sometimes even as small as an old episode of a favorite tv show, returning and saying things in a way that I didn't understand the first time around. It could be a cleverly hidden joke or a few inspiring words, once it was the soothing voice of Ashton Kutcher on That 70's Show after a bad dream.
Happiness is more than the love of a good man and the support of your family and friends in hard times.
It's the little things.
It's the way your hair curled just right this morning. It's the way that guy let you merge onto the freeway in the middle of traffic. It's the way you found a parking spot near the entrance of the grocery store. It's the way your lunch arrived perfectly seasoned to your tastes. It's the way your boss let you go home an hour early. It's the way FX was having a marathon of your favorite show. It's the way you fell asleep without thinking of all the things you would have to do the next day.
What makes you happy?
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Enjoyed this article. Welcome to KS...we live in a neighboring town about 37 miles west of Manhattan. Welcome to HP as well. Voted up and Interesting. I read your bio and had to laugh at the Dorothy part because we moved her from Texas and my family all dubbed me "Dorothy" as well. I kept joking and told them if I didn't like I would click my heels 3 times to return but 10 years later haven't had to click them yet :) Voted up and interesting.
Sweet write - thank you. Small things can indeed make us happy when we chose to notice them.
All the best, cheers!
You are right. I call it living with an attitude of gratitude. If we live this way, we would be so consumed with the good things that we would not have time to dwell on the difficult things.
MisaLeonessa Level 2 Commenter 7 months ago
Thank you for sharing this article. You are right- being aware of the little wonderful things that we are blessed with each day can really bring a different perspective on life. Even deeper than happiness, joy allows us to to be connected to that which is inherently good even in the midst of difficulty. It is joy that enables me to hold on during the challenging circumstances of life.