Finding Happiness

Let your imagination come alive.
Play the game of "What If?"
What if anything could be anything?
What if life could be fun?

~ Melody Beattie, "Journey to the Heart"

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Someone recently commented that they like to read my journal because I am able to find happiness in the small things. That's a habit that I've cultivated over the years, and it is one of the most defining aspects of my life.

The big things don't happen to us very often--falling in love, getting a promotion at work, winning the lottery. We can either plod along through our lives, waiting for something big to happen and make us happy, or we can learn to find happiness in the small things that make up our everyday lives. It doesn't always come easy. Sometimes I have to really struggle to find something that will take my mind off a problem. But I make it as easy as possible for myself.

I keep a few inspirational books on my desk at work, to dip into at stressful times. I allow myself to take a break and open "Simple Abundance" or "Living Juicy," and remind myself that joy can be found in the simplest things. When I open SARK's book and find her advocating swinging on a swingset by moonlight while singing "Amazing Grace," it makes me smile, it makes my heart open a little, and I can go back to work a little lighter.

If I've had a particularly trying day, rather than go home in an unhappy frame of mind, I'll often stop at my favorite card store or a hobby shop on the way home. I may just browse, or I may find some small thing that makes me smile--a postcard to decorate my bulletin board at work, a magnet, or a new box of colored pencils. If I'm going to be spending the evening alone, I'll stop at the grocery store and buy a favorite treat--an avocado or a bag of pistachios, something to look forward to with pleasure.

Small things can make a big difference in how we feel, and they don't have to be expensive. When I buy stamps at the post office, I never buy the normal, boring ones. Interesting ones don't cost any more. I buy rocketships, dinosaurs, botanical prints and, this month, red and blue triangular stamps. I decorate my envelopes with stickers or rubber stamps, and I even use up Easter Seals or other free stickers by putting them on the bills I pay. I figure I may give a smile to a postal worker or the person who processes my payments, but even if no one else notices, it makes me happy.

And just because we're grown up doesn't mean that we don't need to play sometimes. Sometimes we just need to distract ourselves from the business of earning a living. I keep small toys in my desk at work and in my car. It makes me happy to open my drawer and see them there, even if they don't often come out. The possibility is there, and that's what life is really all about.

You may be capable of great things,
But life consists of small things.

~ Deng Ming-Dao, "365 Tao"