Day 8
The other day I was in the shower and as is usually the case all sorts of things came to mind … including the question: What makes me happy?
Whoa … where did that come from? Pretty deep for not quite being awake yet! And yet I thought that was an interesting question and have not let myself think about it until now … knowing if I had thought about it in the shower – my answers would have all gone down the drain like the suds of my apricot body wash.
So – here I am plunging into what I’m going to call The Happiness Project. There are tomes of scientific findings that say people who are happier live longer. Well, since I don’t diet or exercise (much) – why not give this a try? So, I will figure out what brings me happiness and then LOOK for those things in my daily life and appreciate and enjoy them (more consciously than I do now) when they come about. And then in a few weeks I’ll revise my list and do it all again.
The Happiness Project: 25 things that make me happy … (in no certain order … flying off the cuff, typing as I think, nothing prepared) … generally and specifically:
1. Puppies … any kind but I really like young puppies – baby babies; preferably under a month old and Pugs, Frenchies, Bulldogs, Shar Peis or Bostons because they are so darn wrinkled and cute!
2. Freedom … I’m not political, but I am patriotic and think too many of us take our lives and the many freedoms we possess for granted. I have flown our country’s flag outside my home since I moved into it 26 years ago.
3. Chocolate ice cream … (Breyers) and at times a few toppings (nuts, whipped cream, non-pariels, crunchy bits … yum!) for extra decadence.
4. Butterflies … for many reasons but here are three: 1) for a week or so this summer I had a visitor to my window every day – a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly would flit past my office window at precisely 10 am; it was uncanny. 2) My brother was a budding lepidopterist when we were little. (My mom was so tolerant!) We had a veritable insect farm at our house. I grew up with all sorts of things hatching a room away. 3) A few years back my best friend’s mom, who liked butterflies, passed away and the day of her memorial gathering a Monarch landed on my friend’s hand.
5. Twilight … the time of day (not the vampire stuff). In the summer I usually take my dinner out to my front porch rocker and enjoy the dwindling twilight … watching my neighbors on walks and the sun setting behind the trees and creek. The bats come out then – it’s so serene and lovely.
6. Purple … deep eggplant, plum, violet, orchid. I’ll wear it, eat it, paint my walls with it … or dye my hair that color!
7. Silence … true, deep, in the middle of a pine forest, miles from anyone but Big Foot silence.
8. A diner breakfast … eggs over easy, crispy bacon, crunchy hash browns and waitresses calling people honey and sweetie.
9. Crickets on a summer’s evening.
10. Old photographs … sepias and/or old black and whites. It doesn’t even matter if I know who the people are in the photos … I am mesmerized by the souls that the camera exposes.
11. The smell of fresh cut grass. Nothing beats this aroma. (Not even bacon!)
12. Rain … from a light sprinkle to a violent thunderstorm; let it rain!
13. Dinosaurs … and all things dinosaurs – from gummy fruit snacks to wishing I could actually go to Jurassic Park.
14. ET. … I love him. We’ve been to the studio ride a few times and each time I am thrilled and excited to be there. I have a photo of ET and myself on my fridge, side-by-side, hugging. Years ago my niece asked me if he was nice. It was just the sweetest thing.
15. Out of the oven chocolate chip cookies … with coconut in them. YUM!
16. Cows … I love Belted Galloways and just about all cows. They have the sweetest faces. Moo.
17. Mail … I love getting my mail from the mailbox and getting a handwritten, mailed letter, card or note.
18. Cheesy disaster movies. The more disasterous the better … volcanoes, tsunamis, ice storms, aliens, gargantuan dragons; lots of explosions and drama! GREAT fun!
19. The laughter of children … nothing beats giggling children unless it’s the giggling of 7th grade boys. They are a riot!
20. Whipped cream. Seriously – I’d put it on a pork chop if it wouldn’t make me sick!
21. Scissors – thank you Uncle Ben (we are related). One of the BEST inventions of all time.
22. Zip locks bags – the next best invention! Thank you Uncle Zip Lock!
23. Snow globe snowfalls … soft, pretty, gentle, fat flakes swirling down to earth and covering everything.
24. The sound of the ocean … something about the crashing of waves stirs my soul.
25. Autumn … everything about it. The smells, the crunch of leaves underfoot, pumpkins, the colors, the foods, the sweaters … ahhhh.
I know my list will change, as some of these things are seasonal … but for now I will be more open to what makes me happy in the days and weeks ahead and relish and cherish those moments.
What are your 25?