HAPPINESS


For most people, their "resolutions" start on January 1--I don't know why that date offers a fresh slate to usher in new changes exactly. For me, major changes tend to take place at the beginning of spring/ summer. Something about that bright sun shining down on all the damp, dusty corners of my life that makes me rethink my attitude and outlook.


So here's what I've been figuring out very, very slowly:

Happiness is a daily effort. You really can be happy, and have your dreams fulfilled and have fabulous relationships and wealth and creativity. But you absolutely must work on it every day. And let's face it, who doesn't have a down day. . . or five?


This week I'm back on board with keeping my happiness well-fed, paid and supported. It involves a bevy of things: taking lots of breaks from the computer; silence; eating carefully; exercise; social contact of a stimulating but not overwhelming nature (right now the bookstore suffices though I prefer it in the form of hanging out with good friends); limited contact with my family (sorry guys, but it's true); taking notice of all that I'm grateful for; writing every morning...and so on. See--this is no small task list. But the fact is, when I let any of those variables slack, my happiness plummets so significantly that, if it were a stock, all the investors would be bailing out fast.


What do you need to be happy? How often are you able to do it?



JPR


I will leave you with one last grad photo--three siblings, in age appropriate order :) (Outfit coordination purely accidental!)