Saturday, February 26, 2011

Happiness





















 
"If you observe a really happy man, you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating a child, growing double dahlias or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that had rolled under the radiator, striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life 24 crowded hours of each day."
— W. Beran Wolfe
Have you ever had one of those days/weeks where it seems everything that could go wrong does go wrong? I had one of those days last week and then surprise my bosses gave me 2 days off this week, so I thought things were looking up, then we went and had our taxes done. Surprise again - we get to pay in this year, and quite a large chunk of change actually. It's depressing.

I was flipping through SoulPancake last night and stopped on the section about happiness. And it really changed the way I look at all of the stuff that is seeming to go wrong. This morning I defined what happiness is to me, here's what I came up with

Happiness Isn't
  • Getting a tax refund
  • Having money for a new car
  • Having everything you could ever want
  • Can't be bought
  • Isn't a destination
  • Wanting more
Funny how all of these things have to do with material possessions...

Happiness Is
  • Spending time with loved ones
  • Being content with what you have
  • A state of mind 
  • Enjoying you life
  • Spending all day on the couch watching Netflix
  • Tim
  • Wanting more
  • A new pair of shoes
What does happiness mean to you?

2 comments:

  1. I love this. And I agree... it is every bit as important to define what happiness is not.. and what you will not let define happiness in your life.

    I too had to pay taxes. :( GRRR.

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