My Happiness Project

We hold these TRUTHS to be self evident, 

that ALL men are CREATED EQUAL, 

that they are ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR with certain unalienable RIGHTS, 

that among these are LIFE, LIBERTY, and 

the pursuit of HAPPINESS.

Happiness. Or more specifically the pursuit of it.  What is that all about anyway?  How does one "find" happiness?  I tried google-ing happiness there were only 74,400,000 results or so.  Needless to say, I didn't find it although I came up with a myriad of internet based stuff.  Wikipedia defines Happiness as:  a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.  One website was promoting it's $20 book on 9 steps to maximizing happiness.  There are Happiness Projects, Keys to Happiness, and movie reviews on Happiness.

Aristotle said "Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient".  Mark Twain noted that "Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination".  Johnny Carson joked that "Happiness is your dentist telling you it won't hurt and then having him catch his hand in the drill."   

Personally I think Lincoln had it just about correct:  "People are as happy as they make up their minds to be"

Like so many, I've often wondered about this pursuit of happiness over the years.  Wondered if I would ever, in fact, be happy.  Just wake up that way.  Wow!  The sun would be shining, birds would be singing, Publishers Clearing House would be at my door, the laundry would have folded itself during the night, the dogs would have made coffee, and life would just be, well, great!  And while pondering this I realized that over several years I could probably count on one hand the number of times I just "woke up happy" (sans Publishers Clearing House and hound-made coffee).  And I began to ask myself if all of this pursuing happiness or waiting for it to find me was really the "trick". 

At any rate, here I am, older (& wiser?), and now wondering if happiness is not something to be pursued.  It's something you decide to just... BE.  Maybe the point of happiness is not to keep chasing after it, but to start creating it.  Choosing it instead of waiting for it to choose you.  Making the decision to just be happy. 

I'm certainly tired of being tired.  I'm frustrated with being frustrated.  I'm not impressed at my reaction to little inconveniences throughout my day.  I've had it with my tendency to be judgmental and unkind.  In short, I'm just plain over the "miserable moments" that seem to creep into my day.

I wonder, what would it be like to simply take a moment and pick happiness?  Smile instead of grumble.  Look for little things that bring you joy.  Notice all the goodness around you and bask in it.  Just for a minute or two.

And to that point, my personal goal for the next 30 days is to do just that.  And not just to be happy.  To be contagiously, thoroughly, effervescently happy.  If my life is a glass of water, happiness will be the alka-seltzer that even affects the air around it.  To be so darn happy that people look at me funny.  Kind of like reverse-people-watching. 

 I can't wait... :)