My Happy Place

  “I just want to be happy!” I hear these words constantly–in songs, in movies, from my friends/children/spouse’s mouths. Sometimes I even hear them come out of my own mouth or go rumbling around in my head. But what does it mean to “be happy”? And how does one get happy? I chose the title…

The child has been running. The child’s face is red and blotchy. The child is gulping for air. The child huffs out the words I’ve heard so many times in the past five years, “Mom! We saw a snake!!” I remember when we were trying to find renters for our house in town so we…

I was watching a movie the other day and the main character–an athlete trained to “think positive”–said, “Well, bad days make the good ones better.” In some ways, of course, this is true. Shadow is what makes us recognize light. Sometimes without the contrast of bad we forget to be thankful for the good.Thursday night…

I’m about to step out of my comfort zones: I avoid talking politics and religion because I know such conversations make one’s social circles small. People feel threatened if you disagree with them so then they avoid you. If you talk politics and religion, you will soon only have people in your life who think…

I thought this was lovely. Surprise hula dancers perform in the aisles of an airplane. I love how peaceful and happy they seem. There seems to be more and more brave performances going on lately…people taking a chance and choosing random groups to be an audience. I like how it connects groups of people who…

You know what I loved most about being a high school and college student? I had a set time each day where I *had* to do something I loved. Back then they actually required me to read Shakespeare and to creatively write! And they gave me A’s for it! Some of the happiest memories of…

Have you ever thought about how a look in the mirror was reason enough for the queen to demand Snow White’s heart on a platter? I approach living life “happy” almost as if it were a job…a daily challenge. It’s not something I take lightly and I make conscience choices minute-by-minute to keep myself in…

I tend to avoid the news because it can be so depressing and upsetting, but, every once in awhile, a news piece will make me smile. Today I read about Peter Shankman who, after a very long day of travel, was on a flight feeling oh-so-hungry and he did exactly what I would have done…

When the subject of environmentalism comes up in everyday conversation, I usually hear two prevailing thoughts: 1.  “That’s a bunch of political hogwash. There’s plenty of land…energy…etc.” 2. “Oh, no! What shall we do!? There won’t *be* a world for our children’s children!”   I’m not buying either of them. In fact, I have a…

  I love how laughter is contagious. I laughed all the way through this video and now I Feel Good (nanananana…I knew that I would…nanananan….)!  He has got to have the cutest giggle ever.

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