What Makes You Happy?

Perfect Moments:

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about happiness.  What makes you happy?

I’ve been asking people in my personal life and people on-line.  Everyone who’s answered my question has touched my heart and every conversation I’ve had about this has given me a perfect moment.  I heard from one person that it’s “who not what” that makes her happy and she shared that she’s in love; her beloved makes her happy.  Okay, stop reading here and just smile for a minute.  Love is beautiful, isn’t it? 

One person talked about the challenges of being happy with limited resources; how it’s difficult to see her children go without and how socially isolating it can be to have a very small, fixed income.  Several people talked about being outdoors and the beauty of nature.  Likewise, several folks talked about spirituality or religion making them happy. People cited various activities that make them happy including writing, running, dancing, cooking and gardening.

I’ve asked if certain types of weather make people happy and heard a resounding, “YES”.  One person talked about having power kites (I’d never heard of this before but looked it up and it looks TREMENDOUSLY fun!), one about snow-shoeing, one about fall colors and several talked about sunshine.

I’m not asking with any hidden agenda.  I’m not asking because I have all the answers or because I want to base a character on what you say or because I have some magic wand to make everyone happy all the time.  I’m asking because I feel a gentle but deep curiosity about what makes you happy.    

I’ll tell you a bit about what makes me happy. 

Ø My relationships, both human and canine

Ø Seeing, reading about & listening to others who are happy

Ø Laughing and seeing/hearing others laugh

Ø Puppy zooms and canine shenanigans

Ø The sound of rain on the roof

Ø Curry (thai curry, curried brownies, Indian curry…)

Ø The smell of springtime

Ø My prisms making rainbows in the house

Ø Reading a great book

Ø Mastering a new skill

Ø Giving gifts

 

So tell me, what makes you happy?

 

• For information about my short memoir Head Buckets & Hashtags: An Alaskan Childhood In Tweets, please visit my Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Marcy-Peska/e/B00C632QOW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
• To learn about my debut novel, Magic All Around, please follow this link: http://mpeska.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html?m=1
• To enter a drawing for FREE Alaskan salmon, sign up for my mailing list! Details here: http://mpeska.blogspot.com/2013/04/e-mailing-list-drawing-for-free-ak.html

 

 

 Troll-caught Alaska Coho Salmon

Photo via Barbara Morgan