2012 is finally becoming a reality. For the first three weeks, I survived in a coughing-my- head-off time warp. Now that I am fully functional, I am on a one-woman quest to make every moment happy.
So what is happiness anyway? A state of mind? A place? An experience? A meal? A person? My self-defined “happy place” usually involves friends and family. I like to share. And I’m going to try harder to be true to myself. It’s that simple. So without further contemplation, here’s my happiness list for 2012:- Visiting my son in New York City
- Sharing Sunday breakfasts with my daughter and her dog, Daisy
- Watching children play
- Shopping for bargains with my girlfriends
- Writing comment-generating blog posts
- Taking fabulous photographs
- Creating online posters and prints
- Visiting my parents
- Talking on the phone to my parents
- Exploring and analyzing astrology for me and my friends
- Listening and dancing to Celtic music
- Writing poetry
- Drinking cranberry and pomegranate tea
- Rock climbing and hiking
- Laughing with my friends
- Hot stone massages
- Making yummy, healthy dinners
- Teaching Junior Achievement
- Meditating
- Getting and staying organized at home
- Having dinner parties
- Learning about social media
- Having a quiet day
- Latin, country, contra, and rock ‘n roll dancing
- Expressing joy at the happiness of others
- Doing volunteer work in my community
- Reading books on my Kindle Fire
- Attending ladies night
- Lighting candles
- Playing the stock market
- Being completely myself
- Doing yoga
- Figuring out new ways to cook spinach
- Wearing sundresses
- Repinning pretty pictures on Pinterest
- Being thankful for my amazing life
- Standing stage front at the State Room and the Depot
- Honesty
- Wearing my German socks
- Mud Rang facials
- Saying thank you
- Watching the tulips peek out of the earth in the spring
- Making homemade bread
- Listening to world music
- Heart-to-heart talks with my besties
- Being in awe at the creation of the mountains
- A warm mug of hot cocoa
- World music on a slow Sunday afternoon
- Going to Zumba class
- Getting all dressed up, even for work
- Running on the beach
- Realizing life is too short to waste even a moment
- Urban hiking
- Helping friends solve problems
- Playing my flute
- Making tacos for my friends
- Wearing black lace stockings
- People watching
- Listening to a friend
- Thinking and speaking in French
- Being understood
- French cooking
- Looking at colors
- Recycling
- Reading and occasionally saying big words
- Sunflowers reaching for the sun
- Feeling my muscles
- Luxuriating in raspberry body wash
- Playing practical jokes
- Knowing that life is always more than fair, in the end
- Long, passionate kisses
- Having just a little bit more courage than I realized
- Making earrings and then wearing them
- Sharing homemade veggie soup and a long conversation with a friend
- Sitting in front of a cozy fire
- Forgiving myself and others for what happened in the past
- Going to the zoo
- Using my day spa Groupons
- Making people laugh
- Seeing eclectic movies
- Releasing my concerns
- Ringing bells
- Exploring foreign lands
- Pondering the meaning of life
- Smiling
- Wearing soft t-shirts
- Point and counterpoint
- Giving more than my fair share
- Perusing the Urban Dictionary
- Earning respect
- Wearing my heart on my sleeve
- Sipping limeade
- Jogging
- Sitting on my patio in my pj’s on a warm summer morning
- Staring at the moon and stars above my house
- Sledding and skiing
- Speaking and living my truth
- Taking long, luxurious baths
- Red roses in a vase in my dining room
- Watching snowflakes fall
This is a long list, and, incidentally, it wasn’t generated by my fears of the Mayan forecast Galactic Alignment on December 21, 2012. I merely want 2012 to be a smidge happier. Some activities and places have been jettisoned from my life in order to make room for happiness. Waiting, wondering, and worrying did not make the cut ... so 2011. It’s time to re-embrace life with a renewed sense of, well, RAWR. Starting now.
Really you are enjoying every moment of your life. I will also try to follow the way you live life.
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