3 Surprising Signs of Happiness
There is no standard definition for happiness. We mostly have to judge it by its components. These are three surprising signs that you are fully alive and yourself, which is of course one way to describe happiness.
I Choose Joy
I don't always choose a word for the year, but when I do I really mean it.
My word this year is JOY, and it's working exactly like you want a word of the year to work. When I think of joy, it renews my focus. It reminds me what I intend for the year. It's practical and it's feelings-based - something required for pretty much everything I do in life.
The Record Playing
There is a record that has played in my mind for as long as I can remember. It questions everything I have, have not, or should have done. Suddenly, in mid-life, the record is quieting.
How the Revolution Went
It would pain me to begin this post with an overused sentiment (non-conforming is an elusive dream for me) so I'll let the cake do it for me.
Now, the truth. I am deeply proud of my 2020.
How the Revolution is Going
Hi! I'm in a midlife crisis. Can you believe it?! I could have died before I was thirty! Instead, here I am with the rest of Gen X women sort of wondering why I'm not as successful, rich, famous, or together as I thought I would be by now and occasionally despairing about it. THIS IS GREAT!
This post is the result of a happiness bet I made with myself
For some time now, I have been practicing happiness. Did you know you can practice it? This winter, I even took this happiness course (from Yale!). Some things I've learned...
We're usually wrong about what will actually make us happy (e.g., money)
We're also really, really certain we're right (seriously, MONEY)
The Truth About Being Home: I Dreamed of This
I have a long and firmly established love for being home. It's a common theme in L.M. Montgomery books (Anne of Green Gables, et al). That may be part of it. Home is prominent in Montgomery's real-life journals, too. As an orphan, raised by unfriendly, uncompromising grandparents, finally becoming mistress of her own home was a crowning joy for Montgomery.
All the Yes
I went to Baltimore for work again last month. I went a little unsteady, emotions-wise. I had a kindred spirit in Australia who had just passed away from ovarian cancer, quickly taken from her life - so similar to mine, from her husband she married the same year I married mine (twenty years ago), from her four children - the oldest two born the same years as my oldest.
How to Have it All
Because I want it so much, it's hard to remember the truth - that I am living my life according to specific, chosen values. They have not gotten me rich and famous yet - and they almost definitely never will, but I continue to live by them on faith - without any actual proof - that living by them will make me happier in the end.
The Relief Behind Door Number Three
There are two really good options when you don't like something. And then, there is a third option, which has recently saved my life.
Here's What We're Going To Do
This year, none of my boys are on a roster. The question we get asked, always with a hint of sarcasm because it's not like people don't have some idea of life outside of baseball, is this: What are you going to do? In no particular order, I have some thoughts on that.
Making Christmas Simple
Every year, I think "if only we could just focus on being together." I love how much room there is to simply enjoy the good parts of the season when you don't cram it too full with things you need to buy and do and decorate.
It's Really Not So Regular
Here's how I know someday I am going to succeed at this writing thing I currently do on the side: Today I got a notice of spectacular failure and still felt excited to get home and start writing again.
I love you, single task
I recently read the wonderful book on simplicity called Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider . It's a memoir of sorts with this subtitle: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World.
Most Likely to Raise the Average - (now that's a yearbook win)
It's been a week of great losses and small wins in my world, and it makes me feel all out of balance. We've lost football games, music auditions, and money (ER visits and college credit courses are expensive!).