Color = Happiness

Colors make me happy.

Bright vivid colors.

And shopping at Pier 1. That makes me happy, too. Not necessarily buying things from Pier 1 (although I do love to take new things home!) Sometimes just walking around and looking at the colorful patterns and feeling the textures of dishes and linens is all I need to be energized and happy.

And Barnes & Noble. Picking out a great big stack of books and magazines, heading over to the coffee area, and sitting for a few hours as I peruse the pages.

Sigh. Happiness.

There are more things that make me happy. Like, when Spring finally comes and the windows are open for the first time - the fresh clean air flows through the house. Bliss. Oh, and that first sip of a fresh cup of Starbucks coffee. Heaven. A clean laundry room. Hearing my children's laughter. The smell of lavender. Driving down my favorite road. When I get my sister really laughing so hard she can hardly form a word. And seeing the twinkle in my dear friend Peggy's eyes when we are having a heart to heart.

Yes. Happiness.

I'm working on one of my projects from Soul Restoration, and it has to do with identifying actions in your life that lead to certain reactions or feelings. It's a brilliant idea, and it will be a process I will visit often in the coming days and weeks.

These days, I am trying hard to focus on happiness.

Happiness isn't always a feeling I can immediately conjure up. Some days my house is such a mess, my husband is out of town yet again, and my daughters (while lovely) are fighting like cats and dogs and not hearing a word I am speaking . . . happiness is really the furthest thing from my mind. Some days the phone won't stop ringing. Some days the pressure in the tone of someones voice gets a hold of me. Some days the guilt I feel over not being a better daughter/mother/sister/wife takes over my very core. Some days happiness is so very far away. I get angry with myself. I get angry with others. I eat something. I get angry, again. And then . . . I try, like hell, to pick myself up.

Happiness.

And going to church.

Going to church makes me happy.

I wouldn't have included that in the list a few months ago. I just started going again. I won't say much about it here. But I will say that last week I was 1/2 hour early to mass, and I sat in the empty church and had a really long conversation with God. It was pretty wonderful. And by the time mass ended . . . I felt a happiness I could have only dreamed of.

So today, I ask you . . . what makes you happy? Really happy. I'm not looking for the "having a million dollars" sort of answer. But the true day to day things that you CAN control. The things that you CAN do for yourself. The things we love, but don't do often enough.  Leave me a comment and share your happiness - I really would love to know.

Peace, my friends. And MUCH happiness.