Thursday, July 22, 2010

Happiness is two kinds of ice cream...

In what is assuredly (and hopefully) my most rushed post yet (for I am, once again, borderline going to be late for work), I’m going to expound a little bit on a new project.

In my quest for maturity and as mentioned in a previous post, I am seeking to be happy and/or content with myself and my situation at any given moment in the present. I think this speaks to my search for joy in general, and I’m trying to realize and be thankful for the blessings God gives me every single day and at every moment.

So, in trying to realize this endeavor (and perhaps achieve some self-actualization in the process [thanks Jung]), I am undertaking a project called The Happy List.

Combining several factors that make me happy in general—namely, tiny notebooks, writing, making lists, and thinking about positive things—I am starting to carry around a small notebook in which I make a list of things that make me happy. There are conditions to this list: first of all, FIVE items at a time must be added (in keeping with the theme of things that make me happy, which includes the number five). Secondly, any time I am feeling depressed, angry, listless, malcontent, just negative in general, I MUST add to this list. Thirdly, the things that make me happy MUST be things that are currently happening in my life, because my goal is to find contentment and joy in EVERY moment of EVERY day.

So far, this list is short and includes things like making my bed (which, surprisingly, DOES make me happy) and using gel pens (which has made me happy since the advent of the Gelly Roll fad, circa fifth grade), but I expect—especially with the kind of tedium and listlessness I’ve been experiencing lately—this list will soon be fruitful and multiply.

For today, I encourage you to make a small Happy List of your own. Not only does it immediately (if infinitesimally) improve your mood, it also opens your eyes and your heart to the wonderful world around us and the beautiful thing called LIFE.

Until next time :)

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