The Happy List

This is in response to Scarlett’s post. I need a little cheering up myself, so here goes…

1. A clean home!
I’ve realized I get very irritated inside when my house isn’t clean. Clean as in no visible clutter. I have no qualms shoving everything into a cupboard and nailing it shut! I love watching DH clean — he just throws things out by the truckload! And this is on the top of my list today because my house is right now just the way I want it!

2. Our balcony garden.
I grumble all the time when DH brings in plants by the dozen. But when I look out and see beautiful yellow hibiscus, red, orange and pink impatiens, purple allamanda and roses of all hues, it’s truly a sight for sore eyes. They look so cheerful, bobbing in the breeze, so colourful against the grey sky — how can they not make one happy?

3. Lil D
I love her laugh, I love her beautiful eyes, her little nose, her hug, her….you got it. Everything about Lil D makes me so glad. Even when she drives me up the wall!

4. DH’s smile
There’s something about it that warms my coldest day. Whenever I share a joke with him, I keep waiting for that smile. 🙂

5. Troubleshooting
Cracking that problem at work always gives me a high. It’s so thrilling to keep delving deeper, get all the pieces to fill up the jigsaw puzzle, and be flooded with that sense of jubilation when you nail it!

6. Giving the perfect gift
Gift giving is really hard. But when I get it right, it makes me feel very happy. The happiness that you see on the receipent’s face is worth everything.

7. Cheering up my parents
I really hate that my parents are aging and they have to suffer so much. Anything that brings a smile to their faces — be it showing some of their favourite old songs on Youtube, or taking them to a restaurant for a special lunch, or doing things exactly the way they want it done… it brings me much happiness.

8. BBC: Book, Brownie, Coffee
I have this little corner of mine in a mall close by. I don’t frequent it as much as I’d like to, but when I sit there with a steaming cuppa, a warm moist brownie that melts in my mouth, and a book to lose myself in, it’s a piece of heaven!

9. Dancing
Especially with Lil D. The abandon with which we dance together, the sheer craziness of it all can cheer me up immediately.

10. Books in my Bed
Nothing better to make me lose myself and distance myself from all the worries and sorrows of life! Sometimes I wish I could check into a hotel with a gazillion books, order room service, and never leave the room for an entire weekend!

A lot more things make me happy, but I will end here with an episode from my Art of Living camp several years ago. The instructor was asking all of us what made us happy. Everyone gave rather specific answers. When it came to DH, he shrugged. Nothing specific makes me happy, he laughed. I am always happy. The instructor turned to us and said — see, we need to become like him, always happy, not dependent on anything external! DH, the enlightened soul — bah!

So, what makes you happy? Write your own list, and spread some Scary Happiness! 🙂

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