Happiness is in the simple things

I have found that for me, happiness is found in the simple things.  Things like the simple song above.  For me, happiness is:  When I hear my son come through the front door after track practice and yelling "Hi Mom!"  The sound of the birds singing in the morning. Giving my wonderful husband a kiss goodbye as he leaves for work. Lunch with a friend. Taking time each morning to pray with my son before he goes to school.

Happiness  is when I look out my window and notice how beautifully the snow has covered the branches of the trees.

I find joy in watching the deer come up to snitch birdseed out of the feeder in the morning.  Although I do admit to having a love/hate relationship with them because they also enjoy snitching flowers out of my gardens.

My point is that most happiness is found in the small things.  I think we are under the misconception that it takes "big" events or things to make us happy.  Or, we believe that we will only be happy when everything is "perfect" in our life.  I have news for you, if you are waiting for the next big thing or for your life to be perfect in order to find happiness, you will be disappointed more often than not.   

I'll even take it one step further, you have to look for happiness.  In order to do this, you need to be mindful of what is going on around you.  You need to slow down a little, take in the details, look for the little things that bring happiness and joy to your life.  And, you need to be grateful for the little things.  Happiness and gratefulness go hand in hand.  Finding happiness or gratefulness requires that you embrace a sense of child-like wonder.  Instead of ignoring a moment because it is routine, look at that everyday moment differently.  When you take a sip of coffee, stop and savor it instead of rushing through to the next sip.  When you hear your child laughing, stop and really listen to it.  Let the sound fill you up.  When you see a sunset, stop and watch it take place.

I promise you that if you truly look for it, you can find sparks of joyful moments in your life.  And the good thing is that when you get in the habit of looking for and being grateful for those joyful moments, you discover that there is no limit to those small moments.  Even when you are in pain.  Even when most things are going horribly wrong.  Even then.  I believe it's God's gift to you during tough times, when you find those little snippets of time where happiness, even in the smallest form, creeps in and shows it's face.

So I challenge you to take the time to look for the simple, small moments that make you feel joyful or happy and take the time to be grateful for those moments.  I'll leave you with a few things that have brought me some happiness this week.  Have a great day!

Watching my cat enjoying the sunbeam while sitting on the back of my favorite reading chair.

Watching the sun filter through the trees.  Look at how it lights up the whole forest with golden light.

The joyful sound this machine makes every morning when it grinds and brews my coffee beans.

Making Banana bread for my family.  Enjoying the smell of it baking as it fills the whole house with yummy scents of banana and cinnamon.

Finding a great new cookbook on sale.  It was marked down to $5 which I thought was a great price.  Then finding out at the checkout counter that it was further on sale and I only paid 2 cents for it.  2 cents!  Yeah!

Walking into the grocery store and spying these little beauties.  They make lei's out of them in Hawaii.  So, I picked up two bunches and brought home my own little piece of paradise.