Making Happy

"Everyday, I try to think of one thing that went right or made me happy."

I only overheard that one sentence, but it resonated with me for the remainder of the day. These past few months haven't been easy. With the pressures of graduate school, work, home renovations, and just missing Georgia family--I've let myself get down in the dumps. (A winter that seemed to stretch on indefinitely didn't help either.) Every little thing that happened--be it a sudden gust of wind that messed up my hair, a dropped pencil, or even a rude driver--seemed to underline  my unhappiness. I don't about you, but when I'm having a bad day--I just mull over everything that happened in that day. I want to analyze every little detail that built up to create crappiness.

But overhearing the above quotation made me open my eyes. I realized that, if I'm only looking at every bad thing that happens, I'm missing all the good things that happen. Then, all the the good passes unnoticed and is just lost from our life. Sometimes, it is hard to think of something good--and the only happy thought we may be able to dredge up may be something like "my wrap tasted good" or "it didn't start raining until I was inside." But focusing our mind on searching for something happy takes our mind off of all the bad things. And before you know it, your mood is lifting.

So this is now my mission--and I hope I can stick to it everyday. Whenever I start feeling blue, overwhelmed, or lonely--I just need to cast my mind around for something good that happened that day. Good does happen--whether we notice it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not. My mom used to always say "you have to make your own happy." That advice makes more sense the older I get. You have to choose to be happy and to make happiness; only then do you start to notice all of the many blessings that you have.

Only then can you truly appreciate those blessings and, maybe, find more blessings that you never even noticed before.

Photo: Today, I'm happy for sleepy pups who manage to curl into the cutest, tightest little balls.