Simply Happiness

For those who know me, know I have a habit of being outrageously happy. I am fortunate that joy comes easy to me. Sometimes I do have to look for it, because happiness is a choice and a frame of mind. But it is also about finding happiness and beauty in the most ordinary of places.

My very sweet housemate just inspired me to blog about where you find your simple joys as I was sitting here on the couch feeling a teensy bit less happy than usual (post travel cold – which is always worth it!) and she came bounding out of her room with the brightest and most infectious smile… her smile was so big it made us both giggle and I asked her why she was so happy this morning and she said she had simply been watching one of her favourite TV shows and eating cereal in her PJ’s and life was good!

It’s not only the biggest, most outrageous life events that bring happiness, sometimes (and most often for me) it is the very gentle and most ordinary things that almost go by unnoticed that put a smile on my face. One of the biggest for me is SUNSHINE! I feel my soul awaken when the warm rays hit my skin and bounce off my face, perhaps it’s because I am a Queenslander and I am certain that my soul is made of sunshine and salt water, but life feels good when the sun is shining.

The flip side of the sunshine is that I also love the moon and the stars equally. I especially love to see the moon sneaking around the sky here in London as it’s that connection to the big wide world outside of the fortress of this big city! The moon reminds me of all the wonderful adventures I have had in my life and I can think back to the times I have sat and stared at it from all corners of the globe and thought to myself, what an absolutely wonderful bloody world! It doesn’t matter if it’s a big bright full moon, or just a little sliver, there is something a little bit magic about it and the glittering stars!

Oscar Wilde, a man after my own heart said ‘With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, how could you not be happy’ ? It would be impossible for me to write a complete list, nor would anybody have time to read it, but here is a collection of a few other simple things that brighten my insides:

• A perfect cup of tea (preferably made by or shared with somebody you love to be around)
• Writing or receiving a card.. especially just to know somebody was thinking of you (and receiving mail that is not a bill)
• A great workout… running as hard and as long as you can.. stopping when you are puffing and you have made your distance goal… you can feel satisfied that you have worked hard and take your time and stretch it out.
• Being half way through an excellent book
• Sitting peacefully in a café on your own people watching (the people watching in London is very high quality)
• Good hugs
• Cancelled plans – I know it’s nice to see people and as an extrovert this usually brings me energy, but sometimes when there is a lot going on, an unexpected night to yourself or for some other spontaneous fun, cancelled plans can be just what you need
• Sun rays or perfect light dancing down a laneway or on a drop of dew on a leaf or even a spiders web, this is about taking time to notice.
• A laugh with friends, sometimes it is just a little quiet giggle, or a full belly laugh that makes tears roll down your cheeks, there is few things better than those times with friends.
• Remembering your phone number/address when you have first moved to a new city (still working on my postcode here in London!)
• Crossing things off your to do list. I’ll confess that sometimes I will write something I have just done onto my to do list for the satisfaction of crossing it out!
• Holding hands with Children. When my nieces and god daughters would look up and me and slip their tiny little fingers into your hands, how precious they are and how lucky you are to have them in your world.
• Crips clean sheets and that moment when you head hits your pillow when you are exhaustedly tired.

For me right now, my simple happiness is a Saturday morning.. the whole weekend in front of me, the possibility of adventures ahead and I’m about to make a perfectly simple breakfast with a perfect cup of tea. How could you be anything but happy?