So a few of my girlfriends have decided that they want to run a ‘Happiness Forum’ a couple of weeks from now. I know, it sounds like a load of new-age wishy-wash, but I think it might be fun (especially since plenty of splurgundy will be imbibed while we gush about happiness. If alcohol doesn’t make us gush, then at least it will insulate us from the sickeningly sweet sentiments that will undoubtedly be spewed forth that night.) However, when *P* warned us that there could be many tears shed at the ‘Happiness Forum’, I wondered if my idea of happiness (i.e. an emotion that doesn’t generally lead to uncontrollable sobbing) would match up with her idea of happiness (i.e. an emotion that may or may not cause the beholder to burst into tears).
At any rate, I’m not quite sure what a ‘Happiness Forum’ involves. I imagine that we’ll be sitting around chatting about things that make us happy in an attempt to share goodwill (and/or to make our auras glow with shiny pheromones of joy, whereupon we will break out into a round of Kumbayah, and then I will be forced to slit my wrists, ruining everyone’s happiness.)
Anyhow, I decided I would practice here, and make a list of things* that make me happy. (Bear with me.)
- Reading and writing (Tied for first. I can’t do one without the other. I am equally addicted to both, and can’t imagine picking one over the other for first place on this list.)
- Singing in the car.
- Reading in the bathtub (I know, this is partially connected to #1. But still, it’s the location that’s important. Especially if there are bubbles.)
- A well-made cup of coffee.
- 18 degrees and sunny, with a fresh breeze blowing.
- Having two weeks’ worth of clean underwear folded up all nicely, ready to be worn.
- The Greenbelt forest around my mom’s house in Ottawa, and walking therein.
- Wood fires (preferably not wood taken from the forest mentioned in #7).
- Surprises.
- Smoked salmon.
OK, I’ll stop there for now. We all know that the unwritten point on this list is "Not writing my thesis" but unfortunately that is a delight I will have to deprive myself of for the time being. In other words, procrastination break is over…
*Chad, if you are reading this, you may wonder why you are not on this list. This omission is because you are not a thing (well, apart from 06:50 – 08:00 hours on weekday mornings. Then, occasionally, you are a version of yourself that might, in some circles, be considered ‘thing-like’. But still. This list is about things that make me happy, not lovely people like your kind self.
Lisa L. Hannett 