On Being Happy

There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world. Robert Louis Stevenson

The quest for true happiness, contentment with where we are at in life, can be an elusive one. Especially if you haven't yet figured out what it is that truly makes you happy - or you have figured it out, but don't make time to enjoy whatever it is. I'm reading Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. She has this to say about happiness: "The revelation that we have everything we need in life to make us happy but simply lack the conscious awareness to appreciate it can be as refreshing as lemonade on a hot afternoon. Or it can be as startling as cold water being thrown in our face."

So I'm trying to be more aware of what it is that makes me happy and include more of that in my life. Being creative makes me happy. So today, I turned my day upside down. Instead of getting through all my work, running all my errands, going to the gym, and then if there was any piece of my day left, allowing myself some time to be creative, I got creative first! After grabbing my breakfast and heading to the computer (my usual routine) instead of logging in to work, I logged in to my Jessica Sprague Photo Editing class and played with a photo, PSE7, and some digital brushes. For the results see my "Special" post .

This is a perfect example of the idea that happiness is a CHOICE - a habit to be cultivated by choosing to be happy. Another excerpt from Simple Abundance: "Your happiness is not a frivolous, expendable luxury. The pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence. But we have to be willing to pursue it. Ultimately, genuine happiness can only be realized once we commit to making it a personal priority in our lives."

For a great blog with a lot of posts about happiness check out The Happiness Project. Today I made happiness a priority in my life. Is it a priority in your life?