HAPPINESS

I watched Green Bay Packer wide receiver Donald Driver win the Mirror Ball Trophy on this season’s “Dancing With the Stars” show. He was so happy he literally lay down and rolled over and over on the dance floor. When Tom Bergeron, one of the hosts of the show, asked him how he was feeling, Donald burst out with a shout of excitement, he couldn’t contain himself. He was overflowing with joy; it was pouring out of him right into me and I had to join him and shout with joy myself. He gave me a happiness moment.

I strive to collect happiness moments. I used to think that happiness was a destination, a state of permanent being to aspire to when all things lined up perfectly in one’s life.  I viewed happiness as a goal at the end of the rainbow, a place to get to after doing hard time in the school of life. To me, happiness was a place in the future where I’d settle down and grow old in..…but not anymore.

After watching Donald Driver celebrate, I was reminded of how much my views on happiness have changed. I realize now that happiness is something we experience and gather along the way, in collected moments and experiences. It’s not a goal. It’s not a destination. It’s not something to put off until we have achieved everything we want to. We can experience happiness now, every day, anytime, anywhere.  You don’t have to wait for it.

Imagine your soul as a nice big room. You can fill it with all kinds of things-beautiful, ugly, sweet, smelly, warm, cozy, cold, harsh, or loving things. The choice is yours. Imagine moments of happiness as flowers. These flowers are growing all along our life journey paths. I used to have blinders on, looking only for the field of flowers I imagined growing at the end of my path, when my perceived perfect life would finally be realized. Well, guess what?  I may never reach this great big field of flowers I have my eyes on. Just because I have my perfect life planned out in my head doesn’t mean God and life will cooperate. The really sad thing about having blinders on is that I didn’t notice and appreciate the beautiful flowers already growing right beneath my feet and all around me. I didn’t stop to gather these flowers as I encountered them and my room suffered because of this.

I don’t know how I managed to take my blinders off. I only know that they’re gone now and what a difference this has made. My room is now full of flowers – soft hued tulips, orange daisies, vivid violets, red roses, white calla lilies, fragrant gardenias and tuberoses, pink carnations, purple orchids, bright bougainvillea, serene lotuses, and so much more. The colors and perfumed fragrances of the flowers fill my room and pave my path with joy.

I’ve stopped waiting for happiness to happen in my future. It’s right here and now. I’m going out to meet, greet, and make moments of happiness. I’m living a richer, happier life because I’ve learned to recognize and appreciate all the moments of happiness that come my way. They’re safe in my room. We all know it’s unrealistic to be happy all the time. Much learning and growth occur through pain and sadness. The great thing is that if you’ve taken the time to savor and collect moments of happiness, these can nourish you and help you to keep on going during low periods. You can draw on them for strength. They remind you that beauty is out there. You have proof living right inside of you.

Happiness can be had in great big chunks, but these big and momentous occasions are usually widely spread out in our lives. A more consistent and just-as-sweet way to stay sustained and nourished in happiness can be found in bits and pieces, in everyday acts, and in moments that take us by surprise. Taking time to smell the flowers has taken on a whole new meaning for me. It means stopping to savor and collect beautiful moments of happiness, like when my mood is suddenly lifted because my favorite song comes on the radio, or when I stop with my child to watch in fascination as storm clouds grow right before our eyes, or when I bite into that warm raspberry croustade I’ve been waiting to eat all day, or when Donald Driver’s joy reaches me through the TV screen and I have to whoop in joy with him. Happiness moments? Check. Flowers added to room? Check.