My Happy List

Day 225
140 Days Remaining

These days I've been spending way more time on Facebook than I should be, mainly because I finally gave in and got myself an iPhone (I hate conforming...but I love the phone!) and it's just too easy to find anything and everything to distract oneself from real life.  In these weeks leading up to final exams, I've been finding it very difficult to concentrate on school and studying, and I'm not really sure if the lack of focus is the reason for the constant Facebook scouring, or the result of it.

So, instead of being filled with Biology vocabulary, systems, processes and definitions, my head rather unfortunately gets topped up with memes, pictures of food, and statuses ranging from boastful to disparaging.  I have more invitations to stupid games than I could ever play, I know way too much about some people's private lives, and I have yet another way to throw myself out there and tell everyone everything about myself.  You'd think this blog would be enough!

Yet, on occasion, something very worthwhile will pop up in my Facebook News Feed, and I appreciate these moments.  Most of my favorites are grammar-related ("i before e...except when you run a feisty heist on a weird beige foreign neighbor" being one of my favorites), but often others will make me take a moment to really think.  Tonight I came across a YouTube video that was being shared on Facebook, speaking of pausing in life and just really being present in the moment.  It was called "What's on Your Happy List?", and I'll share it here.  It's not necessary to watch it if you don't feel like it, but the essence of it is to stop and think about what really makes you happy...not the possibilities that may come in the future, but the things that really fill you with satisfaction, happiness and contentment (are those all similes?  Am I repeating myself?  Where's my thesaurus?).  The Facebook friend who shared it started her own Happy List, and it was beautiful to read.  I decided that I would work on one for myself.

 The beginning of my Happy List: 

The smell of rain

The first bud of new flowers in the spring

Sinking into a welcoming tub filled with mounds of bubbles

That first sip of a perfect cup of tea, all sweet and milky

Seeing someone’s eyes crinkle at the corners when they smile

Dancing to “Y’All Ready For This” or “The Rockafeller Skank” in my bedroom in my underwear

Hearing my kids laughing together

Seeing my kids playing together

Walking through a snowy night and seeing happy scenes lit up in every window as I walk by

My son standing with me at the front of the church holding my hand as we lead worship together

Reading a message that shows me I am cared for

My silly little bedtime routine of turning back the covers, lighting some candles, and spraying the pillow with Deep Sleep Spray from The Body Shop

Having coffee with old friends and feeling like we haven`t missed a single moment

Making food and serving it to people who are appreciative of it

My very rare indulgence of watching a chick flick in my jammies, eating ripple chips with French onion dip and drinking a very strong rum ‘n Coke

When someone just “gets” me

Those jokes that aren’t even very funny but somehow tickle my funny bone, so that I am helpless with laughter for no real reason while everyone else just shakes their head at my ridiculousness

Getting a stellar mark on a report card, test or assignment

Singing a song that I wrote and hearing the audience clap for me

When someone loves a gift I have put a lot of thought into for them

Getting lost in playing the piano

Chills running down my spine when Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman sing “Time to Say Goodbye“`

When I need to hear from God and I flip open my Bible and it lands on exactly the right verse that I need at that moment, or a song on the radio echoes what`s in my heart

Praying with my friends

Writing a story or a blog entry that just works

A clean kitchen

A pile of fluffy folded towels

A hug from my daughter – few and far between, and all the more precious for it

Holding a baby

Performing at karaoke and hitting every note

Remembering love...and looking forward to feeling it again

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What's on your Happy List?  Give it a try; it's a good way of reminding yourself how much we have to be grateful for every day.

L