This has been on my mind all week. What is happiness? What defines happiness?

I suffer from depression. I take medication, but there are often days when I still suffer the blues pretty severely. I have had a couple of those kind of days recently which got me to thinking about happiness and joy and being grateful and content.

Simplicity and organization pleases me. It brings joy to my heart. But, truly what makes me happy today is not what made me happy say 10 years ago. I find this interesting. As we mature and as our lives change, what brings us joy also changes. I remember a time when I thought that being married would make me happy. On some days, it does make me happy, but it is not "happiness". At one point I truly believed that owning my own home would make me happy. Yes, I found a great sense of joy and pride with owning my first home (the excitement wasn't the same as we purchased our 4th home). I can even recall a time in my life when shopping for new clothes, shoes, purse, etc. brought a type of happiness to my life.

It was this past week that I realized that rather than think about what I think will bring me happiness, I have stopped having faith in that concept. While doing much soul searching, I realized that the best start in "being" happy is to be grateful for what you have right now. I have carefully watched my 7 year old and other children lately and notice that they are happy. They are generally quite thankful for the here and the now. For example, I saw 10 children yesterday, completely content for over an hour after school simply watching a turtle they found crawl around on the grass. Just the wonder of where he would venture to, what was he thinking, look at how he moves, how do you think he got lost from his family, how old do you think he is, were some of the many questions they pondered. THAT is happiness.

Seeing a butterfly flutter by you on a warm, sunny day is happiness. Sitting on a park bench with your eyes closed, feeling the breeze in your hair and the sun on your skin is happiness. Listening to children laugh and play is happiness. Savoring the moment in which you are is pure bliss.

Last night we lost our power for almost 2 hours. It was frustrating and annoying and I almost let it get me angry, but I stopped that thought and squashed it instantly. What a blessing was given to me and my family! We were forced to sit
surrounded by candles and their flickering light and we talked. No phone, no computer, no television, no distractions.

I can look around my house and think of all the things that are wrong with it and in it and how I want and need a hundred things around here, but while I'm doing that, I'm missing out on being content with what is. Tomorrow may never come, but
today is a gift.

I found some more quotes that I feel embrace this concept and I hope you enjoy them.



Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it. ~Fyodor Dostoevsky


What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner. ~Colette

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne


It's pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed. ~Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~Margaret Young

Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.
~William Wordsworth, 1806


Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne


We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. ~Frederick Keonig

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour. ~Author Unknown

The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment. ~Doug Larson

We are seldom happy with what we now have, but would go to pieces if we lost any part of it. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

If you are not happy here and now, you never will be. ~Taisen Deshimaru

Happiness is a function of accepting what is. ~Werner Erhard

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~Robert Brault

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. ~Guilaume Apollinaire

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? ~Albert Camus

You need to learn to be happy by nature, because you'll seldom have the chance to be happy by circumstance. ~Lavetta Sue Wegman

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it. ~William Feather

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. ~Mildred Barthel

Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. ~Margaret Lee Runbeck