How To Be Happy

Wow, USA has had a hell of a weekend! We celebrated the Fourth of July and a World Cup victory. We have a lot to be thankful for and hopefully you all had a very happy weekend, especially if it was a three day weekend.

While I was watching the news this morning, they were talking about this documentary called 'Pursuing Happiness'. The film takes a look at the happiest people in America to truly find out what makes people happy. They talked about things like the notion of happiness being created from within us and that we choose to be happy - it's a conscious decision.

I agree with all of the above. I don't think happiness is anything like the lottery - it's not a luck of the draw. I believe that we have to create our own happiness given our situation, our upbringings, and our environment. It's not something that happens because we have a perfect life. Honestly, there isn't ONE perfect life.

Another item that was discussed from one of the individuals they interviewed was that to be excited about the future is a disrespect to the day. We can all look forward to something in our near or distant future, but isn't it also important to be present?! Whether it be an average day or an extremely rough one, it's still relevant in our overall happiness.

I consider myself to be a happy person living a happy lifestyle. I've experienced loss and hurt, pain and sorrow. Those negative feelings allow me to really understand what happiness is. To me, happiness is a lifestyle that is never perfect.

Here are some items that make me happy and help me achieve happiness (in no particular order);

- owning a home
- my little fur-child, Roxi
- financial stability
- my Husband
- food
- meditation
- the blogging community
- fitness
- living near the water
- the ability to form my own opinion
- random acts of kindness (like this one)
- coffee
- fresh air
- the sun
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What are some items that make you happy? How do you find your happiness?