Happiness is a dog to hug!
Happiness consists more in conveniences of pleasure that occur everyday than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom. ~~Benjamin Franklin
Where do you feel happy? And if you found such a place, how often would you make every effort to go there? This would be a place where you would feel loved and worthy and safe and engaged in life. No boredom there. No hard testing.
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet. ~James Oppenheim
Except, of course, some of us are happiest when faced with challenges that we have to give our all to meet. That may be why people run marathons. That wouldn’t be a happy time for me. Not running twenty-six miles or even half that. But I am happy walking every day with my dogs or my family and friends.
But while I’m not interested in considering the challenge of running marathons, I do accept the challenge – happily – of writing marathons. That is, beginning at page 1 and spilling words out on hundreds of pages to tell a story. Writing makes me happy. Having written and finished the marathon of writing a book makes me very happy. Having readers wanting to read whatever story I have pulled out of my imagination can make me even happier.
A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness. ~Bernard de Fontenelle
That isn’t to say that writing isn’t challenging. A writer has to come up with the right idea to start the snowball of story creation rolling. At times the idea can explode and lend itself to a dynamite beginning that maybe writes itself but then somewhere along the story writing way one can sail into some writing doldrums. I usually have a few stretches of doldrums when I’m writing – times when I wonder if I’ll ever finish this story or even if it’s worth finishing. And yet being somewhere in the process of telling a story makes me happy. Frustrating, draining, time consuming but underneath all that is happy.
Of course, writing isn’t the only happiness I find in life. Certainly not. I have such a great family and all those wonderful grandkids. I have my dog buddies to go walking on my farm that has Kentucky beauty. I get to see wonders of nature everyday. Birds flying in and out to my birdfeeder. Sunrises and sunsets. Rain, snow and sunshine. Flowers and stars. I am blessed with a life chock full of happy possibilities.
Cheerfulness is what greases the axles of the world. Don’t go through life creaking. ~H.W. Byles
I got the idea of where we might find happiness from one of our church’s Sunday bulletins. In the printed material on the back was the question, “Where is a good place to find happiness?” The writer suggested the answer might be our churches. I do hope you expect to find happiness in being part of a church family as you worship together. A person can find true happiness wrapped in peace and joy in the Lord.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
God wants us to be happy. You can embrace that truth when you read words like “rejoice,” “be of good cheer,” “do not be afraid,” “give thanks” in the Bible. Such words and more are all through the Scriptures commanding us to find happiness in the love of the Lord and the life He’s given us.
Part of that life for me is writing and letting one sentence slide into the next and the next until I have a story going. So I won’t be intimidated by the challenge of the empty page and will instead rejoice in the words the Lord gives me to share a new story.
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. ~Joseph Addison
Which quote about happiness did you like the best? What makes you happy?
Comments 8
I like all of these quotes! My happy place is with my grandkids…especially when we visit places where I can teach them about history. And my sewing room makes me happy too. I love choosing a piece of fabric and turning it into a cute little dress or doll clothes. Today I’m working on a little Moses basket for a doll. Happiness is a state of mind and a chouce. When my little ones are upset (aka a tantrum), I tell them they have a choice….they can take a deep breath and let it out slowly, and have a good day. Or they can let it ruin their day.
I hope your day is lovely, Ann!
Author
I hope your grandkids take your advice, Lavon, about those temper fits. In fact, that’s not bad advice for all of us when something doesn’t go the way we want it to. Take that deep breath and remember all our many blessings and reasons for happiness. A happy day is always better than an angry or gloomy day. Today with the sun shining on the snow is a bright day for sure. I love my windows here in my office, but I did have to lower the blinds a little. I was needing sunglasses and couldn’t see the computer screen. 🙂
My favorite is “the wise find happiness where they are and not off in the distance.” Made think of “the grass is always greener” and “grow where you are planted “. Even during my darkest moments there is happiness. “Count it all joy”; “Joy cometh in the morning “.
Author
I love that phrase “Joy cometh in the morning,” Karen. Sometimes it is hard to count it all joy and I’m not sure we could without the Lord to help us through hard times.
I like the quote, Happiness consists more in conveniences of pleasure that occur everyday than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom. ~~Benjamin Franklin
I find things that I am happy in everyday, most of them just small things, like a brightly colored flower in the summer, the smell of rain in the summer, or the sound of crickets, a good meal, friendly smiles, and for now a warm house.
Author
Those little pleasures of life can mean so much, Connie. And yes, I am very glad for a warm house. When I was a kid and then a newly married young woman I lived in a drafty farmhouse and we had to try to beat back the chill by hauling in wood and fixing fires continually. But a wood fire does feel good.
My favorite of your quotes about happiness is– Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. ~Joseph Addison A close second favorite of your quotes about happiness is–
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet. ~James Oppenheim
My favorite Biblical quote about happiness is this one–
Psalm 144:15 Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!
Author
I liked both of those quotes too, maybe especially the one about finding happiness right where you are, Suzanne. And thanks for sharing that verse. It’s perfect for this post.