The Pursuit of Happiness

Happiness, that thing we all seek, consciously or not.  

John Lennon once said:

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.”

That quote has stuck with me, no matter what else we want from life, we want to be happy, our goals are merely ways we think we can achieve it. 

We all find happiness from different things, some its little things like meeting a puppy while walking, having some drinks with friends, or making something you can share. Some only focus on the big things, buying a car or house, the joy of their wedding day, or the excitement of going on holiday.

So what makes me happy;

Crisp springs morning when its still cold and damp but sunny. Tea and cake with my friends. Coming home to a tidy house. The smell of tomato plants (I know its an odd one). Taking pictures of nature. Crochet, sewing, and all the other crafts I do. Learning new skills. Sowing seeds and watching them grow. Baking and cooking. A place for everything and everything in its place. Living in balance with the world around me (that includes being more sustainable and less damaging to the world). Cats (my cat Hugo especially). Walking in the woods with my partner. Picnics.   

Wow, that's a longer list than I expected, whats on your list? 

By writing down all the things that make us happy we can see clearly the things we should do more of. I like taking pictures of nature, but I almost never do it, so I should find time to do it more. If a tidy house makes me happy why don't I put more effort in to keeping it tidy. 

I kon-marie'ed my wardrobe and it felt good, I am now slowly going through my craft stash before expanding the process outside my room. The idea of deciding to keep something based on if it made me happy was a surprising revelation. The idea of your home containing thing that make you happy, surrounding yourself with positive things was lovely. 

But what if we expand it into out time, not just our positions. If what we own is important to happiness then surely how we spend our free time is too. We can't avoid doing many of the things that leave us less happy, but with the time remaining we should try and spend it on happy things.