Today’s Word: Happiness

Ah, here is a word that can mean something different to each of us. Context is important! Here is what it means to me.

I used to think that happy people walked around in this blissful state and never had a bad day. I felt like a kid looking through the window at a candy store, but wasn’t allowed in. What I have discovered is happiness is on the spectrum of moods and while many do not dip into depression, they can go to neutral. Nobody is in a perpetual state of joy, because if they didn’t move along the spectrum they wouldn’t recognize their joy. There is an ebb and flow. I feel great joy when I hear my husband or son sing. I love music anyway, but this is more personal and my happiness rises up the spectrum. When I hear certain songs, which trigger my memories of Alex, my happiness dips into sorrow. Yet the sorrow lifts as I think about how joyful it was to have him in my life. Up the spectrum I go.

Every morning I get up to the sweet snort of my French Bulldog, Truffle. My happiness line shoots way up as this sweet doggie loves up on me and I pet her softness. The joy of a beloved pet cannot be overstated.

I tend to go in this pattern. It isn’t sudden joy and sudden sadness, for the most part, but a gentle sense of well-being which can be triggered up or down by life’s happenings. While I certainly could live without the depression that can lurk with the sorrow, it has shown me the sweetness of joy and how to cherish it.

One of my most joyful moments, in the last 18 years, was at a school concert. Morgan was a freshman and was singing a solo, “Moon River.” This was approximately two years after Alex died, and I still couldn’t feel the love for others which I knew was there. As my sweet, gifted son stood on stage and started singing this old ballad, I felt his voice reach into my heart and pull the joy out. It was the start of re-engaging in life.

For me, happiness is people; special people who bring their uniqueness, tenderness, affection, and love to my life. My son and husband are obviously special beyond words, but I am blessed with many of the best people in the world sharing my life.

One last thought: I must include Truffle, who is my daily joy of energy. She is not a people, but she thinks she is.