Happiness

For me, happiness is a sunny day. We have had so few of them lately. At least half the day has been cloudy or raining.  Chico and I took a walk. We went up to the hardware store so I could buy more plastic to use for covering my outside furniture. Then we went to the pharmacy. I needed my ice cream fix. While I was waiting in line to pay, I heard a man singing Love Me Tender. He was totally unselfconscious. When he got up to the counter to pay for his own things, a woman who was in line said to him. "You sound happy."

He said, "I am always happy. If you can't be happy here, you can't be happy anywhere."

I walked out of the pharmacy, thinking about what he had said. I remember reading a book on happiness a few years ago. It had some surprising things to report. Such as, after a short period of time, people who have won the lottery aren't any happier than people who have become paraplegic.

Another example was a quote from a man who was about to be executed, where he said he was happy about his life and how it turned out. A wealthy man who had committed suicide wrote about how unhappy he was with his life....

In other words, happiness is mostly an inside job, irregardless of one's life circumstances. I know that is true, in my head. In my heart, I feel differently. Rainy, gloomy days make me feel unhappy. Sunny days, like today, make me feel like singing Love me Tender.