Happiness

A warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie.  An ice cream cone. A hug. A smile from a stranger. A cute puppy. A glass of wine. Those are some of my ideas of happiness… Sometimes you can in fact bottle it up but other times, it is a little harder to define or even recognize.

As I look back to my early twenties to now, I can more clearly see that happiness is more than just that giggly, euphoric feeling you get when you’re young and innocent or how it tends to be depicted on television and in books. The best happiness is quiet. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it. It’s simple. It’s beautiful.

Remember when you were little and you’d give anything to go to the pool or swing at the playground? How’d you feel when it happened? I know I was ecstatic and it definitely induced that giggly can’t feel my toes feeling. But now after a few hard knocks of life, heartbreaks, lessons learned by mistakes, and the more defined character brought on by maturity; I know that true self-induced happiness is hard to come by. But, at the same time it’s really not.

I know you’re probably thinking, “What’s she trying to say?” I hope I can convey what I mean when I say that happiness is that inner glow, that warm sensation at the pit of your stomach, that little flutter that comes to you when you’re at…peace. No stress. No worries. No fear. It’s when you let go and just enjoy life. It’s when you concentrate on you. It’s when you put your well-being first and not someone else’s. It’s when the physical you, the spiritual you, and the mental you are on the same page.

So, even though I still get a little giddy over an ice cream cone or a cute puppy, I know that I don’t have to wait around for those moments to feel that happy that makes me give that Mona Lisa smile that makes others think, “I want whatever she’s having.” I can just spend a little quality time with ‘me’ and enjoy being happy with the Amelia I am continuing to get to know.