Living Happiness
As some of you know, a few days ago I gave myself permission to take a few days off from life’s demands, including giving myself a brief hiatus from my blog. While not fully back (and certainly not feeling in full form), I have missed this little space enough to want to at least leave a few words with you today.
This post is called “Living Happiness” because this is the name I really would like to have given my blog. Over the last few weeks, following Graceful Creative’s lead, I have been somewhat/kind of/in my spare time taking part in the 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge. And one of the things you are asked to do — actually the first thing you’re asked to do — is to give your blog an identity. Figure out what it is, what you want it to do, what makes it tick. Yikes! This was harder than I thought.
I’ve been giving the matter a lot of thought, and what has kept leaping out at me is that happiness is not something we “do,” it’s more something we live. For thousands of years, philosophers and housewives, priests and peasants, have all tried to get a handle on what happiness is. There’s no verb form form for “happiness.” No action that does happy. But we definitely know happiness when we see it. It’s a glow that springs out from within, it permeates an individual’s countenance, body, life. We see it. We recognize it. We want it.
In the past several weeks, I’ve visited a lot of happiness blogs: places where people are doing a lot of positive things and thinking about the changes we can make in our lives to ensure we live a bit of this, too. I’ve been delightfully surprised.
And I’ve discovered that, for me, my blog isn’t really about giving advice as much as it’s just a blog about me living my life. It is me trying to live happiness.
I also like the title “Living Happiness” because, as an adjective, “living” is an active, moving, vital word. Living happiness is happiness that is not stagnant, complacent, waiting to receive whatever comes to it. No, living happiness is engaged, joyful, powerful … moving.
In the next few weeks, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I will be making some changes to this site that embrace this image of my blog. I hope you will stick around for it and bear with me as the changes come.
For today, I leave you with this and would love to hear what you have to say:
How are you living happiness in your own life?
Thanks for joining me on this journey.
Peace be with you.
