Happiness is.........

       Hello all (or one, I really don't know if anyone is reading this),
       I hope your days are going well and filled with whatever you want them to be. I truly mean that as I spend most of my days either working or slacking off when I should be working. Yet I also find that I spend a great deal of my limited seconds on this earth in thought of a topic for this week's posting. I have about 60 different things daily that pop into my head that would make a good topic of discussion. Yet I find when I get around to writing them I can't seem to recall what they were. I really should start writing down the topic list. Oh organization, you are just not for me.
       Anywho, this week I was going to talk about memories and where they come from and how they affect my life in its current state. I am not going to lie it was shaping up to be a downer of a post. There is a lot to say about memories from me at this point in life, and mostly my frame of mind is on the negative/ depressing use of them. But then a ray of light game upon me in a most unusual way.
        Now some people state that inspiration comes in the form of a song, or art, or reading. Mine came in the   tri-tone jingle of a text message. Now you can probably see how happy I was just to see a text from someone as I seem to have fallen out of favor in the communication department with many of my regular chaters, but this one came out of the blue with a question from a relatively old friend who has been a communication hermit herself. She asked me "Have you ever tried to make yourself happy?"
          Wow. That's and interesting thing to have pop up on your phone. Well, in regards to the text message I did my best counseling schtick and wrote back a variety of cliches about just being happy and not trying to make yourself happy. I know I said they were cliches, but they are cliches for a reason. Cause they are tried, tested, and true. Why else would one continue to doll them out as sage advice? I think I came up with my own variations of good themes and really sent some nuggets of wisdom off. I am good at that.
           So I went on with my day, but for some reason that thought of what makes one happy stuck with me. So I decided to skip the downer memory post (don't worry, you didn't dodge a bullet with that one, it will return. I wrote it down) and make a list of the few things in life that truly make me happy at age 29 in the year 2011.
     
       1. Family.
           On December of last year my family was expanded by an extra member. This would be my niece, Anna. She is the first addition to our family child-wise and with her brings so many new promises that I never even explored for the G---- clan. With this little person it seemed a renewal of sorts came over all of us. Happiness and love have always been a large part of my family. We have always been close, together, and functional, yet Anna has brought a new happiness feeling to us all. Its just fun to see my father go all weak whenever he sees her or to see my brother take charge as "daddy" in a way that I would never have thought possible. Also, I must admit, I am really loving seeing a small baby around in pics and videos which is no small feat for me. (Read an earlier post on my baby views.) I miss my family more than ever now, but I know that when I get to see them there will be one more set of eyes welcoming me and that makes the distance not so tough.
     
          2. Friends.
             I have some pretty amazing friends. I don't tell them very often and in recent times I have not gotten a whole lot of chances to be around them, but they are still some of the best people I know. Anyone that has entered my life in some way has enriched it and those closest to me have struck upon me a great enrichment that I can only hope is recipricated in some small way by me. They have let me laugh with them; let me cry on their couches; let me yell about life, love and everything in between; and they have let me just be myself. Nothing can be better than that. I hope each one knows how important they are to who I have become today.
       
           3. Work
            I don't like my job all the time, but I am happy that I have one. It might not be exactly what I want to be doing with my career at this moment however it is far from what I don't want to be doing. I go to work each day hoping for the times between the shows when we sit around and just talk. Our conversations are legendary and range on so many topics that its imposible to convey them all in this "internet" thing. For me going to work is just an extension of #2 as everyone there is a friend of mine. And for that I will always be grateful to have been a part of this company.

           4. Reading
           As you can tell if you are a regular follower I love to read. The simple enjoyment of escaping into my mind where new friends and knowledge abound is unmatched. Recently this love has been stoked by my purchase of a Nook (I can't sing its praises enough) which in itself has opened the possibilities to read things that never interested me before. I set up shop in a corner booth and just read to my hearts content. The 'one hour free read' timer helps me return to the world at large and not de-evolve into a mass of unmovable flab which I am sure I would because I will not stop myself from reading if had the choice. It really  makes me happy to know that reading in any form will always be around and be entertaining when all other things in life may fade away at the drop of a hat. So this is a big one that makes me smile.

           5. Muppets
           A slight obsession with Jim Henson's creations has ruled my life since I was a small boy. I never really can pinpoint what it was that first turned me on to the Muppets, but I don't really care. They have been a large part of my development (Sesame Street), a bonding mechanism for myself and my older brother (Muppet Movies at large), and a career goal for me. It is my dream to one day perform with the Muppets or be a muppeteer. Just one of the background characters would be fine with me; just to say I did it. Anytime I feel sad or depressed I know that I can throw any number of my Muppet's DVDs  (and there are many!) into a machine and just feel right for awhile even if it is the 375th time I have seen it. Thats just a powerful magic that speaks to my heart in a way that nothing else can.

            6. Alone
            As much as I love spending time with friends and family I equally like spending time with myself. Its lonely and sometimes depressing to walk around by myself so much, but I always have a good time taking myself out. I enjoy people watching or going to places that may turn others off. And some of the things I do just require quiet, peace, and serenity that I always feel uncomfortable asking from someone else. So being alone in some rare cases makes me happy. Yet this is the most flexible of my list of things. It can be deleted at any time. Ya hear me ladies!


       So that's my small list. It is by no means the only things that come to mind that make me happy right now, there are way too many to mention right now. In the writing of this I noticed that each of these connects to the other in some way. I have made friends due to talking about the Muppets; I have a family who gives me the space to be alone when needed; Reading has allowed me to make a new family. All things are connected. I am starting to see that maybe tha'ts what life is about; finding things that make you happy and seeing how they can expand the others to make you super happy in all aspects of life.
        Try seeing what your list is and how each compliments the other. And until next time....