International Day of Happiness

Friday was the International Day of Happiness. 

Happiness.....it's the Key, right? The Golden Goose, the Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow, the elixir. 

I do believe in order to search for happiness, you basic needs must be met; are you fed? Are you clothed? Are you safe? It is then that one can afford to ask, "Am I Happy?" 

Perhaps that is why this day was deemed International. We should all be comfortable enough to ask the questions of happiness. 

I am that comfortable. And I do ask, Am I Happy?

And the answer comes and goes like the tide- as it should. Some days I am happy, some days not so much. Ironically, the more I worry about my state of happiness, the more variable it becomes. 

PBS did an outstanding documentary called 'This Emotional Life', where the focus of what makes us happy, healthy people was questioned. What I got out of this was that we are all tied by our human connections. 

I mentioned this to a friend who answered, 'Awe, yes. But sometimes it is our human connections that make us unhappy.' 

Touche' my friend, touche'. 

And thus, the question of what makes us happy was still left unanswered in my mind. 

The other day, I sat at a restaurant in Boston with good friends. I had a view of the Bay, a good Cabernet and an oyster in hand. 

I was happy. 

We started talking about people who have been in tough circumstances, divorce, bad relationships....and how sometimes that sadness can be worn on the outside. Every story my friends told was prefaced by...."but it was nothing like what you went through Heather." 

I always appreciate it when people acknowledge our struggle. I do. It validates a big part of our life....it makes it real.....it unearths a tiny ray I often keep hidden in my everyday life. 

And then it came to me while slurping a salty Pemaquid, 

"I think what has helped me is that through everything, everything, is that I always knew I was loved. The very worst times and I knew I was loved.....and that Samantha was loved, and that Hubs was loved. And that got me through the worst- it was love. 

Perhaps International Happiness Day should be called International Love Day. 

But that sounds weird. 

And so I leave you with Cookie Monster

Love. And Cookies. Amen