Sunday 31 January 2010

Spread a little happiness.

"We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than we have to consume wealth without producing it." So said George Bernard Shaw.

Thanks to Poet-in-Residence and before that to Bill the Ostrich at Usually Confined I have received a Happiness award (see side bar). These awards are gratefully received and I thank everyone who has given me one over the past months but I have decided that enough is enough and I shall just leave them on over this weekend while I fulfil the obligations demanded by this last one, but then on Monday I shall say goodbye to them all and try to put a few more things on my sidebar, thus testing my computer skills to the limit.
So, to meet the Happiness award - I have to say ten things which make me happy. I find that very difficult. It all depends what is meant by happiness. The Dictionary defines happiness as a state of contentment. If you look at it that way then all I can say is that I am totally content all the time. Why should I not be?
I have had two happy marriages. I no longer need to work. Teaching children was always wonderful work but I never enjoyed the stresses and strains of working in a very large Comprehensive School with a huge staff, with often a lack of communication between them, the negotiation of capitation each year - all these things combined to take the gilt off the gingerbread.
Also I have time to blog. When I left school in the early fifties I was desperate to write and dearly wanted to be a Journalist. Conditions at the time and family pressures meant that I never fulfilled this ambition. Over the years I wrote for various Educational publications, Womens' Magazines etc. and whilst I enjoyed that it was always a chore getting copy ready, sending it off with s.a.e.'s and then waiting for months, even years sometimes to find out whether it had been accepted or not. Now I can write every day from the comfort of my own chair - no getting it typed up and sent off - my readers accept what I write at face value and tell me in their comments whether they agree or not. Looking up references before I write, reading your comments, changing my opinion in the light of what you say or at least letting me see things from a different angle - all this keeps my old brain ticking over and gives me a huge amount of interest. Some bloggers set challenges - write a poem for example - and this gives me a huge amount of pleasure too.
I have a group of readers who are not themselves bloggers. They often send me e mails with their comments. They are old friends and I appreciate their involvement. In fact I am trying at present to persuade one friend to open a blog for himself as a way of helping him through a difficult time in his life. If I manage to persuade him then I shall let you all know about it as he writes some really interesting stuff on old churches.
So there you have it. I can't list ten things which make me happy - I just am. But over and above that sometimes I can become positively euphoric. So here are things which top up my cup of happiness:-

It is wonderful when all my family are well, happy and doing what they want to be doing. That gives me an extra kick.
I do like a sudden pleasant surprise - the first snowdrop, the first really warm day, shutting the farm gate behind us when we set off at the beginning of a trip abroad, a surprise visit from an old friend or a grandchild, a piece of textile work finished and pleasing, a poem of mine being aired on someone else's blog (thanks 2010!). And I get a thrill each time I drive into our market town, up a hill and over the top and suddenly the whole dale opens up before me - and I swear it is never the same twice - it can be sunny, foggy, misty, cloudy, snowy, hazy - it is always different and it always gives me a kick.
There are not many advantages to getting old but for me at any rate there is one. I no longer have to strive for anything, I just have to accept what comes my way, push myself physically to keep going and be happy that I can still enjoy life. Enjoy the rest of Sunday.

15 comments:

steven said...

hello weaver - it's very obvious through your writing and through your presence here that you are a happy person. that you share the happiness is a gift of course!!! i like the gbs quote. sharing happiness doesn't have to involve putting on a variety show. it can be very very simple as its effects are much greater than its often humble beginnings. steven

Jinksy said...

happy that I can still enjoy life

And long may you continue to do so! x

Heather said...

It's a pity we can't all be happy but there are some who haven't the capacity for happiness even though they have good health and no real problems. I'm so pleased that you have it Weaver, and you share it with us all through your blog so that it broadens and multiplies like ripples on a pond, lifting our spirits if they need it. I am in complete agreement once more with what you say, and am very fortunate in being able to say that I am a happy/contented person too.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Well you did it! I feel the happiness you sent, right across the pond. Thank you.

DJ said...

When I grow up, I wanna be just like you...
Hugs~

Boomer Pie. said...

Stumbled across your blog and I really enjoy your writing so I signed up to follow you. I don't think it's necessary to enumerate on what makes us happy. Some of us just are while others are not. I do feel everyone has the potential to feel happy but some folks prefer to wallow in their misery. Stop by my place for some happy pie and follow me if you like. http://www.boomerpie.com/

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

It's a cliche I know, but real happiness is born from a contented soul. It's not, at least in my experience, all that dependent on outside happenings. It springs up unexpectedly and turns the most mundane things into magic. Bless it.

Raph G. Neckmann said...

A lovely inspiring post, Weaver, and you do always spread happiness! And I think sharing things like the joy of a snowdrop adds to the joy of when one sees the first snowdrop oneself: I'll be thinking, "Ah yes, Weaver has been rejoicing in new snowdrops too!"

Love the GBS quote.

Anonymous said...

We're singing from the same hymnsheet today, Pat. All power to you!

PurestGreen said...

I love the warm contentedness that comes through in your writing - it is one of the things that draws me to your blog again and again.

Gigi Ann said...

To set down and start numbering ten things that make me happy, makes me think.
1. Family,
2. friends,
3. a warm home,
4. my dog,
5. good food,
6. quiet time,
7. a good nights sleep,
8. good health,
9. reading.
10. warm feet. ; )

Anonymous said...

A lovely post Weaver, and I chuckled at Gramma Ann's comment featuring warm feet. I can't sleep if my feet are cold, and guess I would have to put it on my list along with hot showers.If all in my little family are happy then I am too, daughter in particular.

Jacqueline said...

It's the small things in life that make us happy, or rather, the APPRECIATION of the small things, like the first snowdrop, the first warm day etc. We can all be happy if we choose to appreciate the moments in our life. Some people just choose to ignore the beauty and focus on what's missing - happiness will continue to elude them.

Live Life Happy!

mrsnesbitt said...

Contentment is a wonderful thing isn't it? It allows us time to reflect on what matters in life, and it costs us nothing!

sanjeet said...

I feel the happiness you sent, right across the pond.
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