In 1990, there was a book published called, 14,000 Things to Be Happy About. I don’t remember exactly when my family purchased it, but I remember LOVING this book. We had the daily calendar too. I remember delighting in filling blank journals with my own lists of happy things:
–rainy, Sunday mornings
–my stuffed animal, Bunny
–freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
…things like that.
What I’ve come to realize about myself is that if I start worrying or thinking negatively, my mind can take off in that direction at an alarming speed. Scary fast. BUT, the good news is that my mind can just as easily and quickly take off in the opposite direction of happy thoughts, if I just give it the tiniest bit of guidance. When I was a young teen, and even a young adult, I was pretty good at finding that space to encourage myself to look for the good and reframe things. But, in these sleep-deprived, muddled days, I’m struggling with that quite a bit.
It wasn’t recently when reading this lovely post on my friend’s Patreon page that I even remembered my “happy” journals. She created a “jar of joy” full of beautiful, decorated strips of paper that shared her “moments of goodness.” I really love this idea. It seems like a fun, simple way to remember some of the things in life that bring joy. It got me thinking of different ways to create a collection of happy thoughts:
–happiness or gratitude journals
–a weekly chalkboard space for the family to jot down happy thoughts (Snap a pic at the end of the week, if you’d like.)
–a joy jar for yourself or for friends to contribute to, as well
–maybe a gift of a joy jar to a gift recipient (So, maybe have each guest at a party or reception write down a happy thought or memory associated with the guest(s) of honor.)
–a nightly dinner ritual to say something we’re happy about or grateful for in that moment
Anyway, I think the more we can appreciate about this wonderful Life, the more we will treat ourselves, others, and our world with kindness and respect. And, in that way, this small act of finding things to be happy about can start changing the world for the better.
(When I looked up the book, 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, I came across this awesome website! It’s colorful and fun, and when you click each section, including the calendar at the top, you’ll be able to view a list of happy thoughts for that topic. You can also use the refresh button to the right of the list to get more happy ideas. It looks like the author, Barbara Ann Kipfer, has many books of collections to help you find the good in your days!)
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