Happy Steps

Eric Weiner is a self-described grump who decided that happiness must have a geography. The Geography of Bliss describes his journey to figure out whether people in some places are happier than those in others and if so, why. Pam wrote about our reading of this book as part of her Year of Reading project.

I was thinking of all this when I found a piece of paper floating around in my murse and realized that I need to put its contents in a permanent -- which for me means electronic -- place before I can recycle the paper. The notes were scribbled at the end of a recent service at my church, when our minister suggested we write down a few steps to happiness. I wrote the following mini-couplets, one of which I added an hour or so later, while lunching at the Rockin' K Cafe with the recorder ensemble that had played that morning.

Gain learning & share it.

Honor work & do it.  

Eat good food & prepare it. 

Spend time in the outdoors & protect it.

Listen to music & make it.

I will leave it for readers to decide what to do with these suggestions, as they are intended to describe how I pursue happiness rather than to prescribe how others should do it. I will also leave to my readers the question of what if anything is geographic about them.