Are you Happy?

Back not too long ago, when I was a working Mom, my happy, fun workplace changed very suddenly.   My boss and a few coworkers got fired, the Chief Merchant left the company, and some new management was put in place.  Sometimes change is good.  This wasn’t one of those times.  Suddenly it wasn’t the same workplace that I’d signed up for a little over a year earlier.  Some of us working moms started having conversations about staying at home.  The more unhappy we were at work, the greener the grass looked on the other side.  And most of us were very unhappy. 

How important is it to you to be happy every day?  Is that really even possible?  We all can point to happy moments in our lives: our wedding day, birth of our children, vacations, etc.  But what about finding the “happy” in the ordinary Tuesday?  Are you only happy on Fridays? Are you (sometimes) happy with your job?  Are you (sometimes) happy staying at home? Is it possible to find just a moment of happiness every day? When your boss is a jerk, or the garage door breaks, or you get a letter from the IRS, does that ruin your day, your week, or your month?  I started participating in a project on Instagram called #100 days of happiness.  (Note to my Mom: Instagram is like Facebook, only it’s just pictures)  My friend Alicia was trying this, and she inspired me to try it too. In this project, I attempted to post a picture of something that made me happy every day.  I think I got to day 10 and then gave up.  Isn't that ridiculous? You can see what I posted by following me on Instagram at larainedurham.  Alicia is still going strong, and you can follow her at ac27560.  Maybe I will start it back up again.

I think that it’s important to look for the happy in the everyday things, although many days, this can be a challenge.  I know that whenever I listen to the song, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, I instantly become happy.  Here’s the chorus:

 Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do

What makes you happy?  I hope that today you can find one thing that makes you HAPPY.