The Happiness Collection

“A good life is a collection of happy moments” ~ Dennis Waitley

A very dear friend bought me a notebook and a pen for Christmas. The pen is pink and glittery, set off with a shocking pink feather trim, and a wibbly-wobbly plastic unicorn with rainbow coloured mane and tail. I love it. The notebook itself is pristine white and on the cover are the words ‘Happiness Journal’.

I am so excited to use the journal over the coming year. You see, I’m a firm believer that there’s happiness in every day, if we choose to notice it. Maybe it’s a smile shared with a stranger, a flower coming into bloom, a kindness received or given, half an hour to read a book, a line from a poem or the sound of a piece of music. Perhaps a memory, a scent, a conversation, silence, a good coffee, or a walk in the park. It can be any one, or all, of a hundred little things that happen during the course of a seeming uneventful day.

Would you join me by creating your own happiness journal?

The very act of noticing and recording these events, helps us to be more aware and appreciative. Happiness becomes a habit. I’m not suggesting that we’re going to spend each day skipping around and smiling inanely at everyone and everything – although if that idea floats your boat, you go for it. No, bad stuff is most likely still going to happen but being in a happier, more positive frame of mind may help to change your outlook and your reaction.

If, like me, you have the memory span of a goldfish, you might find it useful to make notes about your day so that you can refer to them when it comes to writing in your journal. You might also want to include photos, doodles, or sketches if you are talented that way, or a flower or theatre ticket. It’s your happiness journal, you decide what goes into it; the only rule is to make sure you put something in there each day.

Look back through your journal from time to time – your collection of happy moments – picturing and remembering the happiness that each of those little things brought you. It’s good for the soul.