Look at this shot. Just look at it. This is fucking poetic is it not? Me. Alone. On a raft. With a boy. Going on a nowhere. With a paddle. It's poetry in motion...
Even from a distance, with a crappy old Polaroid scanned by my lovely mother and emailed, you can sense the happiness. My happiness. My sweet innocent untouched confidence that my life will go smoothly and without hick-ups. Do you remember that time? When you felt that way? It's nice isn't it? And it is poetic. Unhurt, untouched, unscratched, unscathed, sheer sweet innocence. I remember that time, and mainly I remember that feeling. And I feel good holding on to that memory. There is nothing wrong with innocence, or naïveté as I love to say.
Ignorance is bliss. I choose bliss over a "oh woe is me" attitude any day. Walk down the street and look at people. Really look at strangers as you cross them. I am willing to bet you can pick out the "woe is me" people in a fraction of a second. A blink of a glimpse is all it takes to know the difference between who is happy (they may look dumb, but they're happy) from who looks miserable (they may look bright, but all those brains in the world are useless when you don't even want to get up in the morning).
This picture makes me happy. Finding unexpected money makes me happy (just now found $12). This week I cleaned out (a tiny part) of my mom's basement, we cleared up 10 X 5 feet of space, and in doing so I found my dad's stamp collection I promised I'd give my nephew. That made me happy. Today I mowed my mom's lawn, front and back, as I was mowing I felt such joy!
What makes YOU happy? Tell me, I want to know, I may have undiscovered happiness waiting for me around the corner...
******
p.s. this post is a writing prompt from the Blog Gang. I may not have children, but I still have my childhood under my hood... Have you guessed the theme of this prompt?
That picture makes me happy too. It reminds me of trying to build my own raft with my friends to float around our pond in the back yard. So for me right now right this minute, happiness is old photos and raft building. xo
ReplyDeletethat pic brings to mind Tom Sawyer! adorable!
ReplyDeleteHappiness to me is: love of a good man, seeing children grown and doing well, puppy dog kisses and cat purrs.
Oh. AND:
raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, snowflakes that stay on my lashes and mittens...
These are a few of my favorite things. Which brings me to something that makes me happy. That DOVE commercial where they sing this song. There's a woman whose hair is a rat's nest, but she has this incredible smile on her face. I told Jim last night that she just looks fun. Like someone I want to meet!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
xo Susie
That picture is beautiful! Like you, I don't have children either so one of the things that makes me happy is a day like today when I'm skyping with my 10 year old niece that lives in Canada and she asked me when am I going to visit them again.
ReplyDeleteCecilia
Relaxing on a patio on a sunny day makes me happy. Putting on something pretty and meeting a friend for a glass of wine makes me happy. Visiting a new place just long enough to miss home-that makes me really happy.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great picture!
ReplyDeleteLoved the photo and the post!
ReplyDeleteyes, totally awesome picture! I'm a tad bit late getting caught up on the happiness posts - but FINALLY, here I am! Good post! I think studying strangers is one of the best ways to think about yourself in a critical way.
ReplyDeletePeople watching. My favorite past time, when im' out and about. And then I wonder, what do I look like to them? Hopefully happy! haha