PEBBLE
If you keep searching for someone to fill this void, you end up putting your happiness in other people’s hands. But our happiness, it’s our own job.
~MG (character in the show Legacies), shared by Awilda in Cincinnati, OH
BOULDER
It’s not life’s job to make me happy. It’s my job to find the joy in life by observing and appreciating the small wonders and everyday miracles that are all around me, everywhere, every minute of my life.
~Paul Cotter, shared via Grateful Living
PONDER
There’s a good reason the topic of happiness makes regular appearances in our weekly Ripples…people want to be happy! This is generally a good thing, although it’s tricky since I tend to believe that happiness is more elusive when you make it a primary goal. I think it’s almost always more findable when it’s viewed instead as a byproduct of pursuing a meaningful, fulfilling life.
Today’s quotes invite us to take responsibility for our own happiness, while reminding us that sustainable reserves of joy are often built from smaller happy moments we pause long enough to notice.
If we look around mindfully, opportunities for uplift are often hiding in plain sight: savoring the good stuff as evidence of joy, embracing the hard stuff as an opportunity to grow, and recognizing that even fleeting moments of joy can help sustain us during hard times.
And remember: this isn’t about ignoring the yuck that’s in your life and in the world. That isn’t realistic and it isn’t healthy. It’s more about creating a larger context that includes awareness, appreciation. and cultivation of what’s good. Some days are inevitably more troublesome than others, but with just a little practice, even those days can include a little sprinkle of happiness, too.
Peace,
Paul
P.S. P.S. This goofy, cute little ditty always makes me happy. #IfIWereAFish