Day 78 of 100 Happy Days
Seeking the sweet things in life. That is what this challenge truly is about. In my last post I wrote that I expected this would become more challenging as the days go by, well I was wrong. If anything, it has become more enjoyable and now I wonder whatever will I do when it is over. I don't want it to end. I'm not alone in this, I realized as I searched #100plushappydays.
It has become part of my daily routine. Look for something that makes me happy. Happy. I know this word seems like some grand destination once everything in life is perfect we will arrive at. But that is not reality because there will always be stuff that can bring us down if we let it. No, happiness is a series of small and occasionally big things that give us pleasure or make us thankful that we focus on continually that brings joy.
In fact I have found that gratitude and happiness go hand in hand. Everything I've photographed over the past 78 days are things I am thankful to have in my life. This does not mean I have had no sad moments, no frustration, no anger, no chaos or challenges in my life. I have. I have cried, I have yelled, I have been grouchy and irritable. But I have chosen to brush those things off and re-focus on what I am thankful for. The sweet things in life. It's really hard to be both angry and grateful at the same time, so I keep seeking the sweet things. And this 100 happy days challenge is one of those sweet things.
This practice is training me to expect happy moments. I have had days where I posted my picture for the day early and then something else later in the day makes me more happy and I wished I would have waited. So I put it off till the end of the day. One evening, an hour before bed I started to post my photo thinking nothing more would happen that day but right before I hit save my best friend showed up at my door; I quickly hit delete to post her photo instead because that became the best part of my day. I have days where I take multiple photos and have to chose which one gave me more pleasure that day.
It has taught me to focus on the positive in life. Sure I've had days when I've gotten towards the end of the day and I haven't photographed anything and I wonder what to post. But that's not a bad thing either because it makes me pause and reflect on what was good about the day. This can be a challenge to photograph but I have gotten creative, well some might call it cheating, taking a photograph of a photograph I've found online. But hey, it's my challenge, it makes me happy to do it my way.
If you've thought about taking this challenge, stop thinking about it and do it, you will not regret it. I'm here to tell you, it's the small things that add up to a life of gratitude that brings joy. My prayer seed today is that one person who is near and dear to me, whose feet are set on a path of destruction, I pray that person would read this and take this challenge, because changing paths starts with one step.
To sign up for the challenge go to: 100 Happy Days Challenge
P.S. Local honey makes me happy, I bought this honey at the Clear Lake Farmers Market, it's delicious!
