A Few of My Favorite Things

Julie Andrews said it best (or sang it best) in The Sound of Music, "I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad."

Sometimes just thinking about those little things that make us happy can be a great way to lift ourselves out of a dreary mood.

I have my own personal list book, a pretty cloth-covered journal. I started making lists in it years ago. The other day, I sadly entered the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson in my list book. Then I spent a few moments looking at the very first list I made years ago - a long list of all sorts of different things that make me happy, like writing, traveling, watching my cats or having a chocolate chip cookie with a Diet Coke. I got the idea from a little book called 10,000 Things to be Happy About.

It's been a while since I've added to that list, so I figured I'd make a little list here and then transcribe it into my book later. Making a list like this is something I don't mind doing over.

More things that make me happy: going barefoot in the grass or the creek at my favorite park, nice people, my computer, figuring out the words to a song, making others laugh, doing something nice for someone, biting into a fresh pear, peach or plum, collecting state quarters, reminiscing, and, always worth repeating, chocolate!

As we look at our lives and the world around us, we can see that the things that give us happiness heavily outweigh the things that trouble us. Too bad those other things have to suck up so much of our attention!