4 Things That Make Me Happy

One antidote to depression is to choose to focus on the good things of life instead of the bad. The operational word is CHOOSE. It's easy to see the negative side of things when one is depressed. Everything just seems so hopeless when one is down in the dumps. 

But there are always choices in life. We can always choose to count our blessings or we can choose to wallow in misery.

Today I decide to be grateful so I'm making a list of the top four things that make me feel that all is well.

Here goes:

1.) Good conversation with a kindred spirit

It always does my heart good to spend time with friends who can keep up with my quirk to analyze, discuss, dissect, and talk through anything that my hyperactive mind and flimsy heart pester me with. I am grateful that I have friends whom I can always count on for one of the things that I love best: good conversations over a cup of Peppermint tea that last long after the city lights have gone to sleep.

2.) Saturday mornings with the street children of Roxas Blvd., Manila

Even if at times I whine about the inconvenience and the amount of work that I need to do  for the literacy program called WISH that some friends and I have organized for the homeless children along Roxas Blvd., I am still grateful that I have the opportunity to go beyond myself and be of service to those who are less fortunate. The children's enthusiasm to learn and their parents' eagerness to assist in the project makes getting out of bed so early on a Saturday morning more than worth it. 

3.) A bag of Cheetos and curling up in front of the t.v. on a weekend night to watch a good movie

My favorite is Under the Tuscan Sun. It is a movie about a woman who bought a rundown villa in Tuscany after her husband left her for a younger woman. As she rebuilds the villa, she rebuilds her life along with it. It's a story of hope, friendship, picking up the pieces, and the journey to wholeness. 

4.) Dreams 

Whenever I'm sad, I remind myself of the power of dreams. I call to mind the aspirations that I've had before that have come true. I believe that the life is full of surprises and infinite possibilities and the Universe gives us the power to be anyone we want. It's enough to give me hope. 

Blank and Bland

Sad but don’t know why? You are not alone.

“In the 1950s psychotherapists began seeing a new type of client, the “successful malcontent”. This type of person is normally successful by contemporary social standards, has a decent job, reasonable income, reasonable family life, reasonable acceptance and respect in the community: all the rewards that are supposed to bring happiness in our society. Success doesn’t mean there is no suffering or difficulty: some suffering and difficulty are part of normal life and are accepted as such. The successful malcontent knows that he or she is “happy” by ordinary standards but seeks therapy because he or she finds that life is nevertheless “empty”. Isn’t there more to life than money, career, consumer goods, social life? Where is the meaning?”

Helen Palmer, The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life