The Happiness of Fa-La-La

You know it was one of those mornings when everything you touch goes ka-bloey and you could swear that the universe had aligned itself against you.  Faced with the choice of the grumpies or meeting the challenge of this blog (on only the fifth day of a 365 day challenge), I lucked out.  It was Phil Collins to the rescue with that 80s tune "Two Hearts."  Ever-boyish Phil, that simple beat with a tamborine, rhyming lyrics I had to sing along with and I was good.  Really:  how much of being happy is a decision of how you would rather feel and letting the little things make the world of difference in your day?  ~ Paloma

This morning, the forecast had already told me that the universe was aligned way, way against me. I swear, this weather seems so dooming. My art project is tedious, and my brains aren't functioning in English. The only thing that could cheer me up? A little German saying, "He who snatches, nibbles." I've got a box full of German chocolates, and I haven't snatched or nibbled yet. Saving those for a day where I could really use some sassy Fa-la-la and soulful sweets, I'm always reminded that this day isn't so hopeless afterall. What do I see then? Perhaps the weather was "zu heiss, mir ist zu heiss," and the icecream ran down the side of the bowl. This is the summer that I am looking forward to, and this day can't bring me down. It's the first of the summer, and surely full of blue skies!

Day Four: The Happiness of New

If there were a picture to be posted with this, for me, it would be of candled eggs. You know the sort, when in first grade, a little fetus outline could be seen with the magic of a dark room and bright flashlight. I can't say that I've yet found a photo that not only captures the newness of a developing egg, but somehow manages to include the glory of growth. There are eggs, and there are flower buds. Perhaps this would be a better post for the springtime, when the first snowdrop flowers have sprouted. But in the summer, there is a different sort of new- the long light hours that pass so quickly, and the carnivals that seem to sprout, businesses in a small town that open, and a different flavor of ice cream that you've never seen before. Who's to say that spring is the true time of change, of beginnings? Really, it all begins with the break of daylight, every day of the year. Carpe diem! ~Beth

New for me is a moment that really isn't new.  It's when I finally see something that was already there.  A flower that is blooming that I saw emerging from the ground, but then didn't see growing leaves, unfurling stem, delicately releasing flowers.  New is that moment when my eye says it's beautiful, and my hand tingles and my feet walk whatever distance it is back to my camera equipment.  New is that moment without time when I slowly look for the one shot that will communicate what I'm feeling.  I missed the snowdrops this year; I only saw them in passing.  I did not repeat the mistake with the Lily of the Valley. ~ Paloma

Day Three: Happiness Within.

Mary et Jesu

On a Sunday morning, who doesn't want a little peace and quiet?  Perhaps it is as simple to achieve as recalling a happy memory.  This photograph was taken in France at the Chateau de Chenonceau.  It took quite a bit longer to drive there than I had expected.  Outside, the air was humid, and there were tour buses aplenty.  The rooms of the Chateau were crammed with the noises of many languages.  My flash accidentally went off and the guard quickly raised his eyebrows and his hand.  But, off to one side, I spotted a doorway to the family's private chapel.  Lighting, softened through the stained glass windows.  A hush, punctuated only by smiles exchanged with others as I sat down for a moment - a moment that became more than just a moment.  An image to help me recreate happiness within.  ~ Paloma

 To an extent, this is about the happiness from outside of the body. Outer body experiences, the whole jazz. But have you ever considered what is inside? Who's to say that there isn't a flower, or a glowing piece of stained glass, or perhaps an animal soul? And within a lion, maybe there is a little Robert De Niro persona. I'd like the think that there's a fish in mine, swimming about happily. Look at an animal, and look at yourself. It brings a little glimmer to my eye to think how spontaneous that fish within may be.  ~Beth

Day Two: Happiness After All

Before I grew up wouldn't be the right way to begin this post. Let's just say.. before I turned 10 or 11, every single spring held this wonder. There were ruts in a dirt road on an undeveloped track behind my neighborhood that would fill with squirming black seeds with the rain. Tadpoles! When the hot weather would come, a neighbor would refresh the shallow puddles with distilled water to save the little swimmers from the scorching sun. Sometimes, if the weather was really terrible, he'd even bring the tadpoles in a little wading pool on his back patio, where I spent hours watching them sprout feet. I wanted to venture out today, since the rain should have been perfect for some good ol' frog breeding this summer, and I ran into a little neighbor boy. We can all just say that he wasn't so fond of the empty puddles, but was fascinated by snails! Before I 'grew up', those snails were the ones that kept tadpole water clean. Instead of seeing tadpoles this year, as I had promised, he saw the other part of the bowl. Is it just me that finds the excitement of a child not at all nostalgic, but able to bring out the child within still? I know I'm jealous of his brontosaurus t-shirt anyways!  ~Beth

After the rain, I found happiness in the smallest of wonders.  Raindrops pooled upon the Lupine leaves.  Daisies, a mere inch high, able to grow because the grass is overgrown.  Strawberry flowers.  A Buttercup.  Leaning back against a tree, imagining a life where a Dandelion is as big as a sunflower. ~ Paloma

Day One: The Happiness of Wet

Friday, May 27, 2011

The view of Lake Ontario, as of 5:35 am, isn't exactly sun - even by 9:03 am.  We're in the rainiest Spring that I can remember since 1989.

Outside Paloma's Window

I was hoping that our first day of the 365 Days of Happiness Challenge would get off to an easier start.  You know:  waking to a blue-sky sunrise, hearing the little birdies tweeting outside my window, and a lazy alarm clock at 7 am to wake me to the chipper strains of "Outside My Window" by Sarah Buxton.

So what's to be happy about today?  Time for barefoot walking through unmowed grass and the simple joy of rinsing my feet off in a puddle, pooling just by the kitchen door.  How about you? ~ Paloma

Inside Beth's Window

You know, I look out my window every morning to see surprising weather most of the time. Rochester can be pretty moody, and foreboding clouds don't even always foretell the worst of weather. I know you've got bowls of sea glass, Paloma, and from that I began to drop handfuls of seashells where sunny weather isn't always- home! Walking the shores of Cape Cod, a glimpse of purple is so thrilling; washing my face in the morning to look over to sea the same purple chunks of summer only begins my day better than anything else. For me, in suburbia, a little bit of beach outshines a whole lot of SUV ridden road, and keeps me thinking about the sea glass in your Jade plants. Are all of those your little beach memories, too?  ~ Beth