#12 The UN International Day of Happiness

Cloud Magic (detail -- all will be revealed soon)

Acrylic on canvas

4 x 6 feet

Barbara Muir © 2018

Happiness is a learned emotion. True it helps if you grow up
around very happy people, and it helps to be a person who seeks
out that good feeling.  But I found an exercise I did with my
class in Positive Psychology helped students (and me) think in
positive ways.  So for the International Day of Happiness here's
my current take on it.

It's called:
10 Reasons to be Happy 

1. The doctors say my arm is healing -- and I get the cast
off in 3 weeks and one day! (Unless something is wrong
and they have to put a new cast on).
2.  It was a beautiful day and I sat out in the cold, on the
back porch looking at the sky for a few minutes.
3. I am happy because I have a loving husband.
4. I am happy because I have a loving family.
5.  I am happy because I have kind, funny friends around
the world.
6.  I am happy because I'm an artist, and I love making art.
7. I'm happy that I get to teach, and that I meet amazing people
every year in that job -- even with one night a week.
8. I'm happy that I live in Canada -- deleriously happy about that.
9. I'm happy that I've learned how to be happy, and am
still learning, and think I will learn more and more for the
rest of my life. And I'm grateful for all that my blog friends
and Facebook friends have taught me on the subject
10. I'm happy that I've learned to love myself enough to
choose only to be with kind and happy people.
11. I'm happy that I don't believe in horoscopes, superstition
or most dogma.
12.  I'm happy that I love to read and I have a wonderful
novel.
13. I'm happy that my artist friend Janet Vanderhoof 
encouraged me to meditate, which brings me back to
happy when I get off course.
14.  I'm happy that I could keep going here all night, but I
won't.

Most of what made me happy a year ago, is what makes
me happy today, and that makes me happy too!

Have a Happy International Happiness Day.