I stumbled upon an old post of mine which was written along similar lines. You can read it here. Happiness Is…
I was reading an article online and I stumbled upon this question. I assumed this question must have been for the ‘Happiness Is…’ series (of which I’m a big fan) and then I noticed that the author had asked people to list things that make them happy , without them being directly involved. I liked this train of thought. Personally, I’ve always associated happiness with things that make me feel good, or when I’m the recipient of some good deed. So it was interesting to think of situations which genuinely made me feel happy without being directly involved.
Here is what I thought of while I was riding back from work.
Happiness is … Seeing planes take off.
I’ve traveled enough by planes, yet I always get excited whenever I see a plane taking off. It’s amazing how something that was on the ground a few minutes back, just soars in the air and heads for the skies. I always relate to it fighting against all odds and moving on to pursue one’s dreams 🙂
Happiness is … Seeing dogs play with people.
I grew up listening to stories of my parents and the dogs that were in their respective homes. I’ve always wanted to adopt a dog, I’m still trying to work a way out. So, whenever I see pet dogs playing with its masters, I feel so happy. It’s nice to know that there will always be someone who would love you much more than you love them and treat you with the same amount of love and affection, every single time. Next to moms, I see only dogs are capable of this feat.
Happiness is … Seeing children smile.
From their toothless grins, to the wonderful smiles showing their broken teeth I love to see kids smile. They are probably the only ones who smile innocently from the heart without pretending or bothering to judge others. Even the simplest of things make them happy and they are generous with their smile. Something that adults can learn from children.
Happiness is … Seeing food placed perfectly.
That perfect round chapatti, that perfect frosting for cupcakes and that perfectly symmetrical arrangement of sweets or snacks, seeing all that makes me really happy. I’m not a perfectionist nor do I take special care to ensure that food should stay in a particular shape, but when it happens without your efforts and you see them on display, even if I had nothing to do with the preparation, that makes me happy.
Happiness is … Seeing Old Couples.
There is nothing that can match the happiness I feel when I see old couples walking hand in hand or just sitting in the park and sharing a joke. When I look at those blessed people, I tell myself this is the kind of life I want. I want to live life fully and then a few decades later, I want to take time to enjoy the simplest pleasures in life, with a loved one. That’s the dream and one day, that would be the goal.
As I write this down, I’m still thinking of many more such things which make me happy. I don’t think I’m going to stop. I’ll probably come up with a sequel to this post. Until then, would you like to share what happiness is for you, in this context?
I’d love to hear what happiness means to you 🙂
As The Mind Wanders 
35 responses to “What makes you happy?”
Happiness is bright sunshine in the morning. (May not be applicable to India).
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Happiness is….living in hometown.
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Happiness is an illusion. Maya. And so is everything else 😛
Destination Infinity
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Brightly lit rooms, long drives and catching up with friends. 🙂
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I am a very fussy person .. so happiness has a lot of things .. 🙂 I get happy at everything I know I know I am contradicting myself saying fussy and yet getting happy at almost everything..
a phone call from a friend, or a message .. sun rising … waves on a beach.. the cool air breeze … Seeing othr people SMILE…
Bikram's
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Yea, the early morning sunshine is definitely something worthy of a mention 🙂
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Now that I personally know many people who are staying in a different place, I can feel the amount of happiness they feel when they get back here. Good one 🙂
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Hahaha. Good one 🙂 Ellam Maya 😀
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Brightly lit rooms, yes that is something that would make me happy too 🙂 As someone who prefers the natural light any time they are available, that would make me happy 🙂
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Waves on a beach, of course 🙂 I feel very calm when I go to the beach and stare at the waves, it sorts of rejuvenates me 🙂
And if you are the reason behind someone smiling, wow, that is priceless 🙂
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So hard to define…needs some thinking….
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Such an easy question but difficult to answer.There are so many things….
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Simple things make me happy. Even a cup of warm ginger tea 🙂
nice happy post!
Hope you enjoy reading A Rat's Nibble : Calvin and Me
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The smallest things in life bring the utmost happiness, like eating a simple meal, watching people in a busy mall, sunrise and sunset, twinkling stars, running streams… just so many:)
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When I started reading, I thought you would say – Happiness is baking, as you do that a lot.
For me ultimate happiness is being busy. Music, cooking, writing, perfumes are few things that make me happy.
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There is no one thing…so many indeed including big and small things. 🙂
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Very interesting post here.
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ah.. i am compiling the list in my head, and it's never going to get finished.
There are just so many, many things..
Interesting post Ash… 🙂
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Interesting thought. For me, one from my recent vacation – Happiness is seeing take-offs and landings of planes.
There are many others as well, which i need to think of 🙂
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It took some time for me too. Keep thinking 🙂
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So many things Indu. But when we think of it, the trick is to find something that doesnt involve us 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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I love watching people. I'd wonder how different or how similar our lives would be and the paths that each of us step into 🙂
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Of course that makes me happy, but I was trying to think of something that doesnt involve me directly 🙂
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And of course, it's the small things that matter the most 🙂
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Thank you!
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Thank you Monica 🙂 I know right, there are just too many things going on 🙂
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Wow, you too? There is something magical about that right, I can't seem to express it, but yea there is something 🙂
And keep thinking 🙂
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..spending time with my family; seeing a lovely pile of books; knowing I can relax after a long day….so many small things!
Nice list, Ashwini!
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Happiness is being with my family, spending time with Coco, cooking, watching the rain lash outside, see giggling children.. On and on the list goes. 🙂
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Thank you Roshini 🙂 And yea the very thought that you know you can relax is heartening 🙂
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Such a happy happy list 🙂
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Among other things, posts written with thought and which make one think, make me happy. 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 Glad it made you happy 🙂
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Happiness to me is, having no routine. Lovely post to come back to after a long time, Ash.
Best,
Susan Deborah
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