Found Words

While sorting through some old books, I found the following line on a worn bookmark:

'Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.' J. M. Barrie

Inside the same book was a greeting card from 1978 with this poem:

The beautiful in life...

some talk of it in poetry,

some grow it from the soil,

some build it in a steeple,

some show it through their toil,

some breathe it into music,

some mold it into art,

some shape it into breadloaves...

some hold it in their hearts.

Another bookmark held this: "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be." Abraham Lincoln

Words to think about.

The Secret of Happiness

Listening to Public Radio this morning, the announcer mentioned an upcoming show on which celebrities will be telling us how to find the secret of happiness.

After listening to the advertisement I wondered, what could Katie Couric or any of the other celebrities on the show have to tell me about finding happiness? Why would a celebrity be considered an authority on the topic anyway? I am not picking on Katie C. I'm sure she's a nice lady, but the thing is, I don't know her. Is she happy? By whose measure?

And what by the way would be the measuring stick used for happiness? Would it be riches or fame? Fast cars or long life? Does the word happiness even mean the same thing for each person?

A storyteller named Joel ben Izzy wrote a book several years ago called The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness. A friend gave me a copy in the dark days after my mother's death, and it was just what I needed to read at the time. I have since bought and given away several copies of this book that shares the story of Izzy's journey through depression when he lost his voice. The message of his story, interwoven with the tale of the beggar king, is one we all need to hear--to learn to accept what is, to appreciate the life we have while we continue to strive. Izzy's version of happiness is close to my own, and his book put me back on the path to my own place of light.

The radio ad brought all this to mind and I once again considered what the word really means. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines it as "a : a state of well-being and contentment : joy," or "b : a pleasurable or satisfying experience."

Ah!

Contentment and well-being. Those words have little to do with riches and fame, at least in my world. Contentment is sitting on the porch in my rocker and looking out at our burgeoning gardens, or watching grandchildren disappearing into the woods on an adventure. It's hot tea in a china cup and hot coffee in my travel mug. It's seeing snowfall and a fire leaping in the fireplace. It's my husband's smiling face as he fixes breakfast in the morning for the two of us. It's little things.

And well-being? The sense of being loved and of loving, the knowing that I am in my right place in this world, and that all those I love are also doing well, that to me is well-being. Good health plays a role certainly. The basics of survival--food, shelter, water, and love--are the also the basis of well-being. Wealth and celebrity do not provide well-being; security and support do.

Perhaps I over-simplify but I am a simple woman and my needs and wants are down-to-earth. I missed the radio show so I will never know what Katie advises on the topic and I'm not feeling like I have deprived myself of great knowledge by not hearing her take on it. I have defined happiness in my own terms.

But what about you? What is your secret to happiness?

It's the Little Things

It's the little things that make a day bright.

Little things like:

The mist beneath the trees as the sun rises early in the morning

A man in a jeep who waves me ahead of him into the parking garage

A woman who holds the elevator when she sees me running across the street to the parking garage

A Star Magnolia bursting from bud into bloom in one day

Happy teenagers playing with puppets

What little things made your day bright today?

Happiness is a Red Toaster

My toaster died. It wasn't a great one anyway, and it took so long to toast even lightly.

I sent my husband (that long-suffering man) to the store with one command: "Buy a red toaster."

Why red? I really can't say. I'd seen them in stores and thought that when I got a new one, I wanted it to be red. I mean, why settle for white, or black, when you can have red?

I was excited all day, waiting to see the red toaster. I never doubted that he would find one. When I got home, I asked, "Where's the red toaster?"

On the counter was a toaster. A white one. A plain, cheap, $7.72 white toaster. I was so disappointed. They didn't have red ones, Larry said. He really did try to find one. So--a toaster is a toaster and I decided I wasn't giving it a chance.

It was a terrible toaster. It could not handle the kind of bread we buy, the whole-grain big-slice kind. It took forever to toast half a slice, then we had to flip the bread to toast the other half. Geesh.

So I got on Ebay. There I found many RED toasters. All kind of pricey or too cheap to be worth taking a chance. Then I saw it.

A candy-apple red Oster toaster. Used once, the ad read. $10 starting bid. I bid $10, figuring I could take a chance--and the shipping was free! I wondered why they only used it once. Not a good sign.

No one else bid, I think because the toaster had water drops on it and in the photo it looked like it was all dinged up. So I won, and a few days later the toaster arrived. The packaging was stunning--in a not-good way. The toaster was simply plopped in a box and the box taped shut. No bubble wrap, no peanuts, nothing. Not a good sign.

But the toaster was beautiful. Who knew that toasters now come with electronic controls? And that they could be cool to the touch even when toasting?

The only problem was the toaster burned the bottom edge and toasted no other part of the bread. A big problem, that. After a little detective work, we decided that the interior racks weren't in the right place. We found out how to move them through trial and error and popped in more bread.

Perfect toast. Perfect little toaster.

I am happy. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy, does it?

Just a red toaster.