I was listening to the radio on one of the ballet runs this week. The host was reading from some obscure Chinese book written hundreds of years ago about the things that really make us happy. And everything on the list he read was very, very simple and ended in the phrase (translated into English): Is not this happiness?
Here is my version of things that brought me sweet happiness today:
I play a new violin for the first time and my hands and the instrument seem to communicate with each other.
Standing in line at the grocery store, a mother apologizes for her children who are pushing up against me to find candy. I am shopping alone and can afford an extra degree of patience for children who are not my own.
I sit down with my son on the couch after Pack Meeting. He has a paper bag full of awards. I watch him pin each award carefully on his uniform in the soft light from the lamp. He tells me, “This is my favorite shirt,” and, “You helped me earn all of these, Mom.”
Driving home from a long day of errands, I hear my youngest son say, “I’m the luckiest boy in the whole world because I have so many collections!”
Two bags of Mother’s English tea cookies in the pantry.
Is not this happiness?