A number of times I’ve had conversations with people about happiness. Some have claimed that happiness is elusive, some that it is unnatural (can’t figure that one out) and some that it is even impossible. The saddest response I’ve ever had is that happiness is not even something for which we should strive. I am absolutely convinced that we choose to be happy, or not. And that the largest part of happiness is gratitude. Happiness is a direct consequence of recognizing and being consciously grateful for the good in your life. The sadnesses and tragedies of your life do not destroy the good; at the most, they just obscure it.
A long time ago I decided that every day I would mentally list the things for which I was grateful. Some days it actually takes the form of a list, other days it’s one thing at a time spread over the whole day. It becomes a habit. It becomes a viewpoint.
I’m not talking about huge things, necessarily. I’m talking about the moments when you pour the last of the milk into your coffee and it’s exactly enough (Thank you, I like milky coffee). When you get into bed and the clean sheets smell like heaven from drying in the sun that day (Thank you, that I could chuck them in an automatic washing machine instead of beating them on a rock!). It may sound like that nauseating Pollyanna, but the side effect is contentment.
We have chosen to move house a lot and sometimes we have lived in places that aren’t exactly our ideal. The most important survival skills we’ve learned are to recognise that “home” is not a place or a house, but the relationships we have with each other and our children and that everywhere we go there are good things. Right now we live in a small remote town and, quite frankly, we are square pegs in round holes. Today I am grateful that:

-that the air out here is so clean, so free of pollution, that just breathing is a pleasure.
-that I have seen the Milky Way on a moonless night with no other lights anywhere, and it was so dense with stars that it looked like a cloud.
-that the people of this community are friendly and welcoming and make it easy to be new in town.
-that the things that I miss so much about the city are (somewhat) available to me via my computer.
-that I have a husband who sings to me and makes me laugh (sometimes at the same time) and that we like each other the best.

I hope I haven’t made you retch too much. Mostly I hope you recognize some good in your day and say Thank you for it.