Happiness is...?

It's a good question - What is happiness?

There is no real definition of happiness and I can't really tell you what happiness is, but I can tell you what makes me happy right now. This is my happiness list (in no particular order);

Eating a bag of peanut m&m's all to myself
When Manchester United win
Reading a good book or watching one of my favourite TV programmes/films
Seeing my god-children and realising how grown up they get each time I see them
Sharing a smile with a stranger
Making a music playlist
Sitting in the sunshine
Seeing a beautiful rainbow
Having a good laugh - you know the ones that make your sides hurt!
Spending time with friends and family

Happiness can not really be described or calculated - it can only be felt, and experienced. Quotes like these can give us a clue

"Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think."
-- Dale Carnegie

"It is a sad thing to look at happiness only through another's eyes."
-- Marquerite Blessington

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
-- Gandhi

And, this one by Woody Allen:

"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."

I believe the key to happiness is to stop pursuing it, to realise that happiness awaits...within yourself... in all of us.

It's about accepting yourself, your life, your situation, and enjoying all of these things without wishing for more.

It also means you accept your mistakes and have the desire to start all over again. Happiness is not perfection but learning to accept your own shortcomings. For as long as you believe in yourself, others will accept and believe in you. For as long as you know how to give love, love will be given back to you ten folds.

What is on your happiness list?