Happiness is Love

Dylan was happy to see me today. His little kid kisses were full of thanks to have mom back.  With no grant deadline or travel in sight, it's good to be back to normal life, being a mom and folding laundry.

I confess that I am guilty of  being a road warrior and grant junkie. For the past month we  traveled cross country from  Sonoma, CA to Columbus, Oh and NYC. This past week we submitted all of the poverty reduction U.S. Treasury Grants we labored over during 18 hour work days-  and held our final meeting in Louisiana, literally the beautiful bayou. The people, they were warm like an apple pie right out the oven. An old minister and college professor schooled this white girl on how to play dominoes. Scott (one of my business partners and a dear friend) and I left after eating the best gumbo, being embraced by a group hug and farewells from our new friends.

After sleeping for 14 hours, I woke this morning absolutely delighted to run errands to replenish the basics like TP and garbage bags, do the dishes and enjoy the connection of laughter, hugs and random conversation with the kids, my brother and the people round home that I love. It's amazing what being MIA from your own life will do to your TP supply. (Ponder that for a moment. It is meant to be odd.)

During the travel, I picked up a magazine, The Atlantic, founded by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who I admire for his logic, poetry and science based spiritual philosophies. Tonight, online I was steered to a video by the Atlantic about a Harvard research team that followed 269 Harvard students, 10 men through their entire lives starting in 1930 to document the keys to happiness and how to live well. The men are now in their 80s. The video is short and well worth the watch up to the final seconds.

I found the video while searching for the folloing quote:

“I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity, and I am more invulnerable than Archilles; Fortune hath not one place to hit me.” 

Sir Thomas Browne

Life reflects back to us our own attitude. We experience what we expect to experience, because it is what we create. When we face adversity and view it as opportunity. The attitude shapes our sight. The adversity passes and we are left with: The Opportunity.

The Harvard Study's concluded that happiness is love. I believe our happiness comes from our way of being. When our way of being is loving, that is what the world reflects back.

As I center on this with faith in a loving God, I am the happiest woman alive.