The Many Kinds of HAPPY

There are many kinds of happy
The warm sun on my face when the air is cool
Seeing a bird I’ve not seen before and watching it for a while
The feeling of warm sand under my feet and the sound of waves
The first bite of a favorite food – savoring it
 
There are many kinds of happiness from people too
The warmth of my husband’s touch – a happy that lights a fire inside
The presence of friends who know me well – and I am free
The sound of my children’s laughter
 
There is the sudden surprise of happy
A card in the mail from a friend
A check in the mail – or a gift given unexpectedly
Hearing or reading something funny and laughing out loud
 
And then there is the deep abiding kind of happiness
That lingers and gets heavy within you – a good heavy
Security – peace – well-being
 
There is the kind of happy that comes from looking back
Remembered happiness
Happy memories – that make you feel happy all over again
Newness of love – the wonder of love – the growth of love
Or meeting your baby for the first time
 
There is the happiness of tough memories too
Where you look back and see now what you couldn’t have known then
And the balance that lays between the struggle and now
Gives you a somber but distinctive sense of happy
 
There is the choice of happy
The kind you must look for on purpose and with perseverance
But you know when you find it!
 
There is the anticipation of happy
Where you don’t feel it now – maybe you can’t even see or imagine it
But still you look and wait and watch for it – the happiness of Wonder
 
I want all the kinds of happy – all the time!
But maybe this last one is the best kind of happy
When you believe it is on the way and you anticipate the feeling
 
This kind of happy is HOPE and it is my favorite kind of HAPPY