"Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold; happiness dwells in the soul..."
- Democritus
... A rendezvous at the spa. Getting a foot scrub, a therapeutic massage, an earth facial. Hanging back at the sauna room, lingering at the tub, thoroughly pampering the body and relaxing the mind. Indulging in a litlle extravagance, giving in to a few spontaneous cravings, freeing the wits from the excrutiating grind of day after day.
... A celebration. Cold cuts and warm hugs. Wolf Blass and Misty crooning. Sweet thoughts and animated chats. Laughter, bubbly and sparkling. Blowing candles and sounding trumpets amid people who mean the world. Raising toasts and drinking to fond wishes. Feeling brand new all over again. 
... A warm and fuzzy feeling. A hug, a snuggle, a caress. The giddy flush of a budding romance creeping into our being. Sweet nothings that bring a tingle in the spine, tender mercies that make the senses run wild. 
... A joy ride. A spin around on a carousel or the Ferris wheel. A cruise on a river boat or a lake canoe. A run accross town on a bicycle pedaling your heart away or piggy backing on a motorbike. A drive along the countryside, taking in all the specks of green and just letting your hair fly with the wind. The joy is indeed in the ride. 
... A makeover. A new hairdo, a new wardwrobe, a new shirt, a new attitude. Or a nose job, perhaps; an implant where it matters, a slight stretching of some facial muscles (botox, anyone?), a nip here, a tuck there - to boost one's self confidence and stroke the ego a little. Move over, old warts, here comes the new and improved neighborhood hottie!
... A bowl of hot chicken broth. To drive away the bug of affliction. A dose of gentle loving care from people near and dear. Bundling up in their safe, affectionate embrace. Holding on to the promise of better things to come. 
... A surprise. A pat in the back for a job well done. A favor from a friend. A smile from a stranger. A compliment from a someone we've only just met. A card from out of the blue. A poem written specially for you. 
HAPPINESS IS...
... Looking at old photographs. Reliving the little moments of times gone by captured in living color or in foggy black and white. Scanning albums filled with cheerful faces and familiar places in all their glossy splendor. Summoning wistful thoughts and dormant memories, evoking fragments of time and space that will never come again. 
... Holding the hand of a child. To make them feel safe when they're learning to make the first stride. To make them feel protected when they start to venture into the world outside - kindergarten school, Sunday church, the park, the mall, the circus, the house next door. When they decide to walk the walk, talk the talk, make the break, go for broke. 
... Wiggling into an old pair of jeans. And finding out that it still fits. Ha! Doesn't it pay to eat a little and exercise a lot? 
... Breaking a sweat. Taking the time to stretch the limbs and flex the muscles, to limber up and pump adrenaline. Burning the dance floor to the beat of rhytmic music till the knees give in. Walking a mile in rubber-soled shoes, briskly or leisurely, till the heart beats a little faster and the temple throbs a little friskier. 
... Walking barefoot. On the seashore, on the grass, on the pavement, around the house. Touching the ground, rubbing calloused feet on solid earth, feeling cold stone or warm sand, treading on damp lawn or soft rug, just gliding along with a song and a smile in the heart. 
...Catching up on house chores. Fixing the closet, rearranging the furniture, changing the sheets, wiping soil off the table tops, sweeping aways the cobwebs that have been lingering in the fringes of our nearly moldy existence. Spring cleaning doesn't have to wait for the next winter.
... Catching up on your reading. Devouring tomes that have been lying unopened for years gathering dusts in the bookshelves. Paperbacks yellowed with time, pages brittled by indifference. Atlas Shrugged, East of Eden, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, Love In The Time of Cholera, The Book of Job...
... Learning a new skill. In the kitchen concocting something other than fried stuff - baking a cake, whipping up the ideal pasta, inventing dishes yummy enough to show off. Or a hobby both relaxing and productive - doing the cross-stitch, surfing the Internet, taking up photography, playing a musical instrument, writing the movie in our mind.
... Finding a friend. Meeting new acquaintances and reconnecting with old ones. Basking in the excitement of getting to know someone, roosting in the affection of old but not wasted pals, rekindling flames of long ago. The gift of friendship is precious and few like seconds shared to last through intertwined lifetimes. Sure beats staring at the clouds in your coffee all day... 
...Finding what you've been looking for. A lost piece from glory days, priceless no doubt because of the sentiment attached to it. A thing of value that we've always wanted to have but couldn't for some reason or another. A part of our lives that's been missing, perhaps made nonexistent by choice, but more probably by circumstance, traveling the distance but not really knowing which way to go and what we are actually in search of. A material possession, an object of desire, a purpose in life. One best friend, one perfect moment, one true love to last a lifetime? 
