Happiness

My son and I were driving down the expressway one day, and somehow stumbled into a conversation about happiness. At one point, my son said, "most people are happy and just don't know it."

My first thought was that this was a profound statement for a 21 year old. My second thought was that I knew exactly what he meant, and was in total agreement with his statement. I knew he meant that a lot of people spend a majority of their time thinking about the things they don't have, instead of focusing on what they do have. Our lives are a reflection of what we value, and what we choose to focus on. Once we accomplish a goal, or acquire something we desire, we tend to immediately think about the next thing we want, instead of looking at whether we have what we need. Most of the time, we have what we need, plus a good deal of what we want. When we focus on what is lacking in our lives, it kicks us into a state of unhappiness. After thinking about his statement for a few seconds, my son went on to say, "you know you're happy, when you wake up in the morning and you're just happy to be alive."

Of course, I had to ask... "Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling happy to just be alive?" He said, "I used to, when I was younger." I understood that the responsibilities of adulthood had taken the place of his carefree youth, but I was glad to hear that he'd experienced the feeling of just being happy to be alive. I know that no matter what he does, or where life takes him, he will have times of adversity and sadness; but I also know he will have this experience of happiness to access.

In that moment, I was happy being right where I was, and with someone who understood the real meaning of happiness. The extra bonus was that this person was my son!

A Simple Act of Kindness

Just recently, I walked into a Starbucks on a cold morning to purchase a warm drink. I placed my order at the counter and was reaching in my wallet to get the money, when a gentleman standing next to me said, "I'm paying for her drink." I glanced over and saw there was a line forming behind each of us, and I didn't know this gentleman, so I assumed he couldn't be talking about me. I handed my money to the cashier and he said, "he's paying for your drink." This was completely unexpected and I was curiously surprised, so I uttered the first words which came to mind. I looked at this man and said, "Why do you want to pay for my drink?" He responded with, "I just want you to have a wonderful day." I told him how grateful I was, and that his generous act of kindness was such a nice surprise.

We moved over to wait for our drinks to be prepared. I told him that a few days earlier, I purchased two items at a retail store, and as I was walking out of the store, I looked at my receipt and realized that I was only charged for one item. I went back to the same cashier and told her I was not charged for one of the items. She was surprised that I would come back, and said that something good was going to happen to me. I told this gentleman that he was the good thing that happened to me.

He went on to share with me the real reason I'm writing this. He said that the previous week, he was in line behind a woman in this same Starbucks when she said, "I'm paying for his drink." He said he was as surprised and grateful as I was, so he asked her what he could do to repay her. She said "just buy someone else a drink one day." He then told me that I was the one he had chosen to buy a drink for.

He got his drink, and again, wished me a wonderful day. I did have a wonderful day, and it spilled into the next day, and the next.

This nameless, faceless woman that I have never met, connected with me through this kind gentleman, and made a difference in two lives... with just one simple act of kindness.