Close
Close

Receive “Word for the Day” each day in your inbox

See our Privacy Policy

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Menu Gratefulness Donate
Daily Question, July 2

What makes me happy? How do I know it?

  • Mae Ann

    There’s a lot of factors that makes me happy but not genuinely happy. This is what I realized as I grow older that it doesn’t mean when you have all the stuffs you need you are genuinely happy. Luxuries does not make me genuinely happy and I discovered that I’m genuinely happy every time I talk to God. I was lost but God found me and he fill the emptiness inside of me. How do I know it ? God did it

  • SK

    My heart feels different.

  • Malag

    Out in the hills, out on the water, my dog, my family, Interesting new things, the beauty of nature, tea, somatic exercise, meditation, a pleasant surprise.

    I feel lighter, more expansive, more outgoing.

  • dcdeb

    Good food. Connecting with good people. I love nature too. I also like to be the queen bee.
    How do i know it? Must be those chemicals that start to swim around in my head when these things happen.

  • sparrow

    . . . being creative . . .
    giving to the world
    whatever it is
    that sings within me . . .
    I know
    because I feel complete.

  • Antoinette

    Swimming makes me happy and I know it because I feel at easy and in awe every time I do it! Today I swam in the North Sea and the water was perfect ! The sky was blue and the mountains were lush! Heaven!
    I’m so grateful! I love you Mother Earth !

  • sb

    It’s the little things that make me happy – walking out in nature, stroking my cat, when my husband treats me, when I achieve something, when “my” children (I’m a teacher) understand something or volunteer an amazing comment, helping someone, being helped….Nothing earth shattering but all either generate a feeling of deep contentment or a feeling of being really alive

  • Don Jones

    Creative expression with my hands. It is my Zen.

  • Varsha

    A lot of things make me happy. But there is one random thing that just sets my day right a lot of times. It’s when I see people smiling for no reason. People in public transports or when I am just walking and someone just smiles at you. It makes be happy because I know there is no ulterior motive to it. They are just happy people trying to spread the smile.

  • Linda

    It makes me happy to help others. A deep sense of joy comes from it.

  • Mica

    Lots of things – seeing a maple tree with unusual leaves, looking at my guinea pig, and the 3 deep red flowers against all the green on my balcony, and the sky beyond it.

  • Neil

    Beauty makes me happy and I know it because it tickles my soul.

  • Nelson
    Several business owners and I had some major setbacks last year. Some of us just wanted to give up. Last March, we decided to collaborate, share resources, and build a business model much larger than we could do individually. Since then, we gained the momentum we needed. We lifted our spirits, and opportunities are falling into our laps nowadays. I’m so thankful for my team. I’m so happy we’re doing what we’re doing. We show our gratitude for each other regularly. Knowing we got each oth...

    Several business owners and I had some major setbacks last year. Some of us just wanted to give up. Last March, we decided to collaborate, share resources, and build a business model much larger than we could do individually. Since then, we gained the momentum we needed. We lifted our spirits, and opportunities are falling into our laps nowadays. I’m so thankful for my team. I’m so happy we’re doing what we’re doing. We show our gratitude for each other regularly. Knowing we got each other’s backs and we’re not giving up makes me happy. I feel alive. I feel purpose. I feel belonging.

    Read More
  • Debra

    Diving underwater in a cool body of water. Watching the sunlight beneath the surface refract and shimmer. Quiet solitude at one with the Universe.

  • Howie Geib
    Basically any well executed piece of work, whether it be creative, or one involving effort or that demands a certain amount of self sacrifice or generosity, which can be either a result of mine or the result of others…(for example: Yesterday passing an incredible complex of sandcastles made by a few kids on our beach). Basically as a result of my giving of myself. In addition to that I am usually infected by the effusiveness of others’ happiness, especially children and even eager joyful ani...

    Basically any well executed piece of work, whether it be creative, or one involving effort or that demands a certain amount of self sacrifice or generosity, which can be either a result of mine or the result of others…(for example: Yesterday passing an incredible complex of sandcastles made by a few kids on our beach). Basically as a result of my giving of myself. In addition to that I am usually infected by the effusiveness of others’ happiness, especially children and even eager joyful animals. The indications (how do I know it?) is physical manifestations…outwardly an irrepressible smile or grin, inwardly a warming of the heart.

    Read More
  • Mary Pat
    There are so many things that make me happy…a good memory, laughter of a child, baking cookies that my grandson loves(have to do that this week), going on a picnic with my husband and our dog in the canyon that leads to a lake where the eagles nest on the cliffs, making plans to have brunch with a good friend, hearing the birds sing at dawn, and finding ways to keep that connection open with my teenaged grandson. How to do that? With food!!!! I text him, he texts me, we pick a time and I treat...

    There are so many things that make me happy…a good memory, laughter of a child, baking cookies that my grandson loves(have to do that this week), going on a picnic with my husband and our dog in the canyon that leads to a lake where the eagles nest on the cliffs, making plans to have brunch with a good friend, hearing the birds sing at dawn, and finding ways to keep that connection open with my teenaged grandson. How to do that? With food!!!! I text him, he texts me, we pick a time and I treat him to brunch(he’s a teenager and needs his early morning sleep). I take him to a place he chooses, we eat and I learn all about his life in the past few weeks, then I let him drive our car. He has his learners permit and needs the experience. I share life with him. And then, this wonderful, filled-with-love-feeling wells up in me, and I am…ummm…happy! It starts just above my navel and grows, this feeling of something I can’t put into words, and it grows in my brain-this connection with all of me. My shoulders relax, and my breathing changes. And every part of my body-from my brain and my eyes to my toes, is smiling. And that is how I know I am happy. And that was this week.

    Read More
  • Katrina
    I’m happy when I’m watching children play, when I’m with all my family, when my husband and I are on the back porch of our “Grace Place”, when I’m at the beach watching the waves and watching other people be happy. I’m happy when I’m preaching and I suddenly realized I’m in the Spirit Zone (it must be the same for an athlete, or musician, or baker or anyone who gets in a zone of being a part of the action itself, and yet apart from it.) I’m happy when I get an aha! moment, or...

    I’m happy when I’m watching children play, when I’m with all my family, when my husband and I are on the back porch of our “Grace Place”, when I’m at the beach watching the waves and watching other people be happy. I’m happy when I’m preaching and I suddenly realized I’m in the Spirit Zone (it must be the same for an athlete, or musician, or baker or anyone who gets in a zone of being a part of the action itself, and yet apart from it.) I’m happy when I get an aha! moment, or when I see someone else have one. I’m happy when I am able to mediate and de-escalate a situation. I’m happy when I’m with my best friends and/or my sisters – laughing, eating, shopping or sitting at the beach or just having coffee. I’m happy thinking about what makes me happy. And I know it because I think some kind of happy hormone or internal chemical makes the corner of my mouth turn up a bit, my forehead quit furrowing, and some little miniature fireworks go off in my heart.

    Read More
    • Michele

      “some little miniature fireworks go off in my heart.” – love that!

  • GratefulOne

    I am happy when I am in a flow. Flow to me means an effortless, peaceful feeling. I have felt this most with family, friends, in nature, at church, at work, while meditating, while exercising, while doing nothing and when being grateful. 🙂

  • sunnypatti
    My husband and the open, honest, loving, fun relationship we share. Our cat and dog. Our home and land- we call it our little piece of serenity. Cooking, especially for others. I love to make delicious food and feed people. Surfing. Dancing in the ocean with my friends. Just being in or by any body of water makes me happy! Practicing yoga. Weeding the garden. Listening to music. Dancing. Laughing. And also, waking up every morning to a new day, new opportunities, and another chance to share...

    My husband and the open, honest, loving, fun relationship we share. Our cat and dog. Our home and land- we call it our little piece of serenity. Cooking, especially for others. I love to make delicious food and feed people. Surfing. Dancing in the ocean with my friends. Just being in or by any body of water makes me happy! Practicing yoga. Weeding the garden. Listening to music. Dancing. Laughing.

    And also, waking up every morning to a new day, new opportunities, and another chance to share my light and love with all those around me. Life makes me happy. I know it because I feel it 🙂

    Read More
  • Patricia

    What made me happy yesterday was meeting a young man I knew several years ago who has cerebral palsy, is confined to a wheelchair and has difficulty speaking. He was so happy I remembered him and I was so happy he remembered me. It brought joy to my heart all day. How did I know I was happy? Well, everything looked different to me after that moment in my day.

This site is brought to you by A Network for Grateful Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax deductible in the U.S.A.

DONATE https://gratefulness.org/content/uploads/2015/03/GX-Gold-Participant-L.png

© 2000 - 2022, A Network for Grateful Living

Website by Briteweb

0

Your Cart