So the quote of the week is as follows:

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

FRIEDRICH KOENIG

MEANING

Whilst a lot of words of wisdom seem obvious – it is amazing how often we forget about the reality of our situation. It seems to me that when we conceive of happiness, we often refer to an end goal or something “out there” that we are waiting for. Be it happiness when we’ve handed in our essay or left work, or happiness in our future lives with the perfect partner, house or job. The keyword then being when we find happiness, which therefore implies a lack of happiness now and relegates our lives to being unhappy.

No way! A person who is truly happy is a person who is able to see all the things that they have now that bring them joy. This could be family, friends, or more basically oxygen and water that give us life on our planet. Or it could just be remembering that whilst you might not have cake, you do have apple and peanut butter which is pretty sweet too (see what I did there)!

That being said, I think it is important that we do not become purely content to the point that we do not reach for our dreams and do the things that scare us. I think what this quote says is that reaching for greater happiness is a noble pursuit but we must always be aware that we have happiness now too and it is not something “out there” that we must constantly chase.

HOW TO USE IT:

I think that a great way to remember this in our lives would be to mentally write a list of all the things that bring us happiness right now and maybe jot it down somewhere to whip out for a rainy day. But more than this – if it’s dancing that brings you to life, go and have a dance and celebrate what it brings to your existence. Or if it’s your sibling – give them a hug or bake them some cookies. Saying I love you because you make me happy may seem unpalatable and rather too American to the generally, emotionally reserved Brit (though I highly recommend normalizing it into your conversations, as everyone loves to be told their loved), but telling someone to drive safely or making them toast can be a way of saying I love you too!

So the moral is… if you’re feeling down or searching for happiness, BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW! The chances are you can list a lot of things and people that brighten up your life, so whilst you dream of the future, always recognize your wondrous present.

And if you’re still not sure what I’m on about watch this, which sums it up rather perfectly I think…

Lots of love,

Sunny Kitty

p.s. I wrote this on the 4th Jan so again it still counts as one post a day but clearly I really need to start writing before 11.30pm.