Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Happiest People



I once received this small devotional book as a gift. Filled with lovely artwork, there are thoughtful quotes and anecdotes. One such anecdote tells the story that a newspaper in England once asked a question of its readers: "Who are the happiest people on the earth?"

According to the article, these were the four prize-winning answers:
1. A little child building sand castles;
2. A craftsman or artist whistling over a job well done;
3. A mother bathing her baby after a busy day;
4. A doctor who has finished a difficult and dangerous operation that saved a human life.
W. Beran Wolfe once said, "If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden... He will not be striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours at a time."

So, here's to those every day experiences that bring true happiness to your own life!

Hugs,
Brenda
xox




8 comments:

  1. Do you notice that those four things can all be classified as creative doings; the child using the kind of nothingness of sand to design the castle, the artist whistling in satisfaction over a canvas no longer blank, the mother caring for the baby that started from teeny-tiny specks of matter, and the doctor "reorganizing" a human body to maintain and prolong life. It speaks loudly to me of a loving and happy Creator, looking at His creation and saying "It's good!"

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  2. And I am determined not to allow this gloomy day to spoil my happiness!

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  3. wishing you a HAPPY day...

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  4. Kathy -- I enjoyed your observations! Neat!

    Karin -- Yes, Let's hold with both hands our joyful decision not to allow ourselves to get 'under the weather'.

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  5. My husband doesn't consider himself a "creative" person, but when I hear him whistling in the shop as he constructs a piece of furniture for me, or putters away at repairs, I know that he is. The whistling cannot be summoned - it comes as a result of enjoying the moment.

    What a great post. I'm going to copy out that quote for my quote book!

    Take joy in today's moments!

    Lorrie

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  6. happiness is our attitude toward life with all it's ups and downs.

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  7. Happiness is within each of us. I think it comes from being content with what you have and being thankful for all the blessings God has given you.
    My day starts with a walk which brings me happiness that lasts throughout the day. :-)
    Happy Day to you!!

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  8. Brenda, thanks for stopping by my blog and saying the nice things you said! Have a great weekend!

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo