I have a new favorite obsession. Verizon has a rewards program called Verizon Up. With each bill that you pay it accumulates to receive a credit. Each month they offer different things for you to use your credit on. One month I used my credit on a free book from Audible. Audible is Amazon’s audio book division. The book that I purchase from Audible was “The Last Black Unicorn” by Tiffany Haddish. I really enjoyed that book. Tiffany read the book herself and that made it a great listen. I knew then that I wanted everyone’s book about their life to be read by the author and I wanted a subscription to Audible. But I am cheap and I have enough subscriptions that I pay on monthly. I have Netflix, Hulu (pretty much for Futurama only) and Amazon Music. Oh and Match.com. Not touching that on this post but I will talk about that soon. That shit gets pricey. So I hesitated and waited and then, I finally gave in. Audible was offering two free books with a subscription. I already knew what book I wanted, “We Are Going to Need More Wine” by Gabrielle Union. I was indecisive about the second free book. Still haven’t used that credit yet.
Now Gabrielle Union’s book was all that I expected and more. She laid herself bare and I envy her vulnerability. I can’t imagine sharing so much of myself with millions of people. She did that. I don’t want to talk about it too much because it is a book I recommend that you read. I don’t want to spoil this awesome read/listen for anyone. There was so many takeaways from the book, but I am only going to touch on one in this post. It really spoke to me and got me to thinking after I listened to this part of the book. An individual at some point in Gabrielle Union’s life asked her to name things that made her happy. She didn’t do so well. She was only able to list a few things. And when asked again the same question, she was still stuck on those first few items that she had come up with. I felt bad for her. It seemed like an easy task. I just knew that I could do it.
When I say that this was an extremely hard exercise to complete. I have not even completed it yet. Lol. Gabrielle I feel your pain girl! I just assumed I would find ten things because there is so much that I like. But the reality is that I can’t say that everything I like makes me genuinely happy. I am sure we all have our definition of happiness. My definition is more along the lines of something or someone who brightens my day when I do it, I am near it or I receive it. The feeling could last all day or be momentary. I just know that I want that thing or person to continuing being a part of my life. And if it or them are not, I am not sure if I would consider my life to be a good one. Here is my list so far. I will updated this post periodically based on my realizations.
1. God. I think this is self-explanatory.
2. Water, large bodies that I can sit and look out on. A serious sense of peace comes over me when I am near water. To the point that I have made the decision that I will own a house on the water at some point in time in my life. To wake up the morning and have a nice, hot cup of coffee as I sit out on the water. Heaven on Earth!
3. Sunsets. I love all the colors .Orange, red, purple, yellow. Beautiful. Sunrise is nice too, but not as heart warming.
4. Speeding. I know this may seem like a crazy thing to make one happy but it does. I am actually unhappy when I have to drive the speed limits.
5. Coffee. I can go a day or two without it. I have even gone a month without coffee. If someone said I could never have it again, I may not be responsible for my behavior. Just saying.
6. Books. They can be audio books, e-books, paperbacks or hardcovers. I really don’t care, I need them in my life. If I start a good book, I will stay up all night to finish it.
7. Music. I don’t really have a preference. It is whatever I hear and what makes me feel good. Y’all know the saying, “Music has charms to soothe the savage beast.” Me, beast. Music, the answer.
8. Family and friends. I didn’t separate these because my friends are like my family. They both are my support systems and the people who love and accept little old me for who I am. They may tell me about myself, but they won’t leave me because I have not changed yet or ever.
9. …..
10. …..
So this is where I stand right now with this list. I am sure if I put my mind to it, I can fill in the last two spots, My mind is overloaded right now. I need to dump some things out of it. Lol. I have never considered coming up with this kind of list. It was an interesting experiment. Can you list 10 things? Can you list 5, 3? Was it easy or hard? I just want you to be happy. The best way to be happy is to know what makes you happy. Will you take time to make sure at least one of your ten things are a part of your life every day? Happy people are essential to this world. We need your happiness. Find it, live in it and be well and whole.