A day or two ago while working, I ran across a virtual conversation among a group of colleagues in which one of us referenced on article on happiness – which was based on a psychology course at Yale on the same topic. I’m sure I read it two years ago but it was a welcome refresher for me on this day – which is also interesting because when I went back to find that same conversation, I couldn’t – and had to rely on my browser history to find the article again. It’s funny because recently I’ve done doing a lot of wondering around priorities and legacy and short versus long term goals and values. This feels like a Holy Spirit moment, a gift of the Universe to me at this moment.

Several things strike me about the concepts in this course: the connection (warped though it is in current American culture) between time and money (both are saved, spent and wasted and the flip-flop of perceived value of one over the other) and the perceived correlation between happiness and circumstances, considering what we have control over (hint: 40% is attitude and only 10% is circumstances).

I won’t recap the whole article (you can read it here) but it has stayed with me for days now and I keep turning it over in my mind. I also am thinking about how easy it is to become reabsorbed into stress without the protective layers of gratitude, rest, and value well-placed.

The photo at the beginning of this blog post was a surprise of similar happy feelings – I looked up from my crossword puzzle to discover that the coffee had made a bird-shaped stain in my mug. How delightful! Happiness in noticing and appreciating the little things? Check.