Most people equate happiness with joy. I hate to tell them that they are two completely different things. Happiness is finite and sometimes short lived. Joy is something that remains within you, even during your darkest hours. I've been through enough 'dark' hours to know what I'm talking about. For those of us who are Christian, joy is compounded through Christ. But, I want to talk about being happy. Happy comes and happy goes. Happy has many levels. You can be mildly happy or ecstatically happy, or even somewhere in between. It would be too tedious for me to categorize the things that make me happy, so we'll just stick with that. So, here it is.....
1. Writing - I am happy when creating a story or a poem. Each is liquid in direction and as the author you can take it wherever you wish. The imagination is a wonderful gift to have, especially when one explores the wonder of it by putting it into words.
2. Chess - My dad taught me how to play when I was five. It was one of the few things he would sit still long enough for. He wasn't a 'studied' player, only knowing how the pieces moved. At the age of fourteen I started to buy books written by the masters. I learned what the openings were for the beginning of the game and what countermoves to make against them. The ability of the pieces working together to form a well staged attack on your opponent were myriad. Violent thrusts could be made with forks, pins, skewers and double checks. Soon, I was a member of the United States Chess Federation and remained one for twelve years. I played in several tournaments. My international rating was just below that of being classified as a Candidate Master. Uh...I was pretty good.
3. Picking - I love to pick on people. Some of my victims take it in stride, others strike back, some don't know how to take it, or I'm ignored. I hate to be ignored. I pounce on the slightest of reasons...or none at all. One of my favorite past times at work is to randomly stop at the door of someone's office (never anybody I have to answer to) and ask, "What are you doing?". 95% of the time they will start running off this list of projects they have going and what meetings they are going to or just got back from. When they're about a sentence or two into the dissertation, I walk off and leave them talking. Sometimes it takes three attacks before they start telling me to get out.
4. Visiting my mother-in-law and my brother - Other than wife and daughter, these two are the only relatives I have left that possess the mileage, the knowledge and the experience I have where we can truly relate. I could not have express ordered a better mother-in-law, and I was given a big brother I could count on. Even if the visit is only two or three hours, I always feel happy during those times.
5. Visiting with friends - It is said that if you can claim one, true friend in your lifespan, then you have been a success. I wonder. True friends? Finding the one is like looking for a needle in a stack of needles. If you are truly a friend to someone, that means you have accepted them not only into your life, but into your heart. Often times my heart has been broken by those who I considered a friend. As of now, outside the family...I think I have two people in my life that would drop everything, in a moment's notice, and come to help me bury a body if called upon. Even if hundreds of miles away, they would not only come, but they would bring the shovels. I believe that. I don't know it for sure, but I believe it. I hope I never have to find out. However, I enjoy their company and it makes me happy when we meet for dinner and bar-b-que at our homes and watch the football game. It makes for good times.
6. Sex - Do I really have to go into it?
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