Entertainment of the Happy

What is "Happy"? 

Happy - characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy. 


Frederick Keonig said, “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.”


An unknown author said this about happiness, “Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”


So according to Frederick, we must appreciate in order to be happy. Another person says we must look beyond imperfections. 

When we are happy what do we do? We smile. We are more apt to listen and respond. We learn and care and give off an aura of "Pleasure, contentment, or joy". When a person is happy they are in my opinion appreciative of the small things and I think many would agree with me, but I also think that the happy are easily entertained. That is what I'm writing to you about today. 


When we are appreciative of the small things how do others view us? Do they think we are superficial, or fake, are they jealous or angry? Who knows? Who cares? If we are really happy then we can share our happiness with others in those small moments when an action with a stranger or even a friend changes someone's day. 


I have a story to tell you about a realization I had today. 


My classes ended as usual and I as usual walked with my friends out of the building. We then said our good days and separated. After saying good bye I walked into the quad. When I walked into the quad area the sun was shining brightly and hot on the skin of my face causing me to squint my eyes, the wind blowing strongly against my body making me lean in just a little to the force, the smell of the city and the grass mixed together to form a fragrance of life that I've come to love.


 I looked up through the light after my eyes adjusted and saw a familiar sight, friends, but today my friends were doing more than keeping warm like they've done so much recently. They were wearing shorts and tee-shirts. Shoes cast carelessly on the ground bags from classes and purses placed absently on the sidewalk. These friends were in a circle, a carelessly made circle, but a circle non-the-less. Passing between these friends in the air was a volley-ball. Friends laughter filled the air and mixed with birds and cars and a train. As I was talking with one of my closer of friends who left the circle to ask a question we noticed something moving through the air.


As we looked in the same direction and began to chuckle gently we heard a sound from behind. someone else noticed the same thing dancing gracefully on the wind. In perfect circles it waltzed and twirled on the wings of the wind. The brown sight was majestic and happy. I looked at the faces of those that had stopped passing the volley-ball as they watched. Some faces were amused others wondering why they had stopped playing for this. I looked at the others who had noticed the sight and exclaimed their attention to it. These faces showed amusement. 


We watched as this majestic dance, across the sky higher and higher away from the grounds of the quad, was performed in the air and I heard from the ones behind. "Danny it's great the we are watching the same thing." 
To which I replied, "Funny isn't it." 
When I looked back at the dancing brown in the air it acceded over the building out of sight, I looked to my friend standing with no shoes and a small amount of mud on his feet, and said, "Let's go watch it."
We turn to run down the steps and around the building and I grab the hands of the ones who were watching with us. They laugh and follow behind. 


When we reach the other side of the building we find the dancer continuing on the wind. over the cars and the street. A few more circles and it's over another building then moments later, it's out of sight, and we stand laughing and watching in hopes we will see the beauty one more time. It doesn't happen. I turn around and cast my gaze at the passers-by. They are staring and wondering why we smile and laugh like we are happy. Judgmental glances don't change our mood. We laugh back to where it all started. The beauty we saw was a brown plastic shopping bag someone had discarded on the sidewalk. 


As I walked to my room I was thinking of the small things like the bag and the ones who were amused by the sight, the ones who stood and watched as something so everyday as a shopping bag, floated through the air. Those who followed to watch more and those that stayed behind. What were they thinking? What were they feeling. I think the ones who followed and laughed, I think they were happy. I think this because they could appreciate the small things and laugh about them. I can't help but wonder what the bag was thinking and feeling though as it lost control and was swept off the ground into the dizzying dance of circles, twists, flips, and turns; carried higher and higher until we no longer saw it, is it on the street? is it still flying? I may never know, but I do know that happiness is something we all need.