High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘Fun’

The water drops were starting to get bored, just laying there on these stones, melting and freezing, melting and freezing, over and over again.  “I wish the weather would make up its mind,” one of them groused.

The others might have joined in the chorus, except for the wave of laughter that suddenly welled up from the adjoining puddle.

“Hey!” one of the drops from the first puddle shouted, “What’s going on over there?”

His question was nearly drowned out by more shrieks of laughter.  But then a drop from the second puddle slid near the edge and chortled, “We’re making cartoons!”

Catching his breath, he told them that his fellow drops had discovered that the ones who weren’t totally frozen on the surface could move around a little, and if they piled up in little layers, they could make shapes.

Now the whole gang was caught up in the game, he said. They had turned their whole puddle into a sketch pad and they were taking turns guessing what each other’s doodles were.  It was a hoot!

Pretty soon the drops in the first puddle were piling themselves up in squiggles and laughing uproariously themselves.  Mix a little wiggle with some imagination, and you can whip up a batch of fun just about anywhere.

“Football?”  I said.  “That’s the big, pointy one, isn’t it?”

Normally the fact that I’m severely sports challenged isn’t a problem.  But given that I live smack dab in the middle of what folks here proudly call “Steelers Country,” on Super Bowl Weekend, I have to work hard to play the part of a fan.  It’s either that or face exile.

So I wore my black slacks and yellow sweater to work today.  It got me by.

My coworkers wore Steelers jerseys and caps and earrings and pins and socks.  Across the river, at the hospital’s maternity department, they even wrapped the newborns in Steelers’ “terrible towels.”  (I don’t know why they call them that; I’m too embarrassed to ask.)

All the clerks at the grocery store were dressed in Steelers garb, too.  Gold mums tied with black and gold ribbons were on display, and bags of black and gold nacho chips, and Steelers cupcakes and cookies and pizzas, and plenty more of those towels.

People are pumped; that’s for sure.  It’s a party weekend big time.  And here in the middle of a long, cold winter, I’m happy to see it.  I’m glad sports fans have champions and heroes to cheer.  I’m glad they have an excuse to focus on fun, to enjoy the color and spectacle of it all.  I’m glad for the display of grit and discipline that goes into reaching the top of your game, and for the wit and daring, the teamwork and coordination, the dexterity and skill that goes into playing it.

Those aren’t things we get to see just any day, all in one place, in the spotlight.  And we need them.  Even if we’re only paying attention to who’s winning and who’s losing and to all the goodies on the buffet, the stuff that makes it grand is right there in our faces, and it sinks into us and feeds our souls.

If all things scary were just pretend,
And fear was just for fun,
If you could be anything you want—
Anything under the sun,
What would you dare?
Who would you be?
Where would you go?
What would you see?

If you knew that every dark shadow
Was cast by a warm, friendly light,
And that all our bad dreams, every last one,
Disappears at the end of the night,
What would you try?
Would you risk defeat?
Would you think life’s a trick?
Or find it a treat?

It’s all in how you look at it,
And what you choose to believe.
And therein lies the secret
Of what you’ll dream and achieve.
Will you be shy and frightened?
Or will you be serene?
Whatever you choose, I want you to know
I wish you a fun Halloween!

Every millennium, when it opened its door for admissions, the Water School found tens of billions of applicants waiting at its gates.

Of course all the schools of the renowned College of Elementals were popular, but the training at the Water School was known across the universe for its fun.

Before graduation, the trainees got to practice grouping themselves as mists and rivers, as towering clouds, rainbows and whirlpools, as oceans and as rain. They learned how to stand still enough to become ice and snowflakes, and how to dance so fast they lost their boundaries completely and only their thoughts remained until they collected themselves again.

They loved to frolic on the Earth and called its oceans Mother.  They called the heavens Father Sky and were thrilled to rise to his heights.  When they were with Father, they got to fill the whole atmosphere, bending sunlight into the colors of sunset and dawn.  They got to make art as clouds, and to ride down as raindrops from way, way up high.

That was the coolest thing, the falling raindrop ride.  The trees and flowers and animals would look up from earth as they tumbled closer and closer and sing to each other, “Here come the sky-kids!  Here come the sky-kids!”  It was grand.

You never knew where you would land when you were a raindrop or what kind of adventure you would have once you did.  You’d slide down petals and rocks and leaves, slither down stalks or skin or fur, or end up on a tongue.  You might get to join the elementals playing snow-on-the-mountain, or hit a desert and burst right back into the sky.  But sooner or later, you’d find yourself home in your mother’s vast arms, rocking and rocking until Father’s voice would call again, inviting you to come outside and play.

It was a very thorough course of training.  And even though they got to be in the College for ten thousand years, the little elementals never tired of their classes.  When they graduated, they were proud, and glad, and they vowed to send their kids to the Water School someday to study with Mother Ocean and Father Sky.  And you know what?  Many of them did just that.  Wouldn’t you?

Languid days
soft nights
the times of leisure
the times of feeling free
the gatherings
the laughter
the silliness
the play
the times of feeling safe
the times of feeling loved
the feasts
the celebrations
the times of dancing in the sun
the connecting
the camaraderie
the giggles of babies
the tales of old men
the times of remembering
the times of feeling carefree
the times you paste into your scrapbook
the times you feel alive
the times that make you want to cry
because they the pleasures are so bountiful
and you are so lucky
just to be
here
now:
Celebrate these, all the bright pleasures, all for your joy.

.

I have to admit it; I love weeds.  Without any help from human hands, they do pretty doggone well.  And personally, I confess that when I watch them grow, I think they have more fun than their cultivated cousins.

They seem freer somehow, more unconstrained.  And let’s face it; they’re definitely hardier.

I think when nobody’s around they laugh.  I think they just plain like what they are, that they don’t take themselves too seriously.

They grow lightly, with no silly need to be something special.  They just pop out their leaves and buds according to whatever pattern nature provides, schmoozing with their neighbors, making the best of whatever resources happen to be at hand.

And somehow it all turns out beautifully.

.

Every time I see a patch of may apples, I’m reminded of the 1977 comedy, “Oh, God!” with George Burns playing the central, good-natured, fun-loving character.  Asked whether he had a sense of humor, God responded, “Have you ever seen an aardvark?”

To me, may apples look like an aerial view of  umbrellas clustered on the patio of some resort.  I imagine frogs sitting on little frog-chairs at round frog-tables sipping margaritas and daiquiris, telling frog-jokes and having a rollicking good time.

Comedy is the opposite of gravity.  It’s the healing twin of seriousness.  It’s one component of play.  And whether play takes the form of imaginative amusement, engagement in a loved pastime or hobby, or involvement is a favorite sport, one thing is sure: We all could use a bunch more of it.

Play is, to borrow the Cocoa-Cola’s slogan, the pause that refreshes.  It’s like an uplifting breeze that carries us away from the heavy duties of adulthood into a realm of light-heartedness and enjoyment.  It gives us a break from monotonous routines and offers us a chance to connect with the kid inside us, flexing our delight muscles, showing us the world from a fresh perspective.  It brings enjoyment to life and lets us remember that life can be fun.

Play gives us permission to be silly, to goof-off.  It throws us into the present and gives us a new focus, and so it broadens the way we look at things.  It wipes the dullness from things and lets life’s shine come through.  And when we play with others (which is the best fun of all!) it builds human connections and lets us feel the happiness of camaraderie.

As you head into the work week, be sure you tuck some slices of play between the work hours.  Make some popcorn.  Get some giggles in.  Put on your tap shoes.  Have some fun!

Watch out!  Somebody let happiness out and its heading straight for you.  Here it comes now, sliding right into its freedom game, tossing restraint to the winds and humming on its kazoo as if it were the Pied Piper himself.

It’s time for some giggles and gaffaws, Momma.  Better shine up your grin and put on your happy feet.  Happiness has come to town and it’s wearing its fun face.

It’s rolling down the street right now, throwing confetti that looks like stars and if it lands on you, it lights you up and spins you right into childhood.

Hear that?  That music that follows in its wake?  Its sweet, like ragtime, isn’t it?  And mixed with some kind of jazz that pops and snaps and won’t let you go.  It makes you want to boogie, or turn somersaults or fly.

Check out those boots!  Stomping all the Serious into bits!  And those streamers of perspective floating from its hair!  What a sight!  What a sight!

It feels like wind riding by and it ripples down your body looking for all your ticklish places.  It seeps through your skin and wiggles its way into your heart, chomping up all your barriers and inhibitions as if they were so many Cherrios.  And before you now it, it’s got you, and you’re free and singing.

So much about being happy is delicious that you just can’t say it all at once.  But there’s one part of it that’s the icing on the cake, the cherry on the sundae, the top of the happiness mountain.  It’s the way that being happy makes life fun.

Fun is letting the kid in you come out to play.  It takes delight in discovery and sees the world through fresh, joyful eyes.  Fun is happiness set free.  It brims with love and energy, throwing kisses and candies from its float in life’s parade.  It doesn’t care about troubles; it doesn’t even know they exist.

Fun is the sparkle of happiness.  It ripples with laughter and shines with a sense of adventure.  It turns all your senses up to full vivid so the world is sharp and dazzling and clear.   Fun lets you know you’re alive.  It’s tasting the cinnamon and touching a baby’s cheek and feeling the sand between your toes.  It’s feeling the wind in your hair and seeing the stars and swooning to the strains of a symphony or some great jazz.

Fun is the creative side of happiness.  It pokes and prods at things to see how they work.  It invents things.  It imagines and pretends.  Fun asks, “What if?”  It defies convention and colors outside the lines.  It splashes in puddles and drums on fences just to hear the sound.  It makes up songs and sings them out loud and doesn’t know or care if it’s carrying a tune.  It likes puzzles and mysteries and games and finds them in the things that others label as work.

Fun is happiness in motion.  It’s the gusto and glide of it, its swirl and dash.  It’s the climb to the top and the free fall into the pile of leaves.  It’s not needing to hold on to anything.  It’s taking off the training wheels and testing your metal and skills.  Fun is full of confidence.  It dares the untried and can fall on its face laughing.

Fun is the zest of happiness.  It’s happiness finding its way through the cracks and bubbling into the air.  It’s letting your joy get the best of you and carry you away.  And when it spends itself, you’re richer.

The wisest among us make sure to have some everyday.  It’s free.  And it’s easy!  And all you have to do to get some is put on your kid hat and play.