[inkblot]

Just a little survey... What ONE thing makes you the happiest person in the world? You can add more to the list if you like, but the first one counts first!

[SpazKatt]

A great big HUG!

[jagster]

Knowing in my heart that i am loved.

[SpazKatt]

My family!

[nothemama8]

Me (most of the time)
Angie

[kimmydawn]

the one thing that makes me happy inside and out...a child's laugh...the kind that comes from the belly...i melt in a good way.

good question!

An incredible worship experience at church.

Walking in the woods with big happy doggies.

[vacantangel]

The wonderful love that I get from my sweetheart.

[Nerak]

Having a husband that is my rock, soul mate, love of my life.

[nothemama8]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{All of You}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[Isolated_Guy]

My cat. She's crazy about me. She lives for affection and is constantly following me everywhere, meowing at me. If I happen to be in a better than average mood, she goes even more nuts!

[Wants2Fly]

Hello All --

I'd like to point out something that my spiritual mentor once told me, that makes a lot of sense:

Happiness is related to the word happenstance. So when we talk about happiness, we are looking outward for a certain experience. Joy, she argued, is gaining that experience from an inner source -- ultimately, given that she is a spiritual mentor and wife of the late minister of a church I attended -- from God.

Of course, I still find happiness in outer sources. Buying something pretty or that I need or want. We Americans take great stock in that, don't we? Settling into my recliner with a bowl of Hagan Dazs ice cream and good TV show or movie.

Then there are those experiences that transcend that. Feeling that transcendent oneness in the laugh of a child, the unconditional love of a trusting pet, participating in a moving church ceremony, or prayer alone, or being in nature. Any and all of these and more small impetuses can evoke that feeling of joy in me. Or bless. Or peace. Whatever one calls it. It is quite wonderful.

Good topic, IG.

[Maya]

Meditating - either alone alongside a river flowing peacefully by or in a yoga class.

[angel04]

It's a different thing, every day. That ONE thing that happens in a day to make everything feel just right. It really is a different thing, every day.

[sabby]

Waking up everyday knowing I have at least one more opportunity to make someone smile, lighten someone's load, and to thank God for everything in my life.

[vacantangel]

I hate to be the downer of this thread but I'm going to anyway. Some of us, like me, sometimes feel like God has abandoned us when we cry out to Him or pray to Him and we don't receive the peace that we're looking for.

Angel; thanks for sharing that thought; you're not alone. I think it's perfectly alright to question God. There are times when I get very angry at God also...for part of the same reasons.
Blessings, and may you find the peace you are searching for.
Jon

[sabby]

I'm sorry you are feeling that God is not answering your questions and prayers. Sometimes I think God's answers are very subtle and hard to see or hear. And sometimes his answers are not realized until sometime down the road.

Maybe his answers come from your cat who decides at a specific time that you need to feel love and give love and he/she jumps into your lap for attention. Maybe his answers come from people who post their concerns to you. Maybe there are times when you are unable to "see or hear" his answers because of what you are going thru.

Whatever the the case may be....I wish you peace.