Make Someone Happy

"Happiness is an attitude.  We can either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same."...Francesca Riegler"

I love the above message, but I'll admit that I can also become happy through receiving gifts from others.  I'm happy and grateful when someone pays me a compliment, helps me out, or shares their knowledge.  A cup of tea tastes ten times better when someone's kindness makes it for me.  I'm also cheered by hearing someone else's good news.  I'm thankful knowing a person would want to share their blessings with me.  I believe the greatest happiness comes from the sentiment, and not the gift itself.

But what brings me most joy and happiness is in the giving.  Think of Christmas or another holiday season, isn't it the giving of gifts that is so much more pleasurable than receiving?  That good feeling does not have to be delayed until birthdays and Christmas.  It's possible to have it every day.  The gift of giving should be 365 days a year.  This spreads joy to others and returns even more back to yourself.

In the words of Oprah Winfrey "I don't think you ever stop giving.  I really don't.  I think it's an on-going process.  And it's not just about being able to write a check.  It's being able to touch somebody's life."

I ride a school bus with students with special needs each day.  There is one boy who is unable to communicate with the other kids and only has a few words of speech.  I knew this boy last year too, on my afternoon route.  Until recently, all I ever saw him do was fall asleep, almost immediately after boarding.

He sits across from me now and each morning I greet him with a smile and a little wave.  At first he did not respond and still went to sleep.  I continued giving him big smiles and waves each morning and then added in short phrases like "Hi!!", "nice jacket!".  Finally, he started smiling and waving back.  Slowly, he began saying "Hi" and "Bye" to me.  Last week he initiated a mini conversation with me - one simple beautiful word - "Happy".  It melted my heart.  Now I softly sing little tunes to him with the word Happy - and he claps along!!  He no longer falls asleep on the bus ride!!  His teachers could not believe it today.  I think they thought he was just an extremely tired boy!

I hope he knows how much joy he brings me each morning!

The fact that we can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me, continual spiritual exercises. 

My video today is the classic "Make Someone Happy", it's a very nice old tune.  I often think it's the old simple songs that deliver the sweetest messages.  Enjoy! 

Make someone happy.  Make just one someone happy.  And you, will be happy too.

Cheers!
Linda