While staring at the ceiling of my room this morning, worrying about bills and my future and if I would ever achieve all the things I plan to and the myriad of other things that occupy everyone's mind, I found myself wondering what happiness is.

The more I thought about it, the harder it was to define. What made me content? What made me feel that swift burst of elation that means to me that I am happy?

So I sat down and wrote a list and this is what I came up with:

   Hearing from a friend.
   Walking along the beach.
   Seeing the sun rise.
   Listening to a thunderstorm outside my window.
   Looking at the moon.
   Playing with a child.
   Knowing and feeling that I'm loved.
   Achieving a goal.
   Being alive.

And that's when I realised that to be truly happy, all I had to be was myself.

�1997-9 The Sanctuary. All Rights Reserved.