Happiness is an elusive thing. I came from a background of abuse and found myself continuing the patterns as an adult. When I had a child, I came to see these repeating patterns for what they were and chose to actively be aware of them and do my best to make new patterns, if only for my daughter’s sake.
One of the things I’m having to learn from scratch is how to be happy. Don’t get me wrong–I’ve had some joyous moments in my life–but I’ve never felt happy for more than a few hours, if that long.
My daughter is a master of happiness, though. When she is sad, she’s never sad for long, and when she is happy, she is a blur of bliss. I hope she can hang onto that as she grows, and I hope that I can learn from her.