If you are anything like me, the end of August can feel like the downhill slope on a rollercoaster. Without looking at the calendar I feel Labor Day looming ahead, signaling the start of school and a change of pace, and for me, the days become more structured and less spontaneous.

As an evening meditation this month, I started making a list of 10 things that made me happy during the day. I keep a notebook beside my bed and capture short little moments of bliss, beauty, pleasure, or something that strikes me as hilariously funny. I don’t judge it, correct my spelling, or wonder if it is too random or unimportant to write down. I just write a few words next to each number and shut the notebook.

Funny thing. When I wake in the mornings, I feel different. I can’t exactly describe why or how. Maybe by simply recognizing the small moments of happiness during my days, I can avoid dwelling on the things that didn’t go so well. With practice, I’ve been able to chase the darkness of a bad day away with 10 little pinpoints of light.

This is what made me crazy happy today:

1. My fat cat, Charlie, came to wake me at 6:00am by laying on my feet and purring so loud that I though he was choking.
2. For breakfast I ate fresh figs picked from my grandmother’s Desert King fig tree that now grows in our backyard.
3. My daughter wanted me to paint her fingernails blue.
4. A drive through the Snoqualmie Valley near my house was filled with colorful summer flowers.
5. I went to Target to buy a million travel-size things for an upcoming trip overseas.
6. A friend told me she loved me because I decorated her daughter’s wedding cake with tiny white rosebuds.
7. My sister called me from work to tell me that a man walked in her office with his head wrapped in tinfoil because he was blocking aliens from downloading information from his brain.
8. I had a quiet house all afternoon and spent the time writing in my studio.
9. I saw Mt. Rainier in all her glory when I got on the freeway.
10. I refused to do laundry.

What made you crazy happy today? Think about it.

~Kristin