Happiness Thoughts to Share

When reading this blog post on The Happiness Project, I was much struck by this:

I also understand my own shortcomings, and while I wish I didn’t have them, it makes me happy to finally know how to deal with them. For instance I have learned over the years that I’m happiest if I don’t go out two nights in a row—that I just start to fall apart when I’m out in the world too much, without recovery time. When I am putting out socially, or on behalf of my job, I need an almost equal amount of time to recompose myself. (It always makes me think of Newton’s law that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.)

I imagine myself like ball of string, and going out into the world unravels the string, and then I need time to wrap the string back around the ball. Otherwise I keep unraveling and end up as just a mess of string, rather than something solid. I wish I didn’t need life recovery time or so much sleep or that I were more competent in certain areas in which I am hopelessly deficient, but it’s such a lovely relief to know and to accept these things and deal with yourself as you are. Phew.

Yes, yes! Not only is this specifically true for me as well, but the overall idea that as you get older you accept such things about yourself, learn the best ways to deal with who you are and how you are, yes!

A more specific happiness thought to share tonight is that I just made plans to visit my mother, in Florida, in February, with three great friends. Yay! These are the friends I went to Maine in August with, in fact. I clearly need a blog name for them, as a group. The Gang of Three? "I'm going to Florida with the Gang of Three" has a certain ring to it. Any better ideas?