Have a Happy Life

Gerber Daisies

And you too can have a happy life!  Meaningful relationships, satisfying employment with sufficient income, spirituality, goals, hobbies and entertainment are all key to my happy life. 

Another minor thing that makes a major difference is my home.  At the end of the work day,  I always feel a sense of relief and joy when I pull into my driveway.  My home is my inner sanctum and I have intentionally designed it that way.  This is one, of many, wonderful things about being single.  You have total control over creating the home and life that you want for your self.  It is all on you.  I say this in the spirit of Toni Morrison who said, "If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."     Being single has its rewards and this isn't being said or written about enough.  But as I was saying, or in summary, I've discovered that an important part of having a happy life is creating a beautiful home for yourself where you want to return to at the end of a long day.

There are a lot of simple things to do to create a happy home for yourself.  I don't think that your home has to be Spic and Span clean but there should be order.  Everything in your home can't be out of place.  My mother would say, Karen, everything has a place.  She would say this as she handed me my shoes, my backpack and everthing else that I deposited daily in the kitchen after school. So, just multiply this by 3 to account for my two sibblings.  I guess that is why she would also shake her head back and forth and ask the Lord for help...Lawd...have mercy! 

It's also nice to have plants and flowers around.  Even if you don't have a green thumb, you can purchase flowers every now and them and stick them in a vase with water.  Just yesterday, I purchased 6 Gerber Daisies for $5.78 from the DeKalb Farmer's Market.  Actually, they were in bunches of 3 for $2.98.  That is cheaper than a happy meal.  I placed these pink daisies on the mantel of my fireplace.  That'll make me happy for about a week. 

Scents are also important in a home.  Beside my daisies on my mantel is my oil burner.  I'm always burning something.  I have candles and oil burners in my living room and in my boudoir (my private lady suite AKA bedroom).   My favorite scents are lavender, vanilla and eucalyptus mint.  All of these are calming.  Sometimes I burn a little eucalyptus mint in the morning  just to help me get going.

Oil burner beside daisies

There is something to aromatherapy.  One day, not long ago, someone came into my office at the end of the day and talked about all of their work troubles for about an hour.  Because of this, I left work late and felt moody from listening to all of their troubles.  And these weren't even troubles when you think about what troubles are in the real sense of the word.   Being disturbed, I stopped by the CVS on my way home and picked up a new candle which was a mixture of lavendar and sage.  Once I made it back to my sanctuary, I laid on my sofa and burned my candle.  An hour later, I was back to normal. 

Make your home a part of your happy life.