happiness is a choice

happiness lillibridge dakota 1966

After a wonderfully dense four hour conversation this morning with two very smart thoughtful friends over coffee, pastry and strawberries I learned of the book: The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky. I wanted to give you a quick visual for the basis of the book. I personally need to use this pie chart as a quick visual reminder for my own happiness and choices.

“But what precisely can we do to hasten or bolster such increases in happiness? The answer lies in the pie chart theory of happiness. Recall that 50 percent of individual differences in happiness are governed by genes, 10 percent by life circumstances, and the remaining 40 percent by what we do and how we think-that is, our intentional activities and strategies.” Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside

OUR HAPPINESS IS WITHIN OUR POWER TO CHANGE not an entirely predetermined way of life. Let that marinade in your brain a while OR put that in your pipe and smoke it. Whatever resonates more for you. It might sound ridiculous, but some little changes could net big gains in your happiness level. Maybe worth a shot, huh?

Here’s the link to the book:

Homepage

All roads lead to home/SELF

IMG_2203

teepee farmhouse lillibridge dakota 1966

The circular pattern of the teepee is meant to represent a mother figure. It means being balanced in the four parts that are found in the four directions of the Medicine Wheel. These four parts for humans are the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental aspects of self. I was really struck by a sculpture that represented to teepee near Lake Francis on the Missouri River when I was home for my 30 year high school reunion. I’ve learned a lot more about American Indian traditions since I left home 25 years ago. I simply wasn’t as interested or able to see the beauty in the symbols until I had some distance. Now, as a partner and mother the symbolism makes so much more sense and I want to know more.

The fire is in the center of the Medicine Wheel. That is where the meaning of the teachings comes from. This fire is about self. When you look at the Medicine Wheel, you start from self. And as you look out, you make your circle. What we do in between is our own journey. This was pretty cool to be reminded of as I saw classmates and other people I hadn’t seen for years.

I chose to layer the teepee image onto the photo from an abandoned farmhouse my Mom and I walked through Monday. When I saw these images together, they really resonated with me as an image of home, change, leaving, returning, family of origin and desire to understand self in this complicated world. It was an interesting weekend in a small town in southern South Dakota indeed.