I saw this at Rebecca's lovely blog Sewing in the Past, and couldn't resist joining. It sounds like something right up my sunny street. According to Rebecca, "Eudaimonia" is a classical Greek word commonly translated as happiness. I love how the word rolls round my tongue as I say it. Someone should write a fantasy story where there is a land called "Eudaimonia." I can just see it now: " The Chronicles of Eudaimonia." Ahh, I would totally buy it! Actually, it just occurred to me that I might be the only one to buy it. Ah well, enough waffling as my professor would say.
The rules of the Eudaimonia game state the I should list ten things that make me happy. Only ten?? I can think of twenty at least! But to preserve the sanity of everyone daring to read this post, I think I'll do a little cutting and scrapping. After all, if I have the time and boredom with my current situation, I could always do a longer list. Lists supposedly reveal an orderly mind, which is why I have a mania for doing them. The more lists I make, the more people will overestimate me.
Back to the point. Here are ten things that make me happy, in no particular order except for No. 1.
10.
Period Dramas!
I'm forever moaning that I was born in the wrong century. Then my brother asks me incredulously if I would manage to survive without deodorant. I have yet to come up with a satisfactory answer to that perplexing question.
9.
Fields of flowers
Fields of flowers make me so happy. Forget candy and ice-cream; if I could spend a single day in such a colour-lush field, I think I'd be good for an entire week.
8.
Maps
Just looking at a map puts me in a happy-contemplative mood. Who doesn't like maps? Whenever I see one I enjoy wondering about the strange places and the unexplored (for me) regions that beckon temptingly. And I like to think of the people inhabiting those unexplored regions and what they are doing at the very same moment I am looking at the map. Strange? I prefer imaginative.
7.
Babies.
'Nuff said.
6.
Reading a good book.
Note the emphasis on "good" part of "reading a good book." Not all books make me happy. But oh boy, when I find that exquisite treasure, a soul-satisfying read, my mood levels can stay at "bright" for days.
5.
Mysterious paths.
Don't you love mysterious pathways? I always wonder where they could lead to. Perhaps at the very end of one I could find a princess locked up in a lonely tower or an abandoned outhouse. Ahem. Well, at least I would have had a scenic walk.
4.
Writing.
Ahh, the sound of a pen scratching on paper is like the melodious strains of Bach to my ears. Please note, if the last sentence hasn't already aroused your suspicions, that I am very unmusical. That being said, writing is one of the greatest pleasures in my life and I can't imagine myself without it.
3.
Happy people
Seeing someone else happy lifts my mood instantly. Rejoice with those who rejoice and all that.
2.
Friends and family.
That's actually two, so now I've officially cheated. But I view my friends as family and my family as friends, so they are one and the same thing IMO. Cough. But squeezing in only ten things is so haaard!
1.
Jesus
Aah, forget happiness. Jesus gives me real joy, pure joy, which transcends all happiness and remains within me even in times of trial and tribulation. The joy of the Lord is my strength indeed.
Great reasons to be happy! I love maps as well. :) It's fun to think up places to go explore someday!!
ReplyDeleteAnother Marie! I'm glad I'm not the only one with an obsession for maps as well. One of my favourite things to do is to plan an around-the-world voyage. I might never be able to afford it, but planning such intrepid explorations is fun nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!,
Marie
Nice post. Please inform your brother that there are period solutions to the problem: http://worldturndupsidedown.blogspot.com/2010/03/people-just-smelled-worse-back-then.html
ReplyDeleteCould you PLEASE go over to Pennies from Heaven, and follow her. You see, at this link~
ReplyDeletehttp://guinevereamoureaux.blogspot.com/2010/06/150th-post-part-1.html
She is hosting a giveaway for a $20 gift certificate. And she is going to give it to the person that can round up the most followers! So, please go over and follower her, saying that 'Johanna and An Old-Fashioned Girl' sent you?
Thank you So much!
~Johanna~
@ Stephanie Ann,
ReplyDeleteThat's a very informative post! I know that women in the Regency and Victorian eras used to make perfumes with flowers such as roses and lavender, and that soaps contained herbs like thyme and rosemary. However, I was never entirely sure of how effective they would be, especially in hot summers.
@ Johanna,
I became her follower and mentioned you! Thanks for telling me, I really like her blog. :)
Wonderful list, Marie! And those are pretty much my favourite things, too. . . all the way from period dramas to Jesus!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love maps, too. ;-) When I had my own bedroom, I had maps - not posters - all over my walls! ;-D (I now share with a couple of my sisters, and there isn't much free wall space anymore!)
~Elise
@ Elise,
ReplyDeleteI've been having that idea for years! I've always wanted to have a huge map adorning one of my walls! I don't have anything tacked up on my walls at the moment because my room's as small as a prison cell, and the more cluttered things are, the more claustrophobic I feel. But I've been thinking of having a large antique-y looking map of the world or a map of Narnia on my wall. I still have to find a shop in my city that sells exactly what I want.
And yes, it was hard cutting down to ten *cough* eleven. Fun doing it though.
Blessings,
Marie
Baking Soda or alcohol make wonderful, useful deoderant substitutes so you could survive.
ReplyDelete