Happiness

I realized last Sunday that I am sublimely happy. Like, happier than I think I've ever been. Life is good.

The feeling came out of nowhere while I was waiting in my car at the airport to pick up my husband. All of sudden, sitting there alone listening to Gloria Estefan's "Conga" on my iPod, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm -- kind of like being in the eye of a tornado. All I could do was smile. It was the feeling of ultimate freedom.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older and can appreciate the details in life that elude so many of us in our youth, but I started thinking about things and came up (quite easily) with this laundry list of where I am right now:

• 100% healthy.
• Friends and family are all healthy.
• Just got back from a fabulous trip to never-before seen countries.
• Wake up every day beyond ecstatic that no one owns my time except me.
• Money situation is stress-free, thanks to all the saving done within the last year (can afford to comfortably buy not only what I need, but also what I want ... like these. To quote Rachel Zoe: "I die.").
• Have a fabulous family and circle of friends.
  
• Married to an amazing man that not only makes me laugh constantly, but inspires me to be the best and work hard at whatever I choose.
• Do what I love every day: Write.
• Live daily in a country that is relatively safe compared to many, many others in the world. (Warring mujaheddin and/or bombs flying overhead in the dead of night would not be conducive to a good sleep!)

I think the most important thing on this list is the fact that I am healthy. I appreciate this above anything else, because even though one can buy better treatment for illnesses, they cannot buy excellent health (just look at Steve Jobs). As weird as it sounds, I'm so, soo thankful that I still have the ability to use my hands and fingers, that I can stand on my feet without wheelchairs or crutches and that I have no chronic problems or impediments. Sometimes I see people my age and older who are obviously going through chemotherapy or are confined to motorized wheelchairs with breathing machines and it crushes me. It's a constant reminder of how much I have to be happy about. If you're in good health, then the sky is the limit in terms of what you are capable of accomplishing. It's a liberating thing to realize. (Hats off to people who persevere in the face of adversity and overcome their health-related obstacles.)

Do you ever stop to think about how lucky you are, even when you feel like the world is weighing on your shoulders and you've seemingly got nothing to feel lucky about? I think a lot of us -- me included! -- tend to focus on the negative and what's "wrong" in our lives. Once in a while stop to think about what's "right" in your life. It might surprise you to see just how much of your life is actually positive. Understanding this can be as soothing as a mellow Bob Marley song, telling you that everything's going to be "okay".