Every six months or so I start to see a trend in the magazines and blogs I read. For a while, the advice of the day was to get organized. Self-proclaimed experts gave advice on how to de-clutter and organize our homes and lives. 
Now, it appears that all the experts are concerned about my happiness.
Books, articles and websites are dedicated to helping us achieve a happy life. Since when did we need advice on how to be happy?
Watch a child. It doesn’t take much to make him or her happy. OK, there are days when my son insists only the biggest truck in the store will make him happy, but for the most part it can be something as small as a kiss from his puppy or the sight of his dad coming home after work.
Children find joy in small things without really thinking about it. They don’t analyze why the butterfly landed on their shoulder or whether the double-chocolate ice cream is good for them. They simply enjoy the moment.
Witnessing happiness on a child’s face is one of the most magnificent experiences. Their smiles grow wide. Eyes sparkle. Giggles become guffaws of laughter, and luckily for us this laughter is contagious.
Why is happiness more elusive as we grow older? Why do we need tips from articles, books and websites? Is there a reason we lose our ability to grow giddy over the smallest things?
For some of us, it could simply be age. We’re older – more determined – with too much to get done in a day. Or maybe we’re afraid we won’t be taken seriously if we allow ourselves to grow giddy over finding a $10 bill in our pocket or giggling over a big bowl of Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream (which is extremely awesome, by the way).
Whatever the reason, I can’t help but think that if we as adults allowed ourselves to show more happiness over the small things, we might have more happiness in our lives as a whole.
Maybe it’s time to put down our self-help books and simply watch our kids. How do they do it? Why do they do it? Can they show us how to let go of our inhibitions and laugh over the silliest of things without worrying what others might think?
Maybe we should start by thinking about what makes us happy. Is it listening to our kids’ laughter? Watching puppies play? Maybe it’s sitting quietly in the sun or driving with the windows open, and the radio cranked with our favorite music. Whatever it is, if it makes us happy we need to embrace it and not be afraid to show that joy.
If we can learn to do this now as adults, then perhaps our children will retain their own ability to be giddy years from now. Their laughter will never fade, and they won’t have to think that happiness can be achieved through trendy advice, because they will have already achieved it on their own.
That’s something I would giggle about.
STACEY HARRIS lives in LaPorte with her husband and two children. She is an account manager for a national advertising agency.
