Things do not change; we change. ~ Henry David Thoreau

I found the amazing book Happy for No Reason tucked beneath other more popular books at my local store the other day. I haven't read it all, but the first three chapters have me hooked--so I thought I'd take a moment to share with you today.

For those of you who are not aware, Marci Shimoff appeared in The Secret and does motivational speaking across the globe. I expected to hear more of the same, but I got  a big surprise. I expected to be told that I needed to do to find true and lasting happiness was to change my thinking--but I found much more.

The first three chapters referenced actual scientific studies that supported the fact that--are you ready--we have a happiness set-point ( much like the weight set point) and no matter what happens in our lives we return to the same level of happiness within a very short period.

Unless you suffer from clinical depression or some other biological disorder, it doesn't matter if the event is positive or negative. As human beings we return to the same point we have spent our whole lives functioning at.

The good news is, we can reset our happiness meter and enjoy peace and happiness we never thought possible.

Isn't that just amazing?

Of course, one of the ways to reset your happiness meter is by expressing your gratitude for the things you already have in your life. Check back tomorrow to see what other amazing things this book has to offer.

Today I am grateful for wide-open fields, scurrying field mice and fall berries that continue to linger until snow. For crisp cold mornings and chimneys that send up a straight gray plume, for golden lights that illuminate distant windows and dog barks that tell me the world is wake.


I am grateful for the distant call of the chickadee that will soon find his way to the feeder, for blue jays that teeter on branches looking for a frozen treat and mourning doves as they draw close for cracked corn.


I am grateful for family and friends who share my world, for old friends who have gone on to their own lives in their own worlds and for future friends whose path I am destined to cross.


And, I am grateful for you, dear reader, as you stop to share my day. May your happiness meter remain on full as you go forward to reach your dreams.