A Slice of Happiness Pie

What is "happiness"? With the help of my Facebook friends, I think I've found the answer:  happiness is a whole lot of different things which vary from person to person (vague answer, right? Happiness simply cannot be pegged down to one "key".)

I asked the question "What is happiness?", in my status update.  Nearly 40 friends responded, some listing multiple keys to their own personal happiness.  The following pie chart is a breakdown of their responses - enjoy a slice!

The majority of my Facebook friends are parents, so children were the frontrunner in creating happiness. Mentions of love, including spouses and significant others, were pretty much equal to responses involving family in general.  From this, I concluded that children make women a lot happier than men do (haha!) I also learned that people really enjoy a good meal, and when all else fails, most seek comfort in knowing their Lord and Savior. The responses I appreciated most were those that mentioned "the little things" or "the simple things" - like being grateful for what you have, enjoying simple moments, and one of my favorites, maintaining a balance in life.

So what makes me happy?  LOTS of things.  Enjoying a rich cup of hot chocolate,  the smell of a nice home fragrance, my mom's clean laundry, meeting a goal, setting new goals, making someone else smile on a day when I can barely smile at all, conquering a fear, feeling healthy and energetic, my kitty's purring, holiday decorations and Jingle Bell Rock, simple things and complicated things, big buildings, taking photos, sharing a pizza with my husband, reading quotes on Dove chocolate wrappers, my husband's success and happiness, the unknown, victories, lessons learned, using the neti pot when my head is congested, a slice of cheesecake, good music, the movie "Definitely Maybe", pretty socks, seeing my family members succeed at anything and everything, learning, adventure, challenges, the past, the present, and the future.  My Happiness. 

If that isn't enough happiness for you, then here's the happiness my Facebook friends shared with me this week: