Happiness up for grabs

In the world we live in there are wars. There are countries that suffer from poverty, famine and disease. There are poor. There are natural catastrophes that obliterate people's lives in a matter of seconds.

Luckily for the most of us that is not the case. We are blessed with the mundane. The day to day routine. For us happiness is up for grabs, if we only know where to look for it.

Searching for happiness is like working out a muscle. The more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more the habit sustains itself. It starts with the small. Enough little things can make or break a day.

So start noticing the good. Make a list of it, even.

Watching the sun rise. Getting a seat in the morning bus. Listening to your favourite song on the way to work. Resisting the smell of freshly baked croissants on your way to work. Someone holding the door for you. Finding an unexpected fiver in your pocket. The sound of rain when you're indoors. The sound of rain when you're outdoors. Getting a compliment. Giving a compliment. Catching up with an old friend or acquaintance. Starting a new bottle of shower gel with a different scent. Seeing the sun set. Falling asleep in a warm, comfy bed.

Our lives are filled with blessings, if only we bother to look around and see them. There is love in the air. Literally. You can breathe it in. Believe there are good things out there for you and you will start to see them. I'll give you an example, just keep reading.

I work in an office where there is seldom a shortage of chocolate and sweets. One lunchtime I was finding it particularly hard to ignore them and stick to my diet. So I decided to avoid temptation by spending the remainder of my lunch break outside. I leave the office to discover it's a lovely warm sunny day, I got a chilled Americano coffee (less than 20kcals!) at Starbucks with a discount I didn't know I was entitled to, and I spent my time soaking up the sunshine while listening to a street performer play some of my favourite songs.

Get what I mean? Go out, open your eyes, see the joy around you. Marvel in the million small blessings that make up your daily life. There is joy and excitement in your mundane existence. You just need to open your heart to it.