"Happy" New Year and Just "Being"

I, like many, have just come back to work after having 2 weeks off, over the holidays.

Although I would have loved to continue sleeping until 10 am, having a glass (or 2) of wine at lunch and not shaving until I went out to dinner at night, I did really enjoy coming into work this morning and seeing everyone smiling, greeting one another and feeling, genuinely, well..."happy".

I started to wonder why we can't seem to maintain that sense of being pleased that we can sit up and take nourishment, walk, breathe, laugh and just be alive all the time...?

I'm as guilty as anyone many times in seeing the negative aspect of everyday life but I do hope that I am starting to gain an appreciation of the simple joy of just "being". I made a point (resolution?) of saying "hello" to anyone who would look me in the eye this morning and, at a risk of being thought of as crazy, I consistently got a huge smile and greeting in return. It really didn't take any effort but I noticed that it started to create an energy around me that I really enjoyed.

It wasn't that I was doing anything incredible at all - in fact, I was doing it for ME! I didn't think it through, I didn't plan it. It just started happening...

I made a joke (at least it was funny to me) a few days ago that Vegemite was invented so that if you ate it first thing in the morning, everything else during the day would seem fantastic by comparison (apologies to those who have been brainwashed into thinking Vegemite actually is a good flavour...). So, is that what we need to do to feel "happy" all the time? Eat Vegemite?

Why do we need to be separated from what we do normally (e.g. going to work) for 2 weeks to recognise that it actually does bring us happiness?

Sure, we all need to relax and clear out the cobwebs of too much work and stress. But I can't help but think, however, that we all need to keep in mind that our daily lives, for the most part, are what makes us "happy" and that we have the ability to remind others of that, just by BEING, we can make ourselves "happy".

There is a very trite old saying that goes, "If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours...". Those you rolling your eyes right now, just try it with the next person you see.

Wouldn't it be great to have that feeling I got this morning, surrounded by "happy" people, all the time? Or maybe it's the new drugs...?