A Key to Happiness…Can YOU Answer This Question?

Happy Saturday and Happy Father’s Day Weekend to all of those Dad’s out there!

I read an article recently that interviewed some of the oldest people in the world, asking them how they stay “young” and what they attribute their longevity and happiness to. There were five things they talked about, and while I’m not wanting to rewrite the whole article here let me just tell you one of the things on the list. It was having something to be excited about each morning, something that motivates them to get out of bed. Hmmm, Can you answer this question? What motivates YOU to get out of bed each day? Is it your kids? Your job? What makes you want to get up each morning?

In the same day I read that article, I was driving down the road and saw a sign that I definitely took as a sign. If this isn’t the truth, I don’t know what is. In this day and age with the prevalence of cell phones EVERYWHERE we go, it is especially fitting. Likely many of us could do well with this advice for sure. When was the last time you were so caught up in something that you totally forgot to check your cell phone? Shouldn’t we all aim for moments of time like that every day? Do you think the thing that motivates you to get up each morning and the things that makes you forget to check your cell phone are the same thing? Shouldn’t they be? 

For me, going to the dewy meadow in the morning and looking for dragonflies, spider webs and other “morning secrets” is what gets me out of bed and excited about the day. And even better, it is THE THING that makes me lose all track of time and I definitely forget to check my phone. Though the drive is a little over 30 minutes, I love riding with the windows down and anticipating the great things I might find. When I finally arrive it is all I can do to gather my stuff and not go racing into the field, I’m so excited to be there. On any given day I never know what I might find, but I always can count on there being something of interest. (This reminds me of a post I wrote years ago called What Inspires you to Skip)

I think we all need something that gets us excited to get out of bed in the morning, whatever it is. Each of us is different and so has different interests but if you are lacking that thing, maybe you can explore some ideas of what does it for you. What are the activities that make YOU forget to check you phone? Or that make you excited to get out of bed? Are they the same thing?

I thought I would share with you some of the photos from my recent field explorations, proof that amazing things in nature can be found anywhere, IF you make the effort to go and look. (By the way, I regularly try to post my photos to Instagram so if you want to see more, you can follow me there.)

If you want to learn more about dragonflies you can check out some posts I wrote some years ago– Do Dragonflies Sting or Bite? Ten things you may not know and  Dragonflies do What? Ten More things you might not know.

I’ll write more about dragonflies, and share my videos of the transforming dragonflies, in a future post. And by the way, just in case you’re wondering, for some of these dragonfly shots, I was on my belly, at the pond’s edge, in shallow water. Sometimes it’s what you gotta do! Yo!u would never know it by looking at the photos

 

What are your thoughts? Can you answer this question–What gets you excited about getting up each morning? What makes you forget to check your cell phone? Are these things the same? I’d love to hear from you! Use the reply box below the post. See you again soon!