Reflection, Harmony, and Happiness.. or is it Peace, Love, and Rock n' Roll...

I was reading a friend's blog and she presented the question "What makes you happy?" I could probably write a discourse on what brings me true happiness and joy, having ridden a bumpy life through my teenage years trying to figure this out. Of course, anyone who knows me now would know that I find true happiness through God and my family, which to me are so closely intertwined they are almost one and the same. But aside from my family and my religion bringing me joy... there are some things that just make me Happy. I could list a hundred things but how about my top ten?
10. I love looking up at the night sky - not the city night sky, because you can't see the stars, but most of Rexburg is okay, the further out of a town you get, the more you can see and the happier it makes me. I love seeing the stars twinkling and all the different stages of the moon. It is just so much bigger than me and reminds me that there is something out there bigger than us all. There has to be. You can just feel it when you look out there.
9. I love to walk with my kids. But only when they are in the stroller. Double joggers, yeah!! I love the fresh air and the exercise. My kids love it too, which makes me happy. (PS walks with kids not in the stroller are okay, but don't make the top ten, because I constantly have to be reminding Rhett to stay where I can see him, not to knock on people's doors, and to leave that dang cat alone!)
8. Idaho sunsets are the best. I have seen sunsets all around the world from Australia to Brazil. from the Ukraine to Utah, and Idaho sunsets are my favorite. I love the pink and orange colors that signal the transition from morning to evening, and they can be seen from pretty much wherever you are. Watching an Idaho sunset - definitely in the top ten, but really any sunset will make me happy.
7. Blankets. I love curling up with a blanket. For whatever. Reading a book, watching a movie, just cuddling and talking with my husband. No matter what time of year I like to end my day cuddling up with a blanket around my toes.
6. Dancing. Dance has almost always been a part of my life. I used to do a running leap through the playroom everytime I went to my bedroom (for as long as I can remember, which means all the way through high school). Performing, however, I don't love. But in college I could dance all night long and never get bored. I miss that. Now I just do silly dances for my kids, but I still leap through rooms from time to time.

It's funny that most of the times I remember being most happy are also the times I remember feeling most at peace. These next things are rare occasions that don't happen much, but they are still things that make me happy.

5. In the winter in Hawaii the waves are huge and the ocean isn't really a place to swim, but a place to watch (at least for us non-natives). I loved going out and sitting on the beach and watching these awesome waves crashing down on some poor rock. I guess I just really like moments that remind me there is some power out there bigger than us all that created these awesome forces of nature. It is beautiful and awe inspiring. Sometimes when I am sitting on my front porch I think about that.
4. Sitting on my front porch, watching the neighborhood kids play and reminiscing.
3. Another Hawaii moment. We used to go camping on the "West side" and in the morning (I think sunrise in Hawaii is prettier than the sunset) we would get up and go swimming with the dolphins. Really dolphins. Swimming right by us. Jumping around us, swimming with their families. I dreamt about that for months after I left Hawaii, and it always made me wake up happy.
2. I use to LOVE going snowboarding all day. Working my body until it was exhausted and then taking the last chair lift up the mountain. My friend and I would sit at the top of the mountain, until everyone was gone and it was just me, her, and the mountain. I love the fresh crisp mountain air, the snow covered trees, and the view of patchwork farm lands below. I still remember the stillness of the air, the smell of fresh mountain air, and the sting of it on your cheeks. We would then quietly take our last run down the mountain with just the sound of our boards cutting through the snow and head for home. Those memories are SO vivid in my mind and I miss them so much it hurts a little.
1. I used to hike up in the mountains with a book and a journal. I would then find a big rock or tree stump and read and write. Usually it was my scriptures. I find nature to be an incredibly spiritual place. I think "communing" with nature is "communing" with God. I think it is easier to feel God, or at least his Power or Spirit, in one of his biggest and most beautiful creations. I just feel so at harmony with my life when I spend time with my spiritual side in nature. And really I can even do it in the backyard under a tree, whatever gives me the feeling of His awesome power and that force that I keep talking about that is so much bigger than the little bit of life that I can comprehend. Like I said it creates harmony for me and makes me happy.
So that's my top ten happy moments. Some I experience a lot, some I wish I experienced more, and some are moments that I experience again and again through my memories and they never fail to make me happy. So I pass the question along, What makes you happy?
Peace and Love - i'm out.