What I've Learned From My Son - 1

I've decided that I am going to post as often as I can a new series, which I call, "What I've Learned From My Son," because watching my son, I feel like I learn so much from him on a daily basis - things that I imagine we instinctively know when we are that young but forget once the trials and tribulations of growing up start to crowd our consciousness.

So, today, I've learned:

Happiness is a choice.

My son loves to practice his laughs. I watch him walk around trying on different laughs for size, his latest favorite being one where he throws his head back, squints his eyes, scrunches up his nose, shrugs his shoulders up to his ears, and opens his mouth wide, allowing no sound to come out (a silent laugh) until a few seconds later, when he throws his head forward, slaps his knee and lets out a little chortle and sigh. It's a very grown-up laugh, especially coming from this little person, and it completely cracks me up every time I see it. But it made me realize that there is an arbitrariness to happiness and perhaps, like my son's laughing, the state of happiness can even be practiced. And practice makes perfect. We can choose, as my son did, to just be happy. If you purposely choose to be happy, then you will be happy, or at the very least put the energy out to attract happiness. This is what my son has taught me today.

Happy laughing!