What does International Day of Happiness mean to you?

In 2012 the United Nations General Assembly decided that the world needed a day dedicated to recognising the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to global economic growth. Today is International Day of Happiness.

Everyone takes something different from International Happy Day. To me, it means “how can I be more happy”, “What will bring a smile to my face and the face of others”.

It is not the things, but the actions of one person to another. To me, a smile is worth more than a thousand words.

We live in a throw-away society. We only have to look at the definition on Wikipedia, “The throw-away society is a human society strongly influenced by consumerism. The term describes a critical view of overconsumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items, to see this is true. Not for all, but for the majority”.

To live happier lives will mean something different to everyone. I believe that living with less stuff and having more of what counts will bring true happiness.

When I am working with people to simplify their lives, it is when we de-clutter and simplify the “things” and make “more space” that people feel a breath of fresh air. I love helping and showing people how to de-clutter and simplify. We consume and accumulate a lot of things at a very fast pace. Happiness to me would be buying far less and experiencing far more.

You could redecorate your house every year, or you could plan a family vacation and down time. You can get happiness out of both, I agree, but the bit that matters, the happiness – bonding, love, memories – will come from the “down time”, the “me time”, the “family time’, every single time.

The outcome of organising, decluttering, simplifying is true happiness.

Happy International day of Happiness 🙂

Tell us, what are you happy for? What makes you smile every day?