One Sudden, Happy Moment
There are few feelings that compare with going about your life and in one sudden, happy moment — maybe you are on a sunny park bench or sharing a glass of wine with someone who delights you or falling asleep on a beach towel — you realize you are exactly where you want to be, living exactly as you always hoped.
This happened to me twice in the past two days: once, sharing a scoop of vanilla ice cream with someone I love and laughing our way down the street while the breeze blew hair into my eyes. The second time it happened, more mundanely, while walking up and down the aisles at Trader Joe’s, deciding between Spanish and Italian olive oils, a bouquet of cheap yellow flowers already in my basket. And then again, riding the bus home and staring out the window at the brewing rain clouds, the day and my movements in it seemed right. I wasn’t hosting a party, I wasn’t wearing a pretty dress. I was simply on the way back from the doctor in jeans, and bursting through the bus’s rear doors, onto the sidewalk and into pre-thunderstorm sunshine.
Is it a matter of eating well? Have all these good vibes in my brain come from all the good food in my life lately? Is it that the weather has finally turned hot and sunny here and that there is something delightfully miserable about the heavy, humid air and dewy skin? Is it having a nip of wine with lunch now and then, or that I have been seeing lots of the women in my life who make me think hard and laugh harder?
Whatever ushered in this contentedness with the rhythms of the everyday, I am so grateful for it. But still, I hesitate to call this happiness. There’s something more solid about this feeling. It doesn’t come from the way the world is coming at me — there are still bills on the desk and dirty clothes on the floor, after all — but from the way I am coming at the world: centered, assured, as if some nugget of certainty has fallen out of the sky, and onto my head, knocking me into thinking that this moment, this one right here, is all right. And the next one, whatever it holds, will be okay too. That somehow, even in these perfectly unsettled days, I feel like I’m there.
The bittersweetness of this feeling — which I so distinctly remember from this past fall, even as I was accompanying my mom to the hospital every other Friday — is knowing that it will pass and that in its place will come uncertainty and doubt and more funks. Now that it has come again I wish I knew how to bring it on at will, how I can summon it like an eager knight to the feet of a king. But I don’t know. It wafts in like a cool breeze and blows back out like a thunderstorm. Maybe that’s part of it’s charm.
Christine S.: I’d say those two moment were instances of happiness…attitude is everything - unfortunately, too many negatives at one time can skew our attitudes to not noticing those bursts in life that grant momentary bliss! life is…not without its difficulties and definitely filled with moments of extraordinary happiness…focusing and remembering the more positive of the two is a big help when getting through the uglier parts…always remember that, even though the harder times come around again, so do the blissful ones! loved this post!1 year ago
Kasi W.: I know exactly the kind of moments you mean. I don’t know if they can be summoned… One of my music teachers used to describe moments of playing really well as somehow playing in tune and in time with the music that is already everywhere, just waiting to be tapped into. I think maybe it’s something like that. (By the way, hi! I was so happy to stumble on your blog, and I hope you’re well.)1 year ago
Karen: There is certainly beauty in these little moments. To me that is where life happens…. not always in the grand events (although those can be wonderful too). If we take the time to notice the little gems…. they add up to happiness. Many times we are so busy and focused on goals etc. we forget to stop and “smell the roses”…… but that is where the good stuff is. Bravo to you for recognizing these sweet moments and savoring them.1 year ago
Kasi, I love what your music teacher said. Those moments are like “flow,” aren’t they — it’s like dipping your oar in the water that is always running beneath your boat.1 year ago
Lisa Strawberry: Thank you for this. I don’t want to miss these moments. I don’t want stress (like a beloved friend who is very very sick) to stop this quiet joy. The beloved friend wants the joy for all of us; she’s told us so. I want this joy for all of us. It’s something larger than me, than any one person.1 year ago
Anne: So happy you had such moments. Cheers to those moments happening more often!1 year ago
Kate: You’ve just captured this perfectly with your words - I really do love the way you write. And I too have had some of those moments this week, while I was away with my husband and remembering the good things in life and love. I wonder if it’s contenment, or home, or right-ness somehow. Perhaps it’s knowing that you’re loved? Whatever, let’s just enjoy the moments when they come!1 year ago
Kim: What a beautiful post. It’s been a while since I’ve had those moments. I think I need to look a little harder. Thanks for reminding me that they’re out there.1 year ago
Elaine: You described those moments so beautifully and poetically!1 year ago
Brenda Leyland: What a beautiful posting! I call those moments my joy bubbles! Thanks sooo much for sharing your special moments and for pondering out loud…. it helps us think about these things too.1 year ago
Meghan: One of my favorite quotes is from Kurt Vonnegut, who said to notice happy moments and stop to say, ”If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” His essay about the origin of this philosophy is here: http://www.vonnegutweb.com/archives/arc_nice.html
lovely post, and I’m glad you’re full of being alive!1 year ago
Gail: What a lovely description, Sarah! I too am experiencing happy moments here in California with Bill and Sara…and granddog, Champ! And wish for you and all your family and mine continuing happy moments.1 year ago
Ana Elizabeth: =) I know exactly what you mean. I love how in those moments life seems somehow… perfect. Problems feel soooo far away. Wouldnt it be wonderful if we could stay in those moments forever?1 year ago
Alyson: This very morning I had exactly that moment: sitting in our truck on a rare sunny Winters day, with two of my kids, sipping lemonade and listening to Stevie Wonder. It was perfect. Maybe we appreciate them so much because they are such rare stones. They are certainly the markers of my life: particularly that one you mentioned lying on a beach towel in the sun, with salty water still running down your face.1 year ago
Cordelia: So nice to see that you’re out of that funk. Hooray for wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime moments!1 year ago
Lisa: I’m a firm believer that good food leads to happiness. And may your centered, solid feeling last long!1 year ago
Lesley: I think recognizing these moments is the key to being happy in life — even if there is an accompanying bittersweetness to it all, because you know it won’t last forever. But just knowing when you’re purely, genuinely content: It’s magic. You described it perfectly!
A few days ago, my moment was buying a warm cup of atole (it’s a Mexican rice/milk drink) on the street after my yoga class. One sip, and all of a sudden the world was comforting, and perfect just the way it was. Just thinking about it now, I’m a little wistful.1 year ago
Vanessa: I really enjoyed this post. I had a similar moment yesterday. I was sitting on a bench reading and drinking coffee… I just felt so content and stopped to think about how good I felt… I was actually killing some time before I had to head back to the laundromat to get my clothes out of the dryer, but something felt so right… Sometimes it hits you when you don’t expect it
Also, this all makes me think of a book… If I may make a recommendation… The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery…1 year ago
So glad you mentioned that book. I think someone else might have recommended it on here a while back and I had forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder!1 year ago
Jenni: Sarah, I’m not sure how to articulate just how wonderful, simply wonderful this was to read, and how much I love your blog. Thank you. xxx1 year ago
Jora: Sarah, how wonderful that you experienced this contentedness recently. I am hoping to feel some of that sometime soon.
1 year ago