For a while now, my friend Lacy and I have been chatting on the topic of "happiness". What is it? Where does it come from? How do we get more of it? What makes us really happy? What makes one person a "happy person" and another not? The questions are endless, but the research, it turns out, is fun! We have in no way become experts, but have learned one thing: Happiness is, among other things, a practice. So like anything else we want to do better, we must make it a habit.
Lacy has been 'practicing' for a long time now, and I feel she has a lot to share on the topic. So when I decided to start this blog, I asked her if she would do regular guest-posts to talk about it. I plan to make a habit of reading them. xoxo, Leigh

Buying Happiness

Hi All! Lacy Here!

I'm here to tell you that money can buy you happiness.

Did all your red flags and beliefs about money and happiness just go up? We've been so trained to believe things like "money doesn't grow on trees" and happiness is often reserved for special occasions when it's appropriate to celebrate.  I've found life to be way more interesting and fun treating everyday like a celebration and releasing fears about money. The little apartment in the pit of my stomach where anxiety and worry over money used to live is now filled with love and trust that all is well and I always have everything I need. I'm not suggesting you need money to be happy but I am suggesting that you take just a little bit of it and buy things that create the essence of the life you want to live!  

I took a soul journey to Hawaii for two and a half months earlier this year and part of the take home from that experience was the realization of the importance of essence. Maybe you can't be on vacation all the time but you can foster a vacation mentality. Maybe you can't fly to the Napa Valley but you can create a fabulous cheese board and wine tasting at home.  That's essence.

So here we are all moved into our new Texas abode and the backyard has the most perfect hammock tree! And for me right now, happiness is a $50 hammock (total score 1/2 off on sale at Anthro and found via an instagram friend-- I LOVE the power of community and connecting via the web- such good stuff). I've wanted a hammock since I was a kid... truly for as long as I can remember a hammock, a scooter and a tepee have topped the list. My powder blue scooter is my main mode of transport these days and the hammock is now the spot where I do all my best thinking. It's just a teensy tiny detail in this new house and this new life in Texas but it's one of the things that makes today special. It's one of the things that gives me that feel good feeling called happiness.

What do you want to feel and experience?

What would add a little or a lot of delight to your days?

How can you invest in that feeling?  What can you invest in to create that experience? Can you get creative around it?

We love a challenge! Here's to the little details that make you oh so happy!  And to Leigh for being one of my great teachers on creating the kind of life I want to live.

Lacy Young is a professional happy person. You can find out more about her on her blog.