I’ve been reviewing some old writing, and came across this odd snippet I’d posted back in February:

I was at the petstore today buying cat litter, and saw the HAPPIEST DOG EVER. Everytime he (she?) looked at someone, huge waves of happiness would shoot out and he would wag his tail so furiously that his entirely rear end shook and his paws would skid! I was very impressed, and thought that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to be more like that dog. When I got home, my cats were very happy to see me, and spent some time dancing in front of me, tails very high in the air. You can tell how confident and happy a cat is entirely by the posture of the tail. I think I read that cats don’t have facial muscles they can move (I think dogs do) so it’s all about the tail. Tails are very important to animals. Humans don’t have tails, so I guess we just have to smile so much that our bodies shake with glee. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled quite like that, but it’s something to shoot for this year!

I posted this in The Happiness Group, a Google discussion forum I have been reading since early 2005. What strikes me about my post is the tone: it’s direct and unapologetic, and my “inner child” shows through. Where’s the self-conscious, introspective navel gazing that ordinarily fuels my writing? In retrospect, it was rather daring of me to even post it, which is probably why I did—I don’t remember if that was the actual reason, unfortunately.

It occurs to me that the business of being happy takes some courage. Or at the very least, a healthy lack of embarrassment when pursuing it.

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