cultivating happiness

how far does happiness travel?

i know stress and worry carry. i hear it in my mom's voice everytime i call her with a fresh corrie drama. nastiness carries too. i can't count the times i've felt icky for a whole evening after encountering one awful customer at work. or the times i've seen the same thing change a friend's mood from glowing to brooding.

we affect people. even in the tiniest moments. waiting in line. going out to dinner. walking down the street.

at my dance class this last wednesday, after everyone had left, one of the students crept to the back and put the music back on. five of us were still there and we busted through the routine a few more times, giggling the whole while. right there, her playfulness made everyone else's life better.

i started a blog. i made some videos about my friends who inspired me. the one about christine, in turn, inspired her friend to quit his job. he said it was the best decision he'd made all year. another friend wrote me the other day to tell me how happy my blog made her. meanwhile, i'd been thinking about how pointless it all was.

i'm not trying to pat myself on my back -- though i'd gladly accept a backrub right now, geez, i ache. but i'm trying to say, we don't know how our tiny marks are notching the lives of others. so maybe this week put a little happiness out there and see what you get back.