Nothing New Under the Sun

I'm feeling very introspective today(Warning... I feel a random thought blog coming on with tangents and off shoots galore!!!). Not entirely sure why. It could do with the holiday, it could do with baby sitting at the group home I work at on weekends, it could be feeling very high-schoolish again and having a crush on a boy, it could be the friend facing a loss. Whatever the cause, I am contemplating Ecclesiates. No, I don't normally contemplate random books of the Bible (I am currently reading in the New Testament and usually focus on what I am reading). A friend was talking to me about happiness. You know that fleeting elusive feeling of well being. It is odd, because I was also just reading a Reader's Digest article about how to increase your happiness. (That is a blog in and of itself--suffice it to say that my mom sends me the Reader's Digest every year, I love the jokes, and yes that article was like from two months ago, what can I say, I'm behind). So, I am contemplating my life and the unexpected turns that I have taken and I realize that my story is not new. It is no where near new. There is nothing new under the sun. Now before you start feeling sorry for me that I am not a unique individual (all to American obsession), this was a comfort. I am not in uncharted waters. Maybe for me, but not for the world (and dare I say, not for God). So, the question came up... Am I happy? Yes, I am. Am I happier now? Yes, I am. I am a different person now than I was then. I wish great things for those around me and hope to bring out the best in others. I make it my goal in life to laugh many, many times everyday. And I am happy to report that I am succeeding (even if it is just to laugh at myself--even at the end of a horrible, horrible day I can pick up a trusty Shel Silverstein book of poems and laugh my butt off). Wouldn't that be great if we could truly laugh our butts away.

Note to self... Things to avoid: gossips, judgy people, negative, cynical, too busy for life, flakes.
Things to seek: laughter, friendship, affirmations, the kiss of my dogs, good chocolate, deep and meaningful conversations, eating icecream from the carton (Mayfield Snowcream), the hug from family, those that bring healing.

So, if there is nothing new. I would love to learn from the mistakes of the past and get on to the better things that are out there. Is that possible? Can I pay attention and learn how to replicate the good others have accomplished and avoid the bad that some have stumbled upon?