The Many Colours of Happiness

Tonight, as I sat in bed working on some new short stories and day dreaming, a feeling of contentment settled over me. Not the kind of contentment that comes with the cool dusk light, nor the contentment that comes with that comforting sleepiness that settles in after a certain time. No, this contentment felt…tangible. Like I could reach out and touch it. Like I could grab hold of it and keep holding onto it until I felt strong enough to let go. It filled me up, inflating me into someone more confident, more sure of themselves. More alive. I am almost afraid to fall asleep, lest my grip loosens and it dances away. But I have a feeling that it won’t. I have a feeling that on this seemingly normal spring night I found a small part of myself that I had been missing for a long time.

Today I want to talk about food. Okay, okay, I want to talk about food every day. Let me rephrase that: today I am going to talk about food. It is summer here and summer here is hot. Cooking starts to seem less like a chore and more like torture. Sticking needles in your eyeballs kind of torture. Hence the need for quick and easy salads on the days where it’s either that or cereal for the fifth night in a row. So here are two of my favourite salad recipes that are delicious, nutritious (see what I did there?) and actually manage to fill you up. Note: I never put quantities in my recipes, just go with what feels right. Rocket Salad (recipe from my sister) Ingredients: Rocket Sundried Tomatoes Baby Mushrooms Baby Spinach Feta Cheese Olive Oil (or cooking oil if you’re like me and are too cheap to pay for olive oil and can’t taste the difference. And yes, I understand that it is extremely unhealthy to do that.) Lots and lots of salt and pepper Method: Mix together in a big bowl. Ta-d...

I wrote this about a month ago when things all became a bit uncertain. They sorted themselves out in the end but I thought I'd post this anyway :) I used to turn down my nose at optimists. ‘They are setting themselves up for disappointment’ I would think, shaking my head.  I prided myself on my negative world view. ‘If it turns out badly, I won’t be too upset because it was expected’, I said, ‘and if it turns out well, I will be pleasantly surprised. Being a pessimist is a win-win.’ You see, I used to believe that optimists were those that always believed that good things were going to happen, no matter the odds. But now I see, by looking at the people around me who are always cheerful and always smiling, that optimists are really those that make the best out of any situation. Which is an amazing trait to have. Because I often find myself unable to cope when things don’t turn out that well, unable to see how it could possibly be a good thing. But lately I have made a concerted...

Do you know what I love most of all about holidays? Just how completely ridiculous they are. I mean really, who came up with the idea to decorate a pine tree in baubles and leave it in the living room? Or to eat chocolate in the shape of rabbits? Or to dress up in scary costumes and go to people’s homes and demand that they give them candy? Like I said, ridiculous. BUT that is what makes them so fun! Take Tuesday for example. It was Melbourne Cup Day in Australia. Basically it’s a horse race for all of the Australians that don’t bet on horses and don’t particularly give two hoots about any of it. But on this one day we all wear fascinators, drink a lot, bet on horses, and then proceed to yell in excitement when the race comes on. Holidays are the one time when even the grumpiest of adults joins in the fun and celebrate for no g ood reason other than that they can. As a country, sometimes even as a world, we throw up our hands and act like the most excitable of children. And th...

For a long time I have always been a firm believer that our happiness is entirely in our own hands. And it is, to some extent. But as someone who went through a hard time and got out of it, I felt like I had a right to judge people who were perpetually down. You see, when I was a teenager I was a bit...dramatic. Okay, to put it bluntly, I loved self-pity like most my age loved candy. I made no effort whatsoever to try and be happy or to appreciate all that I had, and so I sunk further and further down until it took over my whole life. I don’t like who I was back then. I resent who I was back then and I have absolutely no patience with her. Now, when I feel down, I jump on it quickly, stamping it out with gratitude journals, relaxation tapes, writing in the sun, breathing exercises, walks and time with friends. But I forget. I forget that I was handed those tools, I forget that I didn’t find them myself. That it took years of therapy for me to be the happy person I am today. Yes, ...