Happiness for Beginners

by Katherine Center

What the hell had I been thinking? I wasn’t a hiker! I wasn’t outdoorsy! My favorite things in the world were soft beds, good books, and big cups of coffee.

If you could only have one book for three weeks, what book would it be?

I’d saturate my brain with such an overabundance of gratitude for every little joy around me that I wouldn’t have any room for envy, or loneliness, or sorrow.

I had finally come to understand that not getting what you want is actually the trick to it all. Because not getting what you want forces you to appreciate what you already have.

But the things we remember are what we hold on to, and what we hold on to becomes the story of our lives. We only get one story. And I am determined to make mine a good one.