healthy you
JOY
t c o n n e c t e d i n £
h a k a b l e w a y t O
c l i l t h o
w h o s e l i v e s h a d l e d t o m
y
A s o d d a s i t s o u n d s , I e x p e r ie n c e d jo y
a ft e r a fu n e r a l. M y a u n t a n d u n c le h a d
d ie d in a m a ll s h o o tin g , a n d o n d ie n ig h t
o f t h e ft in e r a l t h e ir n e ig h b o r h < x x l t h r e w a
b lo c k p a r t y t o c e le b r a te t h e ir liv e s . A f t e r
h o u r s o f c r y in g i t w a s h a r d b u t n ic e to
la u g h , h u g a n d d a n c e in th e s tr e e t. T h e n
s o m e o n e fo u n d a b o x o f o ld p h o to s in
t h e ir h o u s e . W e s ta r te d p a s s in g a r o u n d
th e b la c k - a n d - w h it e s n a p s h o ts o f
g r a n d p a r e n ts , c o u s in s , s ib lin g s , a n d b a b ie s .
T h e r e w a s m e a n d m y a u n t a n d u n c le a t
a n a m u s e m e n t p a r k , G r a n d p a in a s w e a te r
v e s t, a n d p o r t r a it s o f r e la tiv e s lo n g g o n e .
T h e p r e s e n t a n d t h e p a s t b e g a n t o b lu r ,
a n d I fe lt c o n n e c te d in a p r o f o u n d a n d
u n s h a k a b le w a y t o a ll d io s e p e o p le w h o s e
liv e s h a d le d t o m y o w n . I n th a t m o m e n t,
e t e r n it y s e e m e d a t h a n d .
Veronica Toney
a sso c ia te e d ito r, b h g .c o m
a n
r o
f o
u
n
d
a n d
o p le
m a m a
t o
g e t
m e
A f t e r a s e e n u n g ly e n d le s s
p ro c e s s , m y h u s b a m T a fr d
p ic k e d u p o u r t w o
a d o p p & l
s o n s
f r o m a n o r p h a n a g p m ^ i s m a ll
t o w n n e a r M o s c d w a n d w e
a ll h e a d e d t o a r e s ta u r a n t to
c e le b ra te . W h e n o u r in t e r p r e t e r
w a lk e d in , 3 - y e a r - o ld D a n ie l
ju m p e d o n t o h is c h a ir a n d
re le a s e d a t o r r e n t o f R u s s ia n .
“ W h a t d id h e s a y ? ” w e a s k e d ,
fe a r fu l D a n ie l a n d h is o ld e r
b r o t h e r d id n ’t u n d e r s ta n d
t h a t t h e y w o u ld b e c o m in g
h o m e w i t h u s f o r g o o d . T h e
in t e r p r e t e r s m ile d “ H e s a id , ‘M y
m a m a a n d p a p a c a m e t o g e t m e
to d a y .’ ” I n t h a t m o m e n t, I w a s
b a th e d in t r u e jo y .
Lynn Blanchard
te st k itc h e n d ire c to r
GATHER THOSE CLOSEST
Icelanders consistently rank as the most
blissful people on the planet. Why would living
on an isolated northern island
bring such joy? “It’s a small
country or a big family depending
on how you look at it,” says Eric
Weiner, author
o f The Geography o f
B liss: O ne G ru m p 's Search f o r the
H a p p ie s t Places in the W orld.
“They have an element of
closeness. If you get a flat tire
people will stop for you every
single time. They see their fates
as intertwined.” W einer asked
denizens of many different
countries the source of their joy.
“Almost invariably, it involved a
relationship w ith another living
thing,” he says. Use this time of
year to reconnect with those
closest to you.
YOUR COMPLETE ATTENTION
Life goes by quickly. If you’re not paying
attention, you’ll miss the quiet magic of many
moments. “We are generally too busy trying
to squeeze more and more activities into less
and less time,” says Tal Ben-Shahar, author of
H a p p ie r: L e a rn the Secrets to D a ily J o y a n d
L a s tin g F u lfillm e n t.
“Consequently, we fail to
savor and enjoy potential sources of joy that
may be all around us—w hether it’s our work,
an outing, a piece of music, the landscape, our
soulmate, or our children.”
Weiner, who also traveled to the tiny South
Asian kingdom of Bhutan as research for his
book, notes that the Bhutanese strive to do
everything—from crossing the street to
washing dishes—deliberately and with their
full attention.
“We act like, whatever we’re doing, we want
to get it over with as quickly as possible, even if
it’s shaking hands,” he says. “We think produc-
tivity is im portant to happiness, but we don’t
pay much attention to attention. Yet it’s hard
for joy to exist without it.”
R HOMES AND GARDENS
