So what gave you a "happy" today?

I finished yet another self-help book recently, after another bout of self-doubt and some feelings of inadequacy. This book took a slightly different perspective on the search for happiness in your life. The author suggested instead of endlessly yearning for that "one thing" that you think will make you happy, find small things everyday that give you some joy and make you feel good for that moment in time. Eventually, those small moments can help you feel good most of the time - and that is the key to his whole theory.

So, on the basis of that, I have now approached each day trying to find something that makes me feel good. These things can be, and generally are, relatively minor parts of one's day.

So, what has made me feel good of late? The colour of the leaves falling from the trees. The crisp texture of fresh sheets on my bed. The soothing feel of a warm tea on a cold day. Listening to the Mozart Requiem's Lacrimosa. Days when the Bangle Bitch is NOT at work.

But last night I experienced another moment in life that gave me true joy. I came home from tap seeking a snack. I decided on Vegemite on toast, and picked up the new jar of Vegemite that I had acquired on my most recent shopping adventure. There is something about opening a new jar of Vegemite. The "pour" of the spread in to the jar, has to be just right to achieve the delicate dollop at the top of the jar. If conditions are not right, the smooth dark surface, becomes pock-marked rather in the fashion of the lunar surface. And this is certainly nothing attractive to behold. But last night, I unscrewed the jar, breaking the seal, and cautiously lifted the lid to see what awaited me. And there, was the perfect Vegemite top! A smooth glistening surface, and in the centre, a delicate swirl indicating the end of the pour!

I smiled to myself, and then dug my knife in deep.