Thank you all for subscribing to my blog.  It makes me very happy to know that you find my thoughts and experiences a pleasure to read.  Truly.  Today you may be in for a surprise – unless you know me well enough!

Happiness is something that intrigues me and I will be writing about it many times as it affects all of us.  It feels so good that when we aren’t feeling it we are searching for it.  There are endless workshops, books, webinars and lectures on the topic.  There are different avenues to take to try to find it – the spiritual path, the psychological path, the New Age path, the psychic path, the philosophical path, among others.  They all say the same thing in different ways and I was surprised to find that Johnny Gruelle of Raggedy Ann fame was explaining it to us at a very early age – it seems he knew the answers!

Here are some quotes from his book The Golden Meadow:

“The cheerful person always knows he’ll always reap just what he sows.”

“No one’s heart will ever harden planting seeds in Friendship’s Garden.”

“God gives a person who is kind a cosmic jewel for his mind.”

“The richest one is he who spends his life in kindness making friends.”

All this happy friendship!

I like that in these drawings he’s telling the children that they can enjoy all creatures no matter how different they are from themselves.  That all the beings on earth have things to offer.

Here are the fairies to help us with our daily miracles.

Can you tell I’m an unfulfilled children’s book illustrator?  And Johnny Gruelle is one of my role models.

Here is another charming and wise quote – “Smile, and you’ll find the world you pass is always a great big looking glass.”

The dedication in The Golden Meadow reads ” … with a magical wish that her pathway through the golden meadow of life may be bordered with the cosmic flowers of love and friendship.”  It sounds like such New Age language for the 1920’s – cosmic flowers and jewels!

Here’s a darling drawing we wouldn’t see in today’s children’s books.

Mr. Gruelle is letting children know that they have some control over their happiness.  That they will experience happiness when they are friendly, kind, caring and cheerful.  These are all choices that we made in our day and they can make a big impact on how we experience life.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Defining Happiness.  Please feel free to share any posts with your friends either by email or on Facebook – or however else one does this these days!  I have a feeling this one may only be shared with your children or grandchildren – but I hope not!

Bye- bye!  Thanks for visiting!

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