In Pursuit of Happinefs

Hope you're well!

I know it's been a long time since we connected, but I have been busy pursuing happinefs. No, that's not really a typo. It's actually how it looks written in our Declaration of Independence. Hang in there. I know it's a doozy, but it's worth it...

On a recent college tour trip, I found myself at Thomas Jefferson's house. Well, we missed the house tour, but we made it to the museum where we saw three copies of the Declaration of Independence. Taking a close look, I noticed these strange "fs" in place of an "s". My first thought was "typo - eeks!"

My son was already googling it before I could wrap my head around two things: 1) Americans declare happiness an unalienable right. While my 8th-grade brain once memorized the words, my 47-year-old brain was just getting it. 2) Typos could happen even in the Declaration of Independence.

Google assured us it wasn't a typo but rather a long "s" that was dropped mid 19th century. Now that we settled that, I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of happiness. Not only that it's our right to be happy, but that pursuing happiness can be messy. And, sometimes in our pursuit, we can make glaring typos that everyone sees. (I do it all the time...I kno.)

We all know that happiness is an emotion we can't hold. And who would want to when there are so many other emotions to experience? I realized then the brilliance of our founding fathers. They didn't simply say we have the right to "life, liberty and happiness." They said "the purfuit." They knew joy was in the journey. Chasing happiness is what makes life life as we veer our course toward those things that light us up. Our founding fathers didn't want us to just be happy, they wanted us to be seekers. They wanted us to try new things. They wanted us to live. And they wanted happiness to be our beacon.

In yoga we call it following your heart. When you honor your heart, you begin to carve out a fulfilling life that is authentic to you. A life filled with happiness as well as maybe upset, guilt, embarrassment, awe, pride and joy. Following the path to happiness isn't always easy. Clearly, no one's a pro when they try new things, so expect rough terrain on the road to happiness.

As some of you know, every four years or so, I morph. Trying new things is food for my soul. While I know there will be cringe-worthy mistakes ahead, I can't help myself. When my heart says go, I go. My newest endeavor led me to new territory. Food. Not virtual food as in my food blog, but real, healthy, organic food THAT'S PREPARED LOCALLY AND DELIVERED WEEKLY! It took a year and a half of dodging many roadblocks, but the idea made my heart leap - so I knew I had to do it.

I'm beyond excited to officially announce the opening of The Bread & Buddha Kitchen. We are 10 weeks old this week! Many thanks to my first customers who have lovingly given me very honest feedback and support. Their joy and appreciation confirm for me that I'm on the right path, despite my mistakes and feeling a bit nervous. While my new job incorporates so many things that bring me joy (health coaching, yoga, writing, web development, marketing, math - yes, I like math - and, of course, food), my favorite part by far is winding my way through the roads I hadn't yet explored and bumping into happiness every time I make a delivery.

As always for fun, I'll leave you with...