100 Happy Days

I was sceptical at first, but also intrigued by the loveliness of the idea- every day for 100 days take a picture of something that made you happy. On the website they suggest cake is a viable picture option; OK, I can do this, I have permission to take pictures of my food in the strive towards happiness. BRING IT ON!
The concept is delightfully simple, by recognising moments of happiness you are moving towards living in the moment and becoming happier and more satisfied with your life.

I started on Thursday, one of Melbourne's hotter days with the mercury set to reach 44C. I had a 10 hour shift in The Wine Shop With No Wine and also no air-conditioning- this was going to be tougher than I thought.

But it wasn't.

Because I knew I had to take a photo of something that made me happy, I looked for happiness everywhere I went: the wonderful book I am reading (The Juice: Vinous Veritas by Jay McInerney), the realisation that if I practised being perfectly still the heat affected me less, my delight in achieving stillness- something I used to enjoy when I was acting but have little time for now. Silly little things that made me feel content.

The market invoked their heat policy and allowed voluntary closure as the temperature approached 43C so I got an early mark. I took a picture of the air-conditioning vents in the blissfully cool cocoon of the train carriage. While I waited on the platform for my connection at Flinders St Station in the sizzling heat I took pleasure in the trickle of sweat down my spine, the way it tickled my skin, and how cool it felt when the tiniest of breezes stirred.

I was getting all caught up with being in the moment when a truly beautiful thing happened: an elderly man walked past pushing a walker, the handles threaded through the frame of a child's bike, and an esky resting on the seat. He was wearing a long sleeved high-vis vest and long fitted boxer shorts as his outer-garment, giving me the impression that he was down on his luck. As my thoughts turned to his welfare in the heat, a guy nearby jogged over and handed him a cool bottle of water. Such a simple gesture and possibly one of the most compassionate things I have ever seen. I thought about taking a picture but didn't, instead I took a minute to appreciate the moment of kindness and resolved that there was some exceptional people out there and that I would like to become one of them.

So, day 1 down cherished. I urge you to play along at 100happydays.com. There are options to make your pictures public or private, it doesn't have to be a social networking thing. If you want to follow my progress then Like my new Facebook Page

I make no apologies for the number of cake pictures you are about to see on your newsfeed :)