A recipe for happiness

 

[Image Credit: digitalart]

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are
Something to do, something to love,
And something to hope for. ~ Joseph Addison

With April 1 around the corner, so are two 30-day personal challenges I’ve set up for myself: make a different salad every day and do something [new] each day that makes me happy. I’ve been reflecting on the latter and drafted a quick list for starters. Although subject to change—depending on my mood and the circumstances—here’s what happiness looks like to me:

1. Iced green tea latte with soy.
2. Volunteer my time.
3. Practice Bikram yoga.
4. Read something for fun.
5. Plan a trip.

The beginnings of a simple list, really. One that makes me realize how easy it is for happiness to become a regular habit. As long as I have something to do, something to love and something to hope for, I’ve got my recipe for a lifetime of happiness.

What are your essentials to being happy every day?

Grammar lesson #8: who’s on first, that’s on second, which is on third?

[Image credit: Stuart Miles]

My earlier writing is filled with the incorrect usage of who and that.  Even now, I oftentimes forget to make the distinction.  Throw in a which and now we’ve got a little more to think about.  Of course, who refers to people; which and that indicate groups or things.

Examples:
She is the woman who I’ve been talking to about my writing.
The company that she works for prepares marketing and social media for its clients.
My article about body image, which I wrote for In With Skin magazine, can be read online or in print.

To understand a bit more about the ins and outs of that and which, just remember that introduces essential clauses, while which presents nonessential clauses.  (Note: essential clauses do not have commas surrounding them, nonessential clauses do.)

Who, that or which word, if any, causes you grief?