“Look inside the green heart of Paris and you will see the exquisite beauty of one of the world’s most cherished places. That beauty quickens the love of life and stirs our desire for more. People—travelers—always want to come back to Paris again and again.”

—Susan Cahill, Hidden Gardens of Paris: A Guide to the Parks, Squares, and Woodlands of the City of Light

“There is but one Paris and however hard living may be here, and if it became worse and harder even—the French air clears up the brain and does good—a world of good.”

—Vincent Van Gogh

Preparations for my trip to Paris and points beyond have reached a fever pitch at Chez Catching Happiness. In only TWO days I’ll be jetting—la-di-dah—across the Atlantic. I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little scared, though mostly I’m excited and very much looking forward to it.

Since I’ll be gone for three weeks, here’s what’s going to happen with Catching Happiness:  I’ve scheduled some quotes to appear as usual on Fridays. I’ll have limited internet access, so forgive me if I don’t respond to comments. I’ll likely be posting to Instagram while I’m gone if any of you follow me there, and will be thrilled to share all my simple pleasures and everyday adventures once I get home and settled. Because of the length and timing of the trip, there will also be no Happy Little Thoughts newsletter in October. 

This trip feels like a life-changing event, as my trip to Greece was so many years ago. I’m looking forward to seeing who I am when I return.

So au revoir for now, and I wish you a very happy month of October! 

“Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.”

—Rumi 

I just posted some pretty pictures on Instagram from a walk I took with Luna last week. Instead of sharing the photo of the Big Gulp cup floating in the pond, I shared the photo of the egret. Instead of the dead palmetto fronds, I posted a photo of Luna on her leash. I edited the walk to share only the most attractive sights.

If you look at my Instagram feed, you’ll see it consists of 99.9% pretty or happy things. That’s not because my life doesn’t have its unbeautiful moments, or because I’m trying to project an image of “perfection.” I guarantee you would find many messes in my house, yard, and mind were you to pop in unannounced.

On Instagram and on Catching Happiness, I choose to focus on and share the positive, the beautiful, the uplifting—the simple pleasures and everyday adventures of this blog’s tagline. I don’t believe you, Gentle Reader, come to a blog named Catching Happiness to ponder the scandal or atrocity du jour.

So even though life isn’t perfect, or unfailingly lovely, I will continue to actively look for and share the moments and things that are lovely, because lucky for me (us) there are many to be found.

This is my choice, one I make again and again. And yours, too, if you continue to visit Catching Happiness, which I very much hope you do!

We often can’t help what’s happening to us and around us. We can, however, choose what we focus on, what we emphasize, what we think about most often. As Steve Gleason said, sometimes it’s a difficult choice, but I’m making it.

How about you?