Fifty years of learning what happiness means to me 🎈

The autumn series - day 2.

Hello, love.

Today is my 50th birthday!

And, I must be honest, it is super hard to comprehend that I am celebrating 50 revolutions around the sun. Not because I feel old, rather because I don’t feel old at all. Or, 50 doesn’t feel old. It feels amazing, actually. But, it also feels like a huge shift. More than a milestone. A deep shift. Like crossing over a threshold, and beginning again.

To be fully transparent with you, I am writing this on Friday the 20th, because in just a couple of hours my wife and I are boarding our flight to Scotland, where we will be for the next five days. Gaaah. It’s going to be such a magical celebration. Autumn in Scotland, the home of my ancestors.

Still, I couldn’t let my birthday slip by, without taking some time to gather my thoughts and put them in a little letter to you.

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Earlier this week, I ran across a Substack note by the always lovely

Anna Rose

that inspired me deeply. A simple list of things that made her happy, or rather things that she thought would make her happy and things that actually make her happy.

I decided immediately that I wanted to create a similar list - as a mini celebration for both my birthday and for welcoming the return of autumn. It feels like the perfect way to gather some of the lessons I’ve learned about life over the past 50 years.

So, without further ado, here’s my list:

Things I thought would make me happy

• Putting others first

• Being popular and having a large group of friends

• Keeping the peace at all costs

• Having a title

• Sleeping till lunch

• Avoiding darkness, negativity, and pain

• Being an extrovert

• Fitting in

• Being an ordained minister

• Following the footsteps of others (literally)

What actually makes me happy

• Making my voice heard and sharing my opinions

• Setting boundaries

• Observing (and creating) traditions

• Having a vision

• Rising early for a slow morning of solitude

• Embracing my own power and magic and gifts

• Writing and teaching and speaking

• Intimate gatherings with good food, wine, and candles

• Embracing the truth that dark and the light, grief and love coexist

• Meaningful work

• Creating my own path in life

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I could sit here and let all of the lessons and thoughts from the past 50 years spill out of me. And I am so tempted to do that. But, I want to keep this short and simple. That just feels right.

So, I will bid you farewell now and be in touch with you again in a couple of days.

Thank you for being here. And, should you also feel inspired by Anna Rose, please create your own list or share your biggest thoughts about happiness in the comments below.

Lots of love to you.

xoxo. liz.