Let’s start with two disparate pictures and a piece of a poem.

Here is a photo I shot in a public square in The Hague one cold snowy day.

click image for larger view

© Elizabeth Harper Neeld

I was smitten by these two dogs. Not only by their beauty–with their sleek ginger-red coats and matching blue collars—but also by the almost identical stance they took when they ate. I stood in front of these elegant animals, who gave no sign that a human being was anywhere near them, and wondered: what causes both of these dogs to turn their heads the same way when they eat? To twist their bodies in similar directions? To eat at a pace that keeps both of their heads in the bowl at the same time in an almost identical position? (more…)

Last October I had the pleasure of being on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan for the first time. You probably remember that beautiful place and the majestic Grand Hotel from the 1980’s movie “Somewhere in Time.” Christopher Reeves plays the part of a playwright who falls in love with the picture of a beautiful woman and chooses to leave current time to go back to 1912 to be with her. If you have seen the movie, you remember the beautiful cliffs, the sparkling water of the Straits of Mackinac and the horses and carriages (which are still the only way to get around the island unless one walks. No cars allowed.)

One afternoon during my stay on the Island I was using a narrow dirt path to go from the West Bluff down through Marquette Park to the main street of the village. I had been up on the bluff admiring some of the wonderful old homes from the 19th century with their bay windows, unusual roof lines, and high wooden steps. As I began my walk back to the village the weather turned. What began as a sprinkle turned into a full-blown rain gale before I got back to the hotel. So I was both hurrying and being careful as I walked down the sloping path.
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Walking through the Mauritshuis museum in the Haag in the Netherlands a couple of years ago, I came upon this jovial painting by Jan Steen (1629-1679), a Dutch painter from the 1600s who is considered a national treasure in the Netherlands. I have enjoyed Steen’s paintings for years, especially his scenes of family life and household activities. There always seems to be a joke hovering somewhere around a Steen picture…but, interestingly enough, there is usually—if one looks closely enough to see it—a serious message offered to the viewer also. (more…)

Elizabeth Tashjian, age 94, just died.

Elizabeth was an expert.

She was an expert on nuts.

The headline of her obituary in The Sunday New York Times read:Elizabeth Tashjian, 94, An Expert on Nuts, Dies.

I laughed out loud when I read that headline, laughed with happiness for this woman whom I had never heard of who had focused her life on something she was absolutely crazy about studying: nuts. (more…)

When I did the research for my book, Tough Transitions, I enjoyed learning about all the investigations that are going on to try to determine how people can increase their experience of happiness.

There’s a lot of information to read on this subject, and all of it is fascinating.

One thing that some researchers have suggested is that each of us has an individual “happiness thermostat” and that each person’s thermostat is stuck at that person’s basic setting. What this means is that when both good or bad things happen in an individual’s life, the individual will eventually adapt to both kinds of events and return to the same basic happiness thermostat setting that the person is accustomed to.

But some studies disagree with this assertion. These studies suggest that we can get our personal happiness thermostat unstuck by thinking particular ways and doing specific things. We can increase our experience of happiness by the thoughts we focus on and the actions we take. (more…)