365(+1) Happiness Photo Project 2012

I'll tell you a secret. I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to do with my 365 (+1) photos until I did it. There are so many possibilities: A collage to post on the blog, a scrapbook or album, a framed art piece, a video or a simple slideshow. I was reserving the right to change my mind because I'm indecisive. I thought I'd probably do a video but didn't have a vision.  Usually I find during the creative process that the ideas come to me as I work so I was hoping that would happen in this case.  In the end I decided on a video and I am happy with the results and I hope you enjoy it too.

You might be wondering if I'm happier because of this project. Honestly I'm not sure I am because there are so many facets to what we call "happiness".  I do think this project gave me more insight into the things that make me happy and the things that don't. That is helpful information if I choose to use it.  In addition to the photo project I did a private Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin style, with a different area of focus each month. That was good because I did get things done which pleased my inner task master, that is, until I got to the busy months from October - December when I realized just how much of my time is spent on birthdays and holidays. I can pretty much write off those 3 months. Then there was the daily journal which did give me some insight into my inner thought processes. Some of the things I learned during the whole process this year are:

• It's the little things that bring the most joy.
• Most days are really ordinary.
• There is a lot more good hidden in our days than we realize.
• There is a lot of drudgery too, and that is unavoidable so you can't let it get you down.
• I'm not as good of a photographer as I'd like.
• My husband's work schedule really sucks. (Sorry honey.)
• I'm a serious home body and pretty happy that way.
• I like to get things done.
• My world revolves around my kids.
• Having a medically complex child with special needs takes up a lot of my time and energy. (Okay I already knew that, but now I'm really sure.)
• I like food a lot. (Food for thought: If you are what you eat does this mean I really like myself?)

Now that you've seen the video, I know some of you are going to be complaining that it moved too fast. Here is the link to Shutterfly where you can view the entire album at your own pace. (I've now added a page at the top called Be Happy where you can find the links to all my posts.)

We watched a slideshow of all 365366 photos on New Year's Day and that was fun. It kind of made me want to continue the photo project in 2013, but I'm trying to resist the urge even though I'm somewhat addicted to the process and keep finding myself thinking "that would make a great happiness photo". (Just as a side note many days there was more than one thing I photographed that made me happy, but in the end I could only pick one photo per day. Often I didn't decide until I did the blog post.) I also think it would be fun to have a book of the photos at the house(through Shutterfly or Blurb). I envision each photo on it's own page with the details I posted about it. That would be 366 pages and that's a big book. It would take some time and would be difficult to share on the blog anyway. I'm not sure if it will ever happen.  My goal for 2013 is get my photos into slideshows and books/albums so I've got my work cut out for me.

A new year is always an exciting opportunity for a fresh start and unlimited possibilities. I wish you all a fabulous 2013 whatever you have planned! But as you try to stick to your resolutions remember what they say: Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.  

I will end with my very favorite happiness quote.

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
― Abraham Lincoln