Happiness is an inside job.
—William Arthur Ward
In our Declaration of Independence, we celebrate and venerate “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” — not happiness itself, mind you, but instead, the pursuit of happiness. Through the ages, humans have pursued happiness any number of ways.
So, of course, today that includes apps to give you tools and guidance in your modern pursuit of happiness, that elusive moving target we so desire. Here’s 3 for your consideration:
Happify
Touting themselves as “the single destination for effective, evidence-based solutions for better emotional health and wellbeing in the 21st century,” this free app puts activities and games based on “evidence-based interventions in the fields of positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy” at your disposal to help hunt you down some happiness.
Headspace
This app, also free for download, puts tools for meditation in the palm of your hand — via your phone, of course — to help you access the benefits of meditation more easily.
Calm
Tying meditation, breathing, relaxation and sleep together with this app, the folks at Calm offer several exercises as well as a subscription service with additional exercises and structured programs for using them daily.
Finally, a song I often find myself singing from the great Hoyt Axton, offering several simple observations, concluding this guiding truth:
“Everybody got to have ’em some happy.”
Happy Happy-hunting!
Buller's back porch 