Balloons & Happiness | February 2023

Dear Friends,

This month I’m sharing a story about happiness. Enjoy!

A professor brought balloons to school. One was given to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The professor then mixed all the balloons. The students were given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one could find their balloon.

At that point the professor told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes everyone had their own balloon. The professor said to the students: ′′These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. However, if we care about other people’s happiness… we will find ours too.”

I just love this story! What if we lived this out in our own lives? It’s so counter-cultural, isn’t it? We live in a world that feeds us messages daily about looking out for ourselves and putting our needs above others.

The reality is that we all have a choice on how we live our lives and how we choose to treat others. My hope & prayer is that this story is a sweet reminder for each of us. Who comes to your mind today that you can reach out to and spread a little happiness? Let’s all do it!

May your life be filled with happiness, may you find joy in spreading happiness and may the happiness you spread cause a ripple effect that has a greater, positive impact in the world around you and beyond!

Love your friend and fellow bearer of goodness,

Rica