Cold, Crowded, and Inconvient – But the Inauguration Is Making Me Very Happy

I’m very HAPPY to be in Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration. Thinking it over, I realize that there are several different aspects of the situation that are boosting my happiness.

First, it’s a happy occasion. Because this is a joyful event, everyone is cheerful, enthusiastic, chatty, and helpful. The huge crowds, the freezing weather, and the logistical difficulties just seem to make the occasion a bigger adventure.

Second, I realize that I rarely participate – directly or as an observer – in big national events. I’ve never been to the Superbowl; I don’t even watch the Superbowl on TV. I don’t follow American Idol. We live less than a mile from the parade route for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and I’ve never been (I have a friend whose family used to come up from New Orleans each year!). But when I do get into the spirit of these kinds of events, I love it. My daughter and I went to a bookstore at midnight to line up for the last Harry Potter book, and that was tremendously fun. Everyone in the country – and throughout the world – is watching the Inauguration, so it’s great to be here, myself.

Third, and the most significant, is the sense of elevation to everyone’s excitement. It’s not like watching the ball drop in Times Square for New Year’s Eve. Whether Barack Obama supporters or not, people seem to share the conviction that something very important has happened: the United States has taken an enormous step to achieve its promise. And the sense of that here in Washington is very powerful.

I feel very lucky to be here – but zoikes, it is cold.

*Interested in starting your own happiness project? If you’d like to take a look at my personal Resolutions Chart, for inspiration, just email me at grubin, then the “at” sign, then gretchenrubin dot com. Just write “Resolutions Chart” in the subject line.

Comments

[Kate]

I'm glad you and your family had fun at today's historical inauguration. Sometimes it's worth it to be able to say you were there. I tend to avoid participation in crowded events, yet I wish I was the type of person to go to them.
As for American Idol, I watched it last week for the first time because I thought if so many people love it, it must be good. Not true.

[Kristi]

Wow - how lucky are you! I would love to be there, sharing this historic moment.

I'm a Canadian, my husband an American, and we live on the beautiful West Coast of Canada.

This morning. to honour Barack Obama, I hung an American flag on our front door.

For those of you who know anything about Canada, that's rather a big deal up here - we don't "do" flags in the same way Americans do, and we certainly aren't known for displaying yours!

Regardless of how successful Barack's Presidency is (and I wish him and all of you, true and deeply-heartfelt wishes that it be so), it is an amazing day of healing when an African-American can proudly stand on the grounds of a former slave marketplace, a place where countless people, his ancestors, were sold into untold misery, and be confirmed as the 44th President of the United States.

Yes, I'm amazed. Yes, I'm inspired. Yes, I have hope for your country (and mine).

And yes, I'm happy - for my husband, for you, for me, for all of us!

[anr]

Nothing to do with the inauguration... but this newsletter from Terry Small came in my inbox and it sounded like something you might find interesting, so I thought I'd pass it along. It's all about the impact of smiling on your brain and on your happiness.

Happy to hear you enjoyed the inauguration. Even up here in Canada people are feeling the ripple effect of the energy and inspiration.

"Smiling has a big impact on your brain.

Sometimes feeling great is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of you feeling great! In fact, rigorous studies show that the simple act of smiling triggers big changes in your brain. Frowning also triggers changes in you brain.

Studies on the brain show that smiling causes people to feel happy. These studies show that smiling causes physiological changes in the brain that cools your blood. This results in you feeling positive. Frowning warms your blood, which causes you to feel negative.

One study found that these changes can even happen by saying the letter "e" and "o" over and over again. Saying the letter "e" forces a slight smile and saying the letter "o" forces a slight frown.

Another study found that people who put a pencil between their teeth feel better than those who put a pencil between their lips. The former forces a slight smile, the later a slight frown.....and the brain follows.

Studies also show that smiling releases t-cells into your body which help keep you from getting sick!

One of my goals for 2009 is to smile more.

Here is a great video to watch on the value of a smile. It is a bit sappy, but it makes a very important point. I really enjoyed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao&eurl=http://www.marketersmojo.com/619/validation/

Have a great week and.....

Remember: "You are a genius!"
Enjoy your brain,
Terry
www.terrysmall.com"

[Louise]

We were so thrilled to have tickets to the inauguration. Like you, I found the crowds happy and fun. Everything leading up to the ceremony was great...until we couldn't get to our gate and ended up stranded outside in a huge crowd without even access to a Jumbotron. (Several thousand Purple gate ticket holders couldn't get in...you can even see them on Google Earth!)

We chose to leave while the Metro was uncrowded, during the ceremony, and it was the most unhappy I've been in years; I even cried (very unusual for me)! Crushing disappointment. Everyone on that train was sad and subdued.

But when we got home, we watched the speech on-line and remembered why we supported Mr. Obama. Then we received an inaugural ball invitation from someone who read our sad blog post. At the ball, I spent most of the evening having a great conversation with a blind woman who happened to have been stood up by her date. We also heard several other stories about being unable to use those precious tickets.

And I'm feeling so much better now. I learned some new things that boosted my happiness: strangers reaching out in kindness (the ball invitation), reaching out to someone else who needed a friend (the blind lady), not feeling alone in our bad luck (listening to the other thwarted ticket holders), and reminding ourselves that missing the party doesn't mean missing the big picture (Obama's speech is the beginning of at least four years of his leadership.)

But ZOICKS! it was cold! :-)

[Louise]

Oh, and another happy moment was being able to accept the ball invitation because we carry formal evening wear with us on our RV (we live in it full-time). I had two warm black velour dresses to choose from and picked one with a fake fur collar. My husband pulled out his snazzy wool tuxedo. Having the right, comfortable, attractive clothes for the event was a happiness booster. We didn't feel like poor church mice when we walked in the door and danced with the other festively-clad guests. Fun!

[FupDuckTV]

Gretchen... Post some of your pictures from being at the event.

Proud of you for coming out of your shell. Who knows, next thing you know you'll be dressing like a Hogwart's Teacher at the next Harry Potter film release.

[Nora]

It's true that participating with others really boosts my happiness too. I had planned to watch the inauguration on in the internet, but my connection froze when Obama took the stage. I threw on a coat, ran to the neighbor's and we watched together. It made me feel more a part of the festivities and less isolated. Perhaps it is the sharing of our emotions that makes us happy.

[Koselara]

If anyone that missed the inauguration is unaware, you can still see everything online from his speech to Aretha Franklin singing. I got the links from Salon.com, they all worked fine in Firefox under Linux...

MSNBC Oath & Address, links to everything else on the left:
http://tinyurl.com/msnbc-obama

CNN, speech all in one video, everything else below:
http://tinyurl.com/cnn-allin1

CNN, speech in sound bites, everything else below:
http://tinyurl.com/cnn-oinbits

[Rene Ramos]

I went to Obama's inauguration. It felt so good -- what an amazing day! I am still riding high on my memories of the day. I only wish I could have plowed my way up much closer. My pics...
http://www.ramosdesign.net/photos/Inauguration_09

[Brian]

My wife and I decided on election night that we were going to the Inauguration one way or another. We live just a few miles from DC, yet many of my neighbors looked at us like we were crazy for attending in person, given the forecast for huge crowds and cold temps.

Standing at the base of the Washington Monument from 8am through the entire ceremony allowed us to witness the gathering of the crowd around and in front of us. Feeling the buildup of enthusiasm and excitement was something I won't soon forget.

But being there was only part of it: planning our Metro/walking route in, researching what we could and couldn't have with us on the mall, and then having it all come together without any problems gave such satisfaction and happiness to both of us. It really added something special to the moment.

[Sonia]

Gretchen, that's marvelous that you were able to come to the inauguration! I live in the DC suburbs and my office is just a few blocks from the White House, but due to child care issues I wasn't able to get into DC for the festivities. No matter - it was just as thrilling watching on TV at home. I'm happy you had such a great experience!

[Tony Gordon]

I lived and died in the construction field. To avoid depression and suicide, I worked hard at finding a job in a lab. Life rules!