FINDING HAPPINESS IN THE NOW: AN INTERIOR JOURNEY — A REVIEW — NOV. 6

How does one person explore the core of family, home, and the life around her to discover the hidden treasures that are there, right in front of her? In Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life, Gretchen Rubin systematically takes a closer look at her vow to “Be Gretchen,” and thus extend the truths she discovered in her book The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun to the interior and exterior world right in front of her.

She takes the project a month at a time: in September, she looks at Possessions and finding a true simplicity. In October, she examines Marriage and finding ways to prove her love. November is the month to discover Parenthood aspects, like paying attention.

Moving outward from the interior world of her apartment to the neighborhood; finding treasures around her; and creating secret places, while also discovering her own causes, the author inspired me to take another look at my own world. Seeing it through fresh eyes.

I love that we can find our own happiness by examining our true desires, wishes, and passions.

I enjoyed this passage:

“My home was a reflection of myself, so the work I did to make my home more homey was actually an extended exercise in self-knowledge. To be more at home at home, I had to know myself, and face myself. This was the way to true simplicity: to be myself, free from affectation, posturing, or defensiveness.”

I recommend this book for those who enjoyed The Happiness Project, as well as for anyone who loves finding their true passion and the joy it brings. Five stars.