Being Together

When it comes to happiness, togetherness is probably the most common cause of such feelings.

Being together means more than just close proximity. It means doing together, too. Reading together, traveling together, doing projects together and playing together.

Make plans and goals and dreams together. It is especially fun to dream together! Have a night out on the town. Go to dinner and a play. Windowshop some. Have reservations at a hotel where you will not be disturbed by your outside world until tomorrow. Then stay up late. Spend the time talking and planning and playing. Leave your cell phones off.

"Sure", you say. "What about personal time?"

Well....Everyone needs their own time alone, too. Time for personal growth and development. But that is not the topic of discussion, here. Maybe some other time.

For now, we are talking about when you are together, and being together when you are together!

It may sound silly, but you can then spend some time coloring together. Yes. It is a bit different. But try it....you may like it!

Be creative! Come up with some new ideas you have never tried together before. Go somewhere you have never been. It doesn't have to be far away. Visit an art museum. Or even the local college natural history museum or collection.

Go to a park and sit in the shade of a tree and brainstorm together. Find out what you both have always longed to do but have never discussed before because it seemed so silly!

Do something. Do anything. But remember the main point, here: When you are together, be together!

Bob Curtis has been writing articles, short fiction and poetry for over 30 years. He is the managing director of http://www.People4People.blogspot.com and is the president of Nexus Publishing (nexus4u.blogspot.com). He assists with Blue Romance (http://www.moonlitefire), a site promoting "positive" romance.

MORE RESOURCES:

Lessons in Gross National Happiness - Wall Street Journal

In Pursuit of Happiness: Elizabeth#39;s Story, #39;Why Won#39;t You Help Me?#39; - WSAW

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34834324.htmlcid=1272686015ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNGtbMWdXMyP81qL6ZVKW3XKvja1tgIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Elizabeth#39;s Story, #39;Why Won#39;t You Help Me?#39;/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWSAW,nbsp;WInbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Continuing our series, #39;In Pursuit of bHappiness/b,#39; Liz Hayes shares Elizabeth#39;s story. She#39;s a woman who contacted her church when she discovered she was in b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34833574.htmlcid=1272686015ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNEes7FH7ODuks-jsUKb2mzYjUUfcAIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: No Stereotypical Abusers or Victims/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34835154.htmlcid=1272686015ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNH2sxrkiryT0w9gAdZDY1F6wN61igIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Messages of Hope/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272686015hl=ennobrall 3 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

For Caps#39; Ovechkin, it#39;s all about the pursuit of happiness - Los Angeles Daily News

In Pursuit of Happiness: Davene#39;s Story, A Lifetime of Abuse - WSAW

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34771089.htmlcid=1272373351ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNHbpcP0zlWxuD0fpQeelmmJvNsyGwIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Davene#39;s Story, A Lifetime of Abuse/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWSAW,nbsp;WInbsp;-/font nobrNov 19, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1In her series, quot;In Pursuit of bHappiness/b,quot; Liz Hayes shows us how one woman overcame unbelievable obstacles. quot;This is how I look at my life. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34772199.htmlcid=1272373351ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNHyF360IjuDJnod3eztinFgVmwS1wIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: quot;Erica#39;squot; Story, Childhood Bliss to Abuse/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-2fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34772464.htmlcid=1272373351ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNFuQUZEyTy-dN_h5dXjVJveuWv92gIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Domestic Violence Kills/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-3fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34741099.htmlcid=1272373351ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNHLbRXVdAmmyD0jmOB-KTJrVC1aWgIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b Part 1: 1 in 4 Women Experience Domestic b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272373351hl=ennobrall 4 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

How would you rate your happiness? - Marie Claire.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.thesmartset.com/news/news11200805.aspxcid=1272643769ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNEafZomj6PbgR09alA0H5OVJPfdrwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=vdkrDiRczuAJimgurl=www.thesmartset.com/files/dailynews/images/CPS.OGM58.191108223140.photo00.quicklook.default-245x166.jpg width=80 height=54 alt= border=1brfont size=-2The Smart Set/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/health/282982/how-would-you-rate-your-happiness.htmlcid=1272643769ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNHV0o8I5C7vtkqBiT1ktNBkncyz6AHow would you rate your bhappiness/b?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarie Claire.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Putting a figure on bhappiness/b is a difficult thing to do, but a new study shows most Britons rate their bhappiness/b at 7.8 on a scale of one to 10. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-1fd=Rurl=http://www.thesmartset.com/news/news11200805.aspxcid=1272643769ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNEafZomj6PbgR09alA0H5OVJPfdrwDanes happiest, Bulgarians most miserable: EU lifestyle study/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Smart Set/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-2fd=Rurl=http://www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/hungarians_t-4/%3FcHash%3D334821f322cid=1272643769ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNFV9e_2wFbjrnCEPeIDYcd6kK-TvQHungarians third quot;glummestquot; in Europe/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCaboodle.hu/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-3fd=Rurl=http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/11/20/EU_Danes_most_satisfied_Bulgarians_least/UPI-86721227209368/cid=1272643769ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNEaxGbKL5pGjDYWyjpceCnHiL7fyQEU: Danes most satisfied, Bulgarians least/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrUnited Press International/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-4fd=Rurl=http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_71094288cid=1272643769ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNHpAigpVy9-IT34XZ37uKdKXMheVQnobrNews.bg/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272643769hl=ennobrall 10 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The history of happiness - Telegraph.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087793/Are-miseries-Europe-You-having-laugh-.htmlcid=1272522368ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNGhUzCtlq9kohHS2DVyYsYExsTuKwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=ghnSdmH7jsIJimgurl=i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/20/article-1087793-0289FAE2000005DC-816_468x386.jpg width=80 height=66 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Daily Mail/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/opinion/2008/11/20/do2009.xmlcid=1272522368ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNFIjOn-gk7sGgtqOwDSO1HRfoNnMgThe history of bhappiness/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTelegraph.co.uk,nbsp;United Kingdomnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1I#39;ve been thinking about bhappiness/b recently because I#39;ve just read Christopher Jamison#39;s fascinating Finding bHappiness/b. The simple idea of this friendly b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-1fd=Rurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087793/Are-miseries-Europe-You-having-laugh-.htmlcid=1272522368ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNGhUzCtlq9kohHS2DVyYsYExsTuKwAre we the miseries of Europe? You must be having a laugh.../a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDaily Mail/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-2fd=Rurl=http://newslite.tv/2008/11/20/brits-are-78-percent-happy.htmlcid=1272522368ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNHAg2pK5JefVpkT99IQD1OCwik6OABrits are 78 percent happy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNewsLite/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-3fd=Rurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3485876/Britons-rate-their-happiness-at-7.8-study-shows.htmlcid=1272522368ei=e14mSanbEYqWyATK8tFNusg=AFQjCNFufUuKLyRz86kmZ2SII64aBV3BlwBritons rate their bhappiness/b at 7.8, study shows/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTelegraph.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272522368hl=ennobrall 13 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Forty years of health, happiness and hoops - Northwest Asian Weekly

Obama’s call to service meets the economic meltdown - Xenia Gazette

Make your holiday happiness checklist - Libertyville Review

Economic growth doesn#39;t guarantee happiness for Latin Americans - The Miami Herald

Happiness - Google News

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