What song puts you in your happy place? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
We often have lofty ideas about happiness – that we would be happier if we made more money, lost weight, lived in a bigger home or drove a nicer car. But if we’re being honest, deep down we know that happiness is in the eye of the beholder and fleeting.
So instead of setting our sights on happiness, African American psychiatrist Gregory Scott Brown, MD, suggests that feeling fulfilled is the goal.
Unlike happiness, fulfillment is a state of being. It is achieved when you accept who you are, make the most of what you have and are optimistic about the future.
“Emotions such as happiness and sadness aren’t supposed to last. They come and go,” Brown explains in an article for the Washington Post.
He adds, “Unlike happiness, fulfillment is a state of being. It is achieved when you accept who you are, make the most of what you have and are optimistic about the future.”
Now that’s a whole word that could take some of the self-imposed pressure off and shift our focus to finding comfort and joy in life’s simple pleasures like spending cherished moments with our families, significant others, children, fur babies and dearest friends. These are the moments that matter the most and make us “Happy.”
Scroll down to enjoy the playlist
Music can also be a motivational and mood-boosting source of cheerfulness. To help keep “A Happy Song” in your heart, Sisters has refreshed this “Black Girl Joy” playlist with more uplifting, inspirational and good vibrations-filled songs by some of our favorite artists. New additions to the upbeat mix include Ledisi with “Good Life,” Beyoncé with “Blackbird,” Prince with The Song of the Heart,” Maze featuring Frankie Beverly with “Happy Feelin’s,” Angie Stone with “Happy Being Me,” and Stevie Wonder with “Happier Than the Morning Sun.”
Do you still need incentive not to worry and to be happy (or fulfilled, as the case may be)? As only the Queen of Soul can, Aretha Franklin beckons us to “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” Patti LaBelle invites us to seize a “New Day,” Gladys Knight & The Pips offer encouragement to “Make Yours a Happy Home,” and Billy Porter and Cyndi Lauper join forces to deliver a moving medley of the standards “Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy” (previously belted by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland).
To help us let go and let our higher power take over, Gloria Gaynor reminds us that “Joy Comes in the Morning;” Ann Nesby’s “So Much Joy” makes us clap, shout and do a church lady stomp; and Kelly Price and the Clark Sisters brighten our outlook with “You Brought the Sunshine.”
Reinforcing the joyful theme, we get a double dose of Mary J. Blige with her self-love anthem “Be Happy” and her hip-hop soul spin on Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed,” Anita Baker’s velvety smooth soprano warms us from the inside out on her classic “You Bring Me Joy,” and on “(Never Gonna) Steal My Joy” dearly departed American Idol alum Mandisa proclaims, “the world may try, but they’re never gonna steal my joy.”
Even in the face of obstacles and setbacks, our unsinkable resilience, pride and spirit shine through. As Deniece Williams offers on “Black Butterfly,” “Set the skies on fire. Rise up even higher. So the ageless winds of time can catch your wings.”
So push play and let this joyful playlist – packed with nearly three hours of music – inspire you to remain “Optimistic.” Remember, “As long as you keep your head to the sky, you can win.”
What song puts you in your happy place? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
