Happiness in Simplicity Poems
Exploring how happiness often comes from the simple joys in life, as reflected in these poems.
Poet: Edgar A. Guest
The roads of happiness are not
The selfish roads of pleasure seeking,
Where cheeks are flushed with haste and hot
And none has time for kindly speaking.
But they're the roads where lovers stray,
Where wives and husbands walk together
And children romp along the way
Whenever it is pleasant weather.
The roads of happiness are trod
By simple folks and tender-hearted,
By gentle folks that worship God
And want to live their days unparted.
There kindly people stop and talk,
Regardless of the chase for money,
There, arm in arm, the grown-ups walk
And every eye you see is sunny.
The roads of happiness are lined,
Not with the friends of royal splendor,
But with the loyal friends and kind
That do the gentle deeds and tender.
There fame has never brought unrest
Nor glory set men's hearts to aching;
There unabandoned is life's best
For selfish love and money making.
The roads of happiness are those
That do not lead to pomp and glory
But wind among the joys and woes
That make the humble toiler's story.
The roads that oft we used to tread
In early days when first we mated,
When hearts were light and cheeks were red,
And days were not with burdens freighted.
by Drummond
Half the world is on the wrong scent
in the pursuit of happiness.
They think it consists in having and getting,
and in being served by others.
It consists in giving and in serving others.
Poet: Catherine Pulsifer
A job, a car, a house, or two
Are they the things that bring happiness to you?
Where do I find this happiness thing?
Can someone to me it bring?
Does it mean I will laugh a lot?
Or, does it mean riches will never part
Is it a thing or just a feeling
Like being hot or absolutely freezing?
Where do I find this happiness?
They say it is like gold, so precious.
Look no further than in your heart
It is how you feel and what you impart.
You see if you are content with life
If you brush off the strife
And find joy in the little things
You will find happiness will sing.
Your attitude plays a role too
It is the lens you view life through
Is your focus on the positive
Or, do you only see the negative?
You choose with heart and mind
Whether you find happiness or whether you stay blind.
Open your eyes, count your blessings that surround
And you will find a happiness that compounds.
Related: Simplicity Poem
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Happiness in the Power of Kindness and Giving Poems
Understanding how acts of kindness and generosity lead to deep happiness, expressed in these poems.
Poet: Daniel C. Colesworthy
Let us do good. How sweet the thought,
We have the wretched blest —
Threw smiles upon a clouded brow,
And sunshine in the breast
To know we've dried a single tear,
And made one moment bright —
Or struck a feeble spark to cheer
The darkest hour of night —
Will give to us more joy at last
Than Caesar's triumphs gave;
The memory of such deeds will live
In worlds beyond the grave.
Then in the little sphere we move,
Let kindness touch the heart;
While every word shall lead to love
And happiness impart.
by Maurice Materlinck
Let us never forget that an act of goodness
is of itself an act of happiness.
No reward coming after the event
can compare with the sweet reward
that went with it.
Let your task be to render yourself worthy of love,
and this even more for your own happiness
than for that of another’s.
Poet: Nannie H. Woodruff
I hold that human happiness,
If built on self, is nothing worth
That bliss translated means to bless
Some other denizen of earth.
The selfish man who lives alone
For greed of gain for paltry pelf,
Knows not his heart has turned to stone
That blindly he defrauds himself.
He might have won a wealth of love
By kindly acts and words of cheer
And joy, all other joys above
A needy neighbor's grateful tear.
For deeds of loving kindness will
In reflex influence return
To render kind hearts kinder still,
To make love's flame still brighter burn.
Who solely lived to please himself
E'er aught but disappointment found?
Pleasure's a sly, deceitful elf,
Who hides her chains until you're bound.
Oh, men are dull of heart and cold,
And find His lesson hard to learn
Who came the secret to unfold
How peace is found for which they yearn.
Love's the fulfilling of the law,
For love is law, and law is love;
If our old earth this mandate saw
Fulfilled, 'twould be like heaven above.
Then build your hope of happiness
Upon the rock of His command
Who gave His all your life to bless,
Or find you've built upon the sand.
Related: Kindness Poems | Giving Poems
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Inner Peace and Self-Reflection for Happiness Poems
Discovering the connection between self-reflection and finding inner peace for happiness, as illustrated in these poems.
by William Arthur Ward
Happiness is our heritage when
Faith becomes our constant companion;
Self-discipline our tireless teacher;
Integrity our competent coach;
Truth our trusted tutor;
Discernment our careful critic;
Optimism our able advisor;
Goodness our gifted guide;
Beauty our infallible inspiration;
And love our blissful benediction.
Poet: T. L. Cuyler
Bear in mind that your happiness or your misery
is very much of your own making.
You cannot create spiritual sunlight any more than
you can create the morning star;
but you can put your soul where Christ is shining.
Keep a clean conscience.
Keep a good stock of God's promises within reach.
Keep a nightingale of hope in your soul that
can sing away the dark hours when they do come.
Poet: Julie Hebert, © 2012
When you feel,
Life isn't true.
Keep in mind,
Life's truth is you.
You make your path,
From here to there.
It's up to you,
To dream and care.
No one else can,
Make you happy.
So get right on it,
And make it snappy.
Life's too short,
To waste your day.
I truly hope,
You get out and celebrate today!
Related: Life Journey Poems
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The Joy of Connection Poems
Celebrating the happiness that comes from meaningful relationships and connections, highlighted in these poems.
Poet: Unknown
As I stumble through this life,
Help me create more laughter than tears,
Dispense more happiness than gloom,
Spread more cheer than despair.
Never let me become so indifferent,
That I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of the child.
Or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,
Make them feel happy, and forget momentarily,
all the unpleasantness in their lives.
And in my final moment, may I hear you whisper:
When you made my people smile, you made me smile.
Happiness Quotes
by Priscilla Leonard
Happiness is like a crystal,
Fair and exquisite and clear,
Broken in a million pieces,
Shattered, scattered far and near.
Now and then along life's pathway,
Lo! some shining fragments fall;
But there are so many pieces
No one ever finds them all.
You may find a bit of beauty,
Or an honest share of wealth,
While another just beside you
Gathers honor, love or health.
Vain to choose or grasp unduly,
Broken is the perfect ball;
And there are so many pieces
No one finds them all.
Yet the wise as on the journey,
Treasure every fragment clear,
Fit them as they may together,
Imaging the shattered sphere,
Learning ever to be thankful,
Though their share of it is small;
For it has so many pieces
No one ever finds them all.
Poet: Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I have lost the road to happiness,
Does any one know it, pray?
I was dwelling there when the morn was fair,
But somehow I wandered away.
I saw rare treasures in scenes of pleasures,
I ran to pursue them, when lo!
I had lost the path to happiness,
And knew not whither to go.
I have lost the way to happiness,
O, who will lead me back?
Turn off from the highway of selfishness
To the right, up duty's track.
Keep straight along, and you can't go wrong;
For as sure as you live, I say,
The fair lost fields of happiness
Can only be found that way.
Related: Poems About Joy
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Happiness Through Positivity Poems
Embracing a positive mindset as a key to sustained happiness, featured in these uplifting poems.
Poet: Unknown
Smile, and the world smiles with you,
Knock and you go alone;
For the cheerful grin
Will let you in
Where the kicker is never known.
Growl, and the way looks dreary;
Laugh, and the path is bright,
For the welcome smile
Brings sunshine, while
A frown shuts out the light.
Sing, and the world's harmonious!
Grumble, and things go wrong.
Yet all the time
You are out of rhyme
With the busy, bustling throng.
Kick, and there's trouble brewing;
Whistle, and life is gay.
And the world's in tune
Like a day in June,
And sorrow will melt away.
Poems About Laughter
by Kay Cammer
I live each hour
As I find it.
This hour is lovely -
Those behind it
Were sometimes minus
Warm smiles or bliss
But I'm unconcerned;
I'll never miss,
Or waste time over,
What-might-have-beens,
Happiness is now
When the hour begins.
Poet: Julie Hebert, © 2012
I can tell you,
One true thing,
What good is winter,
If there is no spring?
I can tell you,
Another great thing,
What good is a voice,
If you will not sing?
I can tell you,
One more thing,
What good is a swing,
If the children they won't bring?
There are many things in this world,
That are made better by another.
So next time you are feeling blue,
Find your other, and see it through.
Related: Positive Poems
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Gratitude and Contentment Poems
How practicing gratitude and contentment enhances our sense of happiness, as portrayed in these poems.
Poet: William Henry Channing
To live content with small means;
To seek elegance rather than luxury,
And refinement rather than fashion,
To be worthy, not respectable,
And wealthy, not rich;
To study hard, think quietly,
Talk gently, act frankly,
To listen to stars and birds,
To babes and sages,
With open heart,
To bear all cheerfully,
To all bravely await occasions,
Hurry never.
In a word, to let the spiritual unbidden
And unconscious grow up through the common.
This is to be my symphony.
by Francis M. Scott
If you can to some others give
A happy hour,
It will be happiness for you,
A fragrant flower.
Poet: George Eliot
It is only a poor sort of happiness that could ever come
By caring very much about our own narrow pleasures.
We can only have the highest happiness by having wide thoughts,
And much feeling for the rest of the world,
As well as ourselves;
And this sort of happiness often brings so much pain with it
That we can only tell it from pain by its being what
We would choose before everything else,
Because our souls see it is good.
Related: Gratitude Poems | Poems About Contentment
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The Role of Faith in Happiness Poems
Reflecting on how faith can foster lasting happiness, as captured in these poems.
Poet: Catherine Pulsifer, © 2020
Many people are looking for
Happiness behind any door
Happiness they want to find
Happiness of any kind.
Happiness is not something outside
It is an attitude you can provide
Your happiness is not down the road
And, it doesn't mean an easy load.
Happiness is found in you
How you look at life and what you do
You decide each day, you see
How happy you will be?
by James Lane Allen
All high happiness has in it some element of love;
all love contains a desire for peace.
One immediate effect of new happiness is to make us
turn toward the past with a wish to straighten out its difficulties,
heal its breaches and forgive its wrongs.
Poet: Grenville Kleiser
The road to daily happiness
Is not so hard to find,
You walk ahead serenely
And leave your cares behind.
A word of cheer upon your lips
A ready hand to give,
A smiling face, a snatch of song
Will help you well to live.
The love you give to others
The good that you may do,
The helping hand you proffer
Will bring happiness to you.
The road to daily happiness
Is not so hard to find,
It's what you do for others
That brings true peace of mind.
Related: Poems About Faith
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