If I could have any superpower, I would choose the ability to make people happy. This is what my husband tells me, at least. Sometimes I think I'd prefer being able to fly, so I could escape crappy situations more easily. But he's probably right. There is little that makes me happier than being able to make those around me happy.

I've also been told, by other folks who love me, that it's not healthy to focus so much on the happiness of others.  And that's true, too. There are people who suffer from demons I can't even comprehend, and I realize that nothing I do or say or bake will ever bring them happiness; they have to find that for themselves. For that and other reasons, if I based my happiness on my ability to bring happiness to others, I would often be operating on a loss, with not enough happy to go around.

That's what got me thinking, there might be another way to say this. "Happiness" isn't the right word; when I talk of spreading it, my brain fills with images of myself as a cartoon cupid hitting people with bogus, Caladryl pink arrows. Happiness can sound disingenuous, and it's certainly not always wanted. People who are grieving are not in want of happiness, and neither are those who are suffering with depression, addiction, or the pains that inherently come along with living life. Happiness is no kind of cure.

That being said, the super power I'd really choose would be some kind of love radiation devicDifferent people need different kinds of love, but there isn't a single soul in the world who can exist without love. The best thing?

Not much is required of love. It can be active or passive, forceful or soft. Love can be loquacious, but it can be just as poignant when it is silent. The best thing, I think, about love is that the more of it you give, the more you open yourself up to receive.