Delight

I took one of those quizzes on facebook...you know, the ones that tell you which Grease character you are or which color M&M you are or which reality show you are destined to win...I don't really know why I take these...I guess in some way I want my fortune told, or I want some random quiz maker to have such incredible insight that the result of the quiz will tell me just who I am.  One that I took the other day actually struck a chord.  It was a quiz to determine what my happy word was. And after 5 or 7 questions, it was determined mine was 'delight'. Why did this strike a chord? Why did I actually sit and let that sink in instead of continuing to scroll down the news feed?

What I often end up doing a lot these days is looking up definitions of words that I have known since I started learning how to read.  As I advance in age, I realize that my memory isn't so great but I also realize that even everyday, mundane things have fresh meaning since I have 43 years of experiences to reference. So off I went to discover just what 'delight' means. I don't use that word so often...I know I say delightful when something or someone has been especially pleasing to me. But what of 'delight'?  Why is this a happy word?  Why is this MY happy word?


According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary, delight as a noun is

: a strong feeling of happiness : great pleasure or satisfaction

: something that makes you very happy : something that gives you great pleasure or satisfaction

and as a verb is

: to make (someone) very happy : to give (someone) great pleasure or satisfaction

I certainly like having a strong feeling of happiness...AND great pleasure and satisfaction...HELLO!! ;)  Yes, I am liking this 'delight' thing...I'm thinking this is definitely a good happy word!  And then, to delight...yes, I love to make people happy...sometimes to my detriment. I am definitely a people pleaser.  And if I sense that someone is not happy with me, or I am not meeting their expectations, it is a huge difficulty for me.  I never want to let anyone down.  Problem is, I do...we all do.  People let me down.  No matter how hard we try, and what our intentions are, none of us are perfect so we are going to come up short sometimes in our efforts.  

But about this 'delight' thing...I couldn't help but smile just at the thought of the word.  It is a pleasing word to say...a pleasing word to read.  It sounds and looks happy!  Look at what's in it...'light'.  Way back when I remember singing "This little light of mine...I'm gonna let it shine..."  So often I let my worries and fears overshadow the fact that I have light within me.  I do want to make others happy...not because of what I can do for them, but by helping them find their light.  We all have light.  We are capable of delighting in things and helping others experience delight. 

Here's what the quiz maker said about my happy word, and about 'me':

        "You are happy because you are engaged in and curious about the world. The smallest things lift your spirits. You love that life is full of surprises. You can always see what's extraordinary in an ordinary day. You are whimsical and unpredictable. You like to shake things up a lot and have fun every day. Your friends can always count on you to make them smile. You are a delight yourself."

What a silly little quiz.