Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day!

95

Research shows that re-living your happiest moment is good for you.  So, to celebrate ‘Happy Memory Day‘ (which I made up a few moments ago), I would like everyone to provide a brief description of the happiest moment of their life.

So, fire away….what was you happiest moment?  Perhaps the moment that you would most like to re-live or remember for the rest of your life.  Let’s see whether people list the same types of experiences…..

And for those of you unwilling to describe your memories, does reading the comments below make you feel happy?

95 comments on “Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day!

  1. Pauline says:

    Easy one – the day that my son was born – still the most amazing day of my life!

  2. Jackie says:

    Hummmm…..I think the day that I went to my first theme park with my parents. Great memories even though I was sick.

  3. Malinari says:

    Yep, the births of both our children rank equally – it would be both unfair to rank one child as better :-)

    It’s not possible to witness the birth of your own children and not be completely blown away :-)

  4. ScreamingGreenConure says:

    Probably the day I got my cockatiel. I got a ride from friends to pick him up from the airport and he was attacking the wire grating on his shipping cage. When we got home and I opened the box and held out a hand I expected to get a bite. Instead, he gently felt my finger with his beak, then stepped onto my hand, stretched, and started preening and begging to be petted. It was the first time I’d been around a hand-raised parrot, so I hadn’t expected him to be so confident.

    • Duxall Inarow says:

      Glad to hear that another person fell under the influence of birds, I have numerous feathered kids, and each is a fascinating friend and allows me to see the world through new eyeballs.

      FWIW, Fawkes, a 2-yo African Grey, is right now sitting on my head yelling “Buck Buck BUCKAW! I’m a CHICKEN!.
      ;) Dux

  5. AG says:

    The day I found out my mum was free of cancer.

    The day I saw a puffin in it’s burrow in the west of Scotland.

    The day I met my nephews for the first time.

    The day on holiday in San Francisco where I felt overwhelmingly happy and carefree for no reason in particular, a good song came on the radio and I was suddenly very happy.

  6. JB says:

    Winning the Under-12s basketball final. We won 22-20 and I scored 17 points (or something like that). We beat a team that we lost to a few weeks earlier, and to be honest had more talented players. Anyone who says winning isn’t important in kids sport is wrong. Our whole team put in heaps of practice that season and to win was incredibly rewarding. I’ve won (and lost) plenty of sporting contests since, but that was my first experience of victory.

  7. greavesg says:

    My first time on an aeroplane.

    • Engywuck says:

      Yes! My first lift-off was one of the most fascinating moments ever.

      My happiest memory is the day I get my university-entrance diploma (had the top) and went to the ball with my first girlfriend the same night. WHAT A DAY :-)

  8. I really can’t remember. I can think of numerous bad memories.

    I suppose if I think about it the day my first play was published, or when I won a Best director award at a theatre festival for my directorial debut.

    • cpayne says:

      Dude, I think you should try harder!

      I think being published OR winning an award (from your professional peers) is pretty amazing!!!

  9. pmrgrl says:

    The day my oldest son opened his eyes after being in a coma for 2 wks. The day I found out that lump wasn’t cancer twice the day I stood in the pacific ocean for the first time in Venice beach CA on the 4th of July the day I got my latest job

  10. dave says:

    today mornig when I woke up and didnt feel sick. pretty much the only thing i can remember.

    …alcohol is a hell of a drug.

  11. Anonymous says:

    The day my oldest son opened his eyes after being in a coma for 2 wks.

    The days I found out that lump wasn’t cancer twice

    the day I stood in the pacific ocean for the first time in Venice beach CA on the 4th of July

    the day I got my latest job

  12. pmrgrl says:

    The day my oldest son opened his eyes after being in a coma for 2 wks.

    The days I found out that lump wasn’t cancer twice

    the day I stood in the pacific ocean for the first time in Venice beach CA on the 4th of July

    the day I got my latest job

  13. Rich says:

    Too many to list. Yesterday was a pretty good one. Took a day off work and spent my time with the most wonderful person on the face of the Earth.

  14. Marijke says:

    Ok I also have to say the day my son was born. but I am considering to actually say the day after he was born as the birth itself was hell and took almost 24 hours and he was born 23:20 so the next day I really could enjoy it

  15. Stuart H says:

    Sitting alone in the woods at the age of 10 (playing hide and seek with friends). After a while and over the course of time, various animals came within feet of me; birds, foxes, rabbits, deer even. It felt very magical.

  16. Rich says:

    The day in middle school when all of the girls got a sex education talk and the boys watched The Goonies. Brilliant day.

  17. blutakgirl says:

    Summer of 2008. I had just found out that I had funding to finish off my PhD and I’d met someone who (I thought at the time) would be my life partner. I had lunch with my Mum in the park and then walked in the sunshine back to my work. For a few moments everything felt perfect.

  18. Sara E.M. says:

    Finding out how psychology can improve your life in less than a minute with scientifically proven advice available in the new book, 59 Seconds, by psychologist, magician and author Prof. Richard Wiseman! Now available in US and Canada!

    • Engywuck says:

      LOL, good one :-)
      Now I can say definitely that reading the comments made me feel happy!

  19. Pepijn says:

    The rock festival at Slane Castle in the summer of 2001. The concert was amazing (Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2!), I was there with my best friends, the weather was fantastic (blue skies for a week; the Irish didn’t know what hit them). Traveling back to Dublin exhausted but happy. It was the perfect day. Almost magical.

  20. anon says:

    - a handful of occasions when I felt completely content and happy just sitting around with my friends
    - winning a world championship (and the flow you get from concentrating really hard on a game)
    - the day the student newspaper congratulated me on having written the best dissertation in the history of the university
    - when I lived in the centre of town and my boyfriend at the time played ‘happy birthday’ on his saxophone outside my window without caring what anyone else thought
    - whenver someone carried me (I just love being carried)
    - when I decided I wanted to be with my current boyfriend

  21. lilabyrd says:

    I too was going to say the birth of my children but when thinking about it….it was a royal pain….most recently I would say it was our last family vacation….we decided while I was still able to travel we made our last trip to the cabin in the mountains when my younger son caught his first fish and found gem stones in one of the mines where you pay to get in and you keep what ever you find. Then we went to Chattanooga TN to see Ruby Falls {the tallest under ground water fall, tall as the Empire State Building} and Rock City. Also Look Out Mountain, The Incline Railway and the Tennessee Aquarium showing a special on Sea Horses. Being sick made the trip hard but I am glad we did it and I loved every minute of it….. just to see my kids happy and enjoying them self. Teaching and sharing nature with my kids was important to me…..still is for that matter. Yep very happy time.

  22. Julianne says:

    Breastfeeding my 3rd child (of 4) after many complications and threatenings to miscarry.
    No, maybe this isn`t happiness – it is Joy and Bliss and Thankfulness and the result of many tears and answered prayers.

  23. Dmf says:

    That chinese new year when my cousins came to our house. we blew up a can over the roof.

    The day when i and a few classmates went biking in the country

    the afternoon when i got the acceptance letter
    from astronomy school

  24. That’d be the day I met Dr. Richard Wiseman, just after that incident with the time machine.

  25. Lakritze says:

    There are so many, but having to choose one: Sitting very high up in the big cherry tree. No one could climb that tree but me; they called me Squirrel because of it. The birds hat got quite used to me and I sat there for hours on end watching them.

  26. Jago Qumange says:

    I’m not sure I can pick a happiest memory?

  27. Everytime when I was in UK and Italy.

  28. RedSeaRoadkill says:

    I have children, and when they were born I was certainly happy, but it was an expected happiness. I once had a totally unexpected happiness, and while I’m a bit ashamed about this, I cannot deny the feeling eclipsed that of the moments when my children were born.

    I’d tell you all the story, but Penn Jillette tells it better:
    http://www.crackle.com/c/Penn_Says/A_Jewish_Man_s_First_Bacon/2406717

  29. Berber Anna says:

    I’m not good at ranking things. Happy memories include:

    -Being a toddler in my dad’s arms
    -My sister and me, as kids, sitting on some stairs of a church in France (we were on holiday), and her telling me I’m the best sister ever :)
    -Having a pine cone fight with my sister and my dad
    -Holding hands with a random hot guy I met at a festival (nothing ever came of it, but it was lovely at the time)
    -Being on stage at Derren Brown’s An Evening of Wonders, giggling like mad at the evil trick being played on me while I was hypnotized

    And probably more that I can’t think of right now.

  30. maz says:

    My memory is terrible. I have had a happy life and I couldn’t pick out one or two memories that I could tell you in detail about. But, I can ‘remember’ or invoke the feelings of happy times. I can remember very little of my children’s births, (it hurt, thay came out, one was a girl, one a boy…and so on..) but I can remember exactly how I felt. Just thinking about it now puts me in that space…oh happy me!

  31. Anna says:

    I lived in Venezuela over Christmas, until a couple of weeks ago. We went to Merida (in the Andes) soon after I arrived – the flight was horrendous, I got sick when I arrived, I couldn’t drink the water and then we spent two days in a car without air-conditioning to get there. I got made redundant just before I went and it had been a terrible ten weeks! But we stayed in this wooden cabin on the side of a mountain and the second morning, I woke up early and went and sat in the hammock on the porch in my pyjamas and just swung and watched the sun over the mountains and felt the breeze and listened and looked and I felt so contented and happy I nearly cried.

  32. mrps says:

    the day that my daughter was born and …….

  33. Mich says:

    Meeting some tourists with a friend and ending up in a strange bar having great conversations about all kind of nothing…

    The moment of falling in love with that special girl.., and the hope it will happen again…

  34. Neda says:

    Several happy memories… As a kid it was always last day of shool and happy tears, now it’s bare feet on clean grass, still happy tears, puppies and baby animals, a genuine laugh or see someonelse’s hapiness in his/her face.

  35. Peter A says:

    Gobsmackingly exciting childhood Christmas surprise – a real live bicycle hidden behind the curtains!

    Meeting Derren Brown a few weeks ago and babbling joyously and incoherently at him about stuffed bears.

    Devising the increasingly twisted rules of Godchecker: The Boardgame in the company of good friends and excellent beer.

    Watching open-mouthed with excitement as Derek Jacobi transformed into the Master on TV.

    Dancing to Nortec Collective with my girlfriend on the beach at the Sines World Music Festival in Portugal.

    Devouring the brand new Douglas Adams book in 1982 while walking home from the bookstore and laughing in uncontrollable spasms all the way…

  36. Christian Gormsen says:

    It was October, my new-found girlfriend and I were dozing at the Stravinsky fountain in Paris, next to the Centre de Pompidou. She told me of the artist that conceived the fountain and of the secret, soundproof studio for contemporary music beneath it. A man was playing saxophone, a little girl marveled one of the spinning statues. We were (and are) very much in love, it was all fresh and fragile.

  37. Snate says:

    Forgot about this day.

  38. [...] Let's celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman's Blog [...]

  39. Adam Fraser says:

    Hrm, I think most of my happiest memories were made travelling. Some places that stand out are Cinque Terre (Italy), Gryon (Switzerland), Machu Picchu (Peru), and San Francisco. …of course it’s not the places themselves that are the thing in question here… it’s the ridiculous exhilaration I get from seeing completely new things, meeting new people, and being free from obligation. Another day that stands out was the day my now-fiance first told me she fell in love with me.

  40. [...] Let's celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman's Blog [...]

  41. Sally says:

    Must have been one of the days of my gap year in Cambodia. Teaching the most kind-hearted, encouraging, smiley students, and living with incredibly fun-loving, down-to-earth, sweet, generous, bright girls whom I loved, and all the while it being beautifully sunny, and I knew I had many similar days ahead of me. Beautiful.

  42. Jeanne says:

    My happiest day – well I have 2 if that’s OK. Saturday April 5th 1986, when I met my partner and Wednesday 8th January 1997, when my daughter was born.

  43. PP says:

    My happiest day would be the day my husband proposed to me!! Took him 4 years but he did it!!

  44. luisa says:

    The day my boyfriend proposed to me, under the stars on a very clear night. I said he was crazy, he said crazy would be to let me go.

    Unfortunatelly, he broke up with me 2 months ago. We still go out, and everyday by his side is the happiest day of my life.
    the next day is always the worst, though.

  45. [...] Let's celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman's Blog [...]

  46. catgirl says:

    My cat likes to sleep inside a plastic bag while I’m away (yes, I realize I should never have kids). One day I came home and he was sleeping in a different spot than where the bag usually is, and the bag was somehow next to him. I realized that he had managed to get his body halfway through one of the handles and he was stuck in it. It was so adorable and hilarious, especially because he just acted like everything was normal.

  47. Sofie says:

    I would say the day of the year 11 leavers ball. Before the ball itself (in which emotions were running high at the end, but still an incredibly enjoyable evening), in the morning we went over to the field in fancy dress for a barbeque, teacher and student music concert (cringe) and other activities (including bouncy castles and gladiator styled competition), also the weather was gorgeously sunny and warm for a British day in May. leaving the events early to take my Philosophy and Ethics exam, the mood and atmosphere was generally very positive all day, something I would want to relive again and again. :D

  48. Anna says:

    Any stress-free day is a happy one for me!

  49. dustin says:

    - the day my little brother was brought home from the hospital 7/14/85
    - the day I graduated college (after going back at 30) 5/20/2009
    these memories keep me going

  50. I don’t remember my feet touching the ground on my wedding day. I’d never felt so much love and so many blessings directed at myself before. My smile was so wide for so long that my cheeks hurt. That evening my new husband and I walked into town, with a favorite aunt and uncle, to an Irish session while the full moon rose above us.

  51. Jessica says:

    On vacation in OHIO (I know!) with my partner and our two best friends, in a restaurant, trying a locally brewed beer, while the friends made fun of us for being beer snobs and did funny impressions of us: “Yes, I certainly detect a note of laudanum in the surface tension of the oat fermentation…yes, yes…the floral quality of the yeast variant euthanizes the hop overtures…mmm, quite….”

  52. ian says:

    looking up at my dad, hand holding, indoor market; “we have to buy mam a present; she’s just given birth to a little girl”

  53. [...] Let's celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman's Blog [...]

  54. [...] Let's celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman's Blog [...]

  55. Paul Pearson says:

    The happiest moment for me has become the moment I met my wife.

  56. [...] Let's celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman's Blog [...]

  57. wisp says:

    The day my son was born (no originality there).

    The rest are happy sexual experiences. ^_^

    I love sex.

    Oh, and perhaps the day i got an A playing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0NN1E1xeqU

  58. savitrii says:

    The morning I knelt by an altar and married the love of my life. I’ve never seen anything has beautiful as his face in that moment. I thought my heart was going to explode.

  59. Perowne says:

    Kissing a particular girl in a particular park in Cambridge. On Jesus Green, I believe. A walk and a pint afterwards. Sheerest heaven.

  60. Anonymous says:

    loads of happy memories, all the usual stuff, kids,family friends etc. the first one to jump to mind was a dog that I was working with. he had been at the kennels for a number of years and was fairly unapproachable (large german shepherd, ex security dog). after several weeks of small improvements we had a breakthrough session, afterwards I sat on the floor of his kennel and he crawled onto my lap and slept. I cried at the time and am crying now but i felt overwhelmingly happy.

  61. Jareth says:

    Walking down to the beach with this girl I liked, and still very much do, after a dance. It was a bit misty, very dark, but we wandered around for a while, talked most of the night.

  62. Tom in Vermont says:

    The birth of my son, the birth of my daughter and my wedding day were the happiest days of my life. Everyone I loved was at our wedding and we all had a great time together, but nothing is more exciting and magical as the birth of our children.

  63. Bonnie in New Mexico says:

    Interesting question. Of all my life experiences, what came to mind first was the scene burned in my mind when I brought my 90 year old dad home from the hospital after surgery. He was greeted by my 88 year old mom on the porch. I can’t do it justice with words but her outstretched arms as he ambled towards her and the sweet kiss between them was a poignancy I may never experience with some one. I it is a scene of enduring hope, love, and optimism for the fate of humanity that I will treasure forever.

  64. Mikmac says:

    The day that I show the sea to my daughter (for the first time)… She was very happy, and so I.

  65. Svlad Cjelli says:

    My sweet lady was ill, and leaning on me in the evening. She sighed and was sleepy.

    Of course, she doesn’t speak to me any more. I wonder if she’ll ever let me know what went wrong.

  66. The Skepdick says:

    It was a fine early summer day in kindergarten. The half hour bus ride home through the countryside was wonderful, it was a warm day and the windows were open. The stark blue sky days with cottonball cumulus clouds was set against the deep green of the meadows and fields in the afternoon sun.

    When I got home, I found that Mom had made some butterscotch pudding while I was at school so I could have a bowl when I got home. No reason, just to make something for me.

    That was a pretty good day.

  67. María López says:

    Everytime i´m on a stage!!! just feels like a belong!

    When a write something new, it´s like extending your self to another places! inexplicable!

    When i see my puppies after a long time!!! awesome!!!

    When i learning something new!

    Everytime that human race proof to be more then human!

  68. Levi in NY says:

    Those three days I actually had a girlfriend before she dumped me. Yeah, it’s pathetic… :(

  69. KatM says:

    Reading these comments has made me cry with a mixture of happiness and sadness having only 36 hours ago had my saddest ever day when I held my tiny 3 day old nephew who had just died.

  70. [...] Open Source With A Forked Tongue? « Do I Want That!WSJ launches Pro edition « Talking Biz NewsLet's celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman's BlogMdg Koch music | Realgoodrecordswow power leveling » Blog Archive » Frost Mage PvP Sp lj – aion [...]

  71. Not Spam says:

    I have no happy memories. I am a sad little man.

  72. r says:

    My happiest memory was when I was asleep.

    I was running down this hill, in a race. I was going so fast it was like the ground was being pulled out from beneath me, like sonic the hedghog, or the end of lewis carrols “the last battle” in the Narnia series.

    There were other people around me in the race too, running just as fast. I didn’t know them, but I knew they were ok people. And as we were running I felt toatal and utter freedom for the only time in my life.

    When i’m awake I have no such freedom. I can’t think of a shiningly happy day like any of those described above. Nothing like them. But I won’t forget that moment of pure distilled exilleration, happiness, and freedom.

  73. Bucket says:

    Nothing specific, but it was springtime, and for a moment, I was so happy I felt like I might explode. My fists actually clenched up involuntarily.

  74. Bill White says:

    When I was awarded diamond wings for my 2000th freefall parachute jump.

  75. its not a specific moment in time but rather a length of time in high school. I remember it was so easy relaxing and enjoying life now that im in college stressed and confused I wish I wouldn’t have ever taken advantage of those days.

  76. one dayI was very sad comeing from the school .

  77. David Gray says:

    Anytime I started laughing and couldn’t stop for about 5 minutes, which is probably 2 or 3 times. Or that time I thought I was like Jesus but with a better sense of humour.

  78. kladenje says:

    kladenje…

    [...]Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman[...]…

  79. us marriage|us marriage laws|us marriage records|us marriage certificate|us marriage licenses…

    [...]Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman[...]…

  80. strong vpn says:

    strong vpn…

    [...]Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman[...]…

  81. Buy Costume Online Cheap…

    [...]Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman[...]…

  82. Cosmetic says:

    Cosmetic…

    [...]Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman[...]…

  83. Kids Story says:

    Kids Story…

    [...]Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day! « Richard Wiseman[...]…

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s