Carol McClain

Seven Steps to Happiness (According to Goats)

@carol_mcclain

The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing. Proverbs 10:28

Do you find happiness elusive these days? I mean, we’ve got supply chain issues, COVID issues, Russian issues, and probably a lack of tissues to combat the tears caused by our issues.

Take a lesson from goats. They know how to be happy.

1. Always smile. If you look at a goat’s mouth (any goat), she perpetually smiles. How can you be glum if
   

   Look at Buttercup’s mouth. She’s smiling. All my goats smile continually. Life is good with a smile

   you smile? Try it. Grin. No one’s looking. Don’t you feel better already?

2. Eat all you want. My goats always have something in their mouths. If they don’t, they regurgitate and eat what they’ve already swallowed. (I don’t recommend the latter).
3. Eat what you want first. My girls are supposed to eat hay. When I let them out of the pen, the first place they run to is the straw–an inferior food. When I lay the straw down for bedding, they eat that. Later they look for something nutritious–like my roses!
4. Eat fast–then you can gobble down your friend’s treats.  We dish out grain two times a day. The fastest one to consume her own grain gets to eat the other’s. Sometimes she doesn’t even finish her own.
5. Don’t be afraid to dance. Both our goats gambol. They leap and twirl and skitter. They race up ramps and jump off platforms. Seize the day.
6. Call your friends. Let them know how you are. If my goats see, hear or smell me, they bleat. They’ve got to let me know where they are, so I can find them, play with them, feed them, or simply be part of the herd.
7. Be part of the herd. The right herd. For me, it’s the church. I have to be a part of the body of Christ–to share my commonality, my faith, to learn and grow and become a better person.
   

   Notice the hay in Peanut’s mouth. She always has food.

One thing I haven’t gotten my goats to do is to lose themselves in a good book.

And have I told you? I’ve got a great book–Borrowed Lives. Book two will be out soon, so if you haven’t read this riveting book, try it now. You won’t regret it.