My favorite conversation of the week was with a college student named Dominic. When I asked him what to do to be happier, he paused and thought for a moment before responding.
"Ask yourself this question: 'Is everything okay right now?'" Dominic said, "What's wrong with this moment? Is there anything more we need?"
"I'm happy," Dominic said, making a sweeping gesture with his arm to the open space around us. "Aren't you?"
For a moment, I paused. I didn't know what to say. I had spent a week catching strangers off guard, asking them to give me the recipe for a happier existence. It never occurred to me that I would have to return the favor.
How much happiness is already in the here and now? The answer will vary for everyone, but the moment we're in can be filled with joy, perhaps more than we realize.
I gazed around Dominic and myself. I saw the mountains off in the distance, slowly spouting specks of emerald green. These mountains had been blackened for months, a burn victim of Southern California's Woolsey Fire. I watched people make their way down the sidewalk to the local farmer's market, carrying colorful shopping bags and chatting excitedly.
Then, I tried to see myself. In the here and now, eagerly approaching people she didn't know to tell her about how they defined happiness. I have my own struggles like anyone else. But when it all boiled down to finding joy in that moment, I discovered something. I could do it. We all could do it.
"Yes," I said, "Yes, I am happy." And I meant it, in the here and now.