I have always used a soap called Cussons Imperial Leather for my bath. And I suppose the reason is because of its advertisement slogan: A little luxury every day. While most other soaps have gradually moved from, “New” to “New and improved”, to “New and Improved with extra power…etcetera, etcetera”, Cussons Imperial Leather has continued to consistently promise “A little luxury every day”.

Sometimes we think that the reason why we are unhappy is because of the things that are missing in our lives. But once so often we come across people who have those things whose lack we imagine are holding back our happiness, and realize that they too are not necessarily happy. A person thinking that lack of money is causing them unhappiness only needs look around at the multitudes of monied people who are down in the doldrums. A person attributing their blues to the lack of a romantic relationship only needs open their eyes to see the many couples who believe that they are unhappy because of the relationships they are in.

Once in a while, a person forgets about all their troubles and becomes genuinely happy. You wake up one morning, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and birds are singing. The world is beautiful. Have you laughed and suddenly realized how long it was before you heard that sound? If a person was to analyze the situation, he or she would realize that it was not the acquisition of that which was missing that made them happy. In most cases people become happy when small, almost insignificant things happen; a child’s toothless laughter, a puppy’s sideways trot, a friend recounting a funny moment, reading about a comical incident, or even remembering the smile of a loved one.

While taking my bath this morning, I realized that I was so preoccupied that I had forgotten all about the joys of washing off soap from the body with warm water. I had forgotten about the comfort of drying off with a fluffy white towel, and the fresh feeling of wearing clean linen garments. I had even forgotten about Cussons Imperial Leather’s timeless promise of “A little luxury every day”.

Happiness is available to us. It appears like the water bubbling from a spring just a short distance from where we are. To feel the coolness of the water, or know how wet it feels, we need to reach out and touch it. It is in the same way that we need to reach out to those things that make us happy, for we already have many of them with us. By promising ourselves a little happiness every day, we do not have to postpone happiness until we become richer, or more famous, or married, or divorced.