Happiness is…

We'll likely never know what happiness was to John Lennon but we can get a glimpse of his wry humor when he wrote the song Happiness is a warm gun. The title, taken from the cover of a gun magazine, was so outlandish he said, "I just thought it was a fantastic, insane thing to say. A warm gun means you just shot something." In our world of high-end audio happiness can come in so many different forms: finding a forgotten piece of music, installing new gear, relaxing with a glass of red wine to the serenade of a treasured album, cleaning a record, thumbing through rows of CDs, reading liner notes, appreciating all that we have. Of all the day-to-day activities and interactions I have, I believe the closing of the door to the music room, the magical sense of that special place, the smell of the system, the moment the first note engages and the world melts away is what happiness is to me. Sure, there's plenty of other things that make me happy: a smile, a hug from my grandkids, the touch of Terri's hand, finishing a long project, hearing a great story. But the consistency of the musical experience keeps me coming back for more. Happiness is different for all of us. What makes you happy?