If you're happy and you know it...

Better late than never... so here's the cover of the magazine's March Issue. We're big on things natural, homemade, "low-tech" at Baby -- ideas, play things, concepts that are more real than manufactured images, authentic than contrived, nature-based than commercial. I guess you could say that we do our best to keep things real. So when it comes to the covers, we strive to remain as genuine as possible in presenting the babies. Only natural blush on the little ones' cheeks, not too much sparkly accessories that spell "high-end" or "expensive" and nothing that would make the child look like an adult. Class does not have to be equated with luxury.





I love the way the paper garland gives the child a close-to-home look (I'm not sure what exactly that means, but I liken it to being down-to-earth and really friendly). These were made from pages of old glossy magazines, and 9-month-old Amara had a ball crushing them in her hand (good thing we made several for the shoot!).

In the course of completing this issue, the pursuit of happiness was on my mind a lot. In fact, some of the things that Rev. Fr. Eugene David (one of the people I interviewed for an article on the search for happiness) said makes for substantial rumination. I had asked him about what he thought of the oft-used line that goes "Gawin mo kung ano'ng makapagpapaligaya sa 'yo (Do what will make you happy)." His reply:

"I remember a quote from St. John Bosco which summarizes my thoughts on this matter. He said 'Run, jump, shout and do whatever you like as long as you do not sin.' I would then add something to the dictum you mentioned to make it complete: 'Gawin mo kung ano ang makapagpapaligaya sa iyo basta huwag kang lalabag sa utos ng Diyos at huwag kang mananakit ng iyong kapwa' (Do what will make you happy as long as you do not disobey the commands of God and you do not hurt your neighbor)' ...It does not matter what you want as long as you are happy and contented with your life without offending God and anybody else."

"Only in God will [man] find fulfillment and happiness because he will find soon enough that he exists and is created for the sole purpose of loving and uniting himself to God, who is the only one who can fill his emptiness."

Is it surprising, then, that insulting others, or prioritizing huge profits over time spent with the family, or maintaining an illicit relationship makes one feel miserable at some point? It seems that no matter how much we try to deny it, doing the right thing and finding happiness are meant to go hand in hand.

So, if you wanna be happy for the rest of your life...