Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.[1] A variety of biological Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy, psychological Psychology is the scientific study of human or other animal mental functions and behaviors. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist. Psychologists are classified as social or behavioral scientists. Psychological research can be considered either basic or applied. Psychologists attempt to understand the, religious Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs, and philosophical Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word "philosophy" comes from the approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources.

While direct measurement of happiness presents challenges, tools such as The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire have been developed by researchers. Positive psychology researchers use theoretical models that include describing happiness as consisting of positive emotions and positive activities, or that describe three kinds of happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaning.

Research has identified a number of attributes that correlate with happiness: relationships and social interaction, extraversion Extraverts tend to be gregarious, assertive, and interested in seeking out excitement. They tend to think out loud and cannot solve things in their heads as well as introverts. However, it should not necessarily be assumed that just because one has many friends that they are an extravert. Introverts, in contrast, tend to be more reserved, less, marital status, employment, health, democratic freedom, optimism, endorphins released through physical exercise and eating chocolate, religious involvement, income and proximity to other happy people.[citation needed]

Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life The good life is a term for the life that one would like to live, or for happiness, associated with the work of Aristotle and his teaching on ethics, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion. Happiness in this older sense was used to translate the Greek Eudaimonia Eudaimonia is a classical Greek word commonly translated as 'happiness'. Etymologically, it consists of the word "eu" ("good" or "well being") and "daimōn" ("spirit" or "minor deity", used by extension to mean one's lot or fortune). Although popular usage of the term happiness refers to, and is still used in virtue ethics Virtue ethics is an approach to ethics that emphasizes the character of the moral agent, rather than rules or consequences, as the key element of ethical thinking. This contrasts with consequentialism, which holds that the consequences of a particular act form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action, and deontology, which derives.

Happiness economics Happiness economics is the study of a country's quality of life by combining economists' and psychologists' techniques. It relies on more expansive notions of utility than does conventional economics. Although its usefulness is yet to be determined, it has become a subject of interest and often a measure of comparison with the traditional forms of suggests that measures of public happiness should be used to supplement more traditional economic measures when evaluating the success of public policy.

Contents

Scientific views

Biological approach

The evolutionary perspective offers an alternative approach to understand what happiness or quality of life is about. Briefly, the questions to be answered are: What features are included in the brain that allow humans to distinguish between positive and negative states of mind, and how do these features improve humans' ability to survive and reproduce? Answering these questions points towards an understanding of what happiness is about and how to best exploit the capacities of the brain with which humans are endowed. The perspective is presented in detail by the evolutionary biologist Bjørn Grinde Bjørn Grinde is a biologist working in the fields of genetics and evolution, with a particular interest in human evolution. He studied natural sciences as well as psychology and anthropology at the University of Oslo, resulting in a Dr.scient and a Dr.philos (1984) from the same university. Presently he works as a chief scientist at the Norwegian in his book Darwinian Happiness Darwinian Happiness: Evolution As a Guide for Living and Understanding Human Behavior, ISBN 0-87850-159-2, is a 2002 book by the Norwegian biologist Bjørn Grinde from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He argues that human emotions find their cause in evolution and offers ways by which we can use this for our advantage, as well as in a more formal way.[2]

Positive psychology

Main article: Positive psychology Positive psychology is a recent branch of psychology whose purpose was summed up in 2000 by Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: "We believe that a psychology of positive human functioning will arise that achieves a scientific understanding and effective interventions to build thriving in individuals, families, and communities." Martin Seligman Martin E. P. Seligman is an American psychologist and author of self-help books. His theory of "learned helplessness" is widely respected among scientific psychologists. He is the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania asserts that "pleasures of the moment" typically involve external stimulus.[3] Above, A man laughs Laughter is an audible expression or the appearance of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy . It may ensue (as a physiological reaction) from jokes, tickling or other stimuli. It is in most cases a very pleasant sensation as he attempts to balance three birds on himself.

Research findings

Simple exercise, such as running, is cited as key to feeling happy.[4]

Some researchers, such as David T. Lykken, have found that about 50% of one's happiness depends on one's genes, based on studying identical twins, whose happiness is 50% correlated even when growing up in different houses.[5] About 10% to 15% is a result of various measurable life circumstances variables, such as socioeconomic status, marital status, health, income, sex[6] and others. The remaining 40% is a combination of unknown factors and the results of actions that individuals deliberately engage in to become happier. These actions may vary between persons; extroverts, for example, may benefit from placing themselves in situations involving large amounts of human interaction. Also, exercise has been shown to increase one's level of momentary subjective well-being significantly.[4]

Michael Argyle Michael Argyle was one of the best known English social psychologists of the twentieth century. He spent most of his career at the University of Oxford, and worked on numerous topics. Throughout his career, he showed strong preferences for experimental methods in social psychology, having little time for alternative approaches such as discourse developed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire[7] as a broad measure of psychological well-being. This has been criticized as an aggregate of self-esteem Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame. A person's self-esteem may be reflected in their behaviour, such as in assertiveness, shyness, confidence or caution. Self-esteem can apply, sense of purpose, social interest and kindness Kindness is the act or the state of being kind and marked by charitable behaviour, mild disposition, pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others. It is a recognized value in many cultures and religions, sense of humor Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humours (Greek: χυμός, chymos, literally juice or sap, metaphorically, flavour), control human and aesthetic appreciation.[8]

Though it may be impossible to achieve any comprehensive measure of happiness objectively, some physiological correlates to happiness can be measured through a variety of techniques. Stefan Klein Stefan Klein is a physicist, author and essayist who has specialized in writing on science and its social implications in an accessible manner. He is best known for his books The Science of Happiness and Time: A User's Guide. His works have been translated into 25 languages and became best sellers in many countries, in his book The Science of Happiness, links the dynamics of neurobiological Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. Nevertheless, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that involves other disciplines such as psychology, computer science, mathematics, physics, philosophy, and medicine. As a result, the scope of neuroscience has systems (i.e., dopaminergic, opiate) to the concepts and findings of positive psychology and social psychology.[9]

Happiness in social networks

Human relationships are consistently found to be the most important correlation with human happiness.

A widely publicized study from 2008 in the British Medical Journal BMJ is a partially open access medical journal. It is among the most influential and widely read peer-reviewed general scientific journals in the field of medicine in the world reported that happiness in social networks A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes," which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige may spread from person to person.[10] Researchers followed nearly 5000 individuals for 20 years in the long-standing Framingham Heart Study Thomas Royle Dawber was Director of the study from 1949 to 1966. He was appointed as chief epidemiologist shortly after the start of the project, when it was not progressing well. The study had been intended to last 20 years, but at that time Dawber moved to Boston and became chairman of preventive medicine, raising funds to continue the project and found clusters of happiness and unhappiness that spread up to 3 degrees of separation on average. Happiness tended to spread through close relationships like friends, siblings, spouses, and next-door neighbors, and the researchers reported that happiness spread more consistently than unhappiness through the network. Moreover, the structure of the social network appeared to have an impact on happiness, as people who were very central (with many friends and friends of friends) were significantly more likely to be happy than those on the periphery of the network. Overall, the results suggest that happiness might spread through a population like a virus.[11][12]

Aging and happiness

Research in the US has found that older Americans are generally happier than younger adults. The effect does not appear to be generational, because longitudinal research found that happiness increased over time for the older people who were studied. While older individuals reported more health problems, they reported fewer problems overall. Young adults reported more anger, anxiety, depression, financial problems, troubled relationships and career stress.[13]

Other correlates

Studies are contradictory as to whether parents are more likely to report being happier than non-parents.[14][15][16] One study found having up to three children increased happiness among married couples, but not among other groups with children.[16]

Happiness is also correlated with the ability to "rationalize or explain" social and economic inequalities.[17]

One American study found that people were happier after spending money on experiences, rather than physical things.[18] Envy Envy can also derive from a sense of low self-esteem that results from an upward social comparison threatening a person's self image: another person has something that the envier considers to be important to have. If the other person is perceived to be similar to the envier, the aroused envy will be particularly intense, because it signals to the is believed to produce unhappiness.

Religion and happiness

Research findings

Joy, tacuinum sanitatis The Tacuinum Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on wellness, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ("Maintenance of Health"), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad. Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically casanatensis (XIV century)

There is now extensive research suggesting that religious people are happier and less stressed.[19][20] It is not clear, however, whether this is because of the social contact and support that result from religious activities, the greater likelihood of behaviors related to good health (such as less substance abuse), indirect forms of psychological and social activity such as optimism and volunteering, psychological factors such as "reason for being," learned coping strategies that enhance one's ability to deal with stress, or some combination of these and/or other factors.[21][22][23][24][25]

Surveys by Gallup The Gallup Organization, currently just Gallup, provides a variety of management consulting, human resources and statistical research services. It has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C.; operational headquarters are in Omaha, Nebraska. Its current Chairman and CEO is Jim Clifton, the National Opinion Research Center The National Opinion Research Center , established in 1941, is one of the largest and most highly respected social research organizations in the United States. Its headquarters are located on the University of Chicago campus, at 1155 E. 60th Street, Chicago. It also has offices in Chicago’s downtown Loop, and Washington DC and the Pew Organization The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Pew Research Center is a strictly non-advocacy organization, while the Pew conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being "very happy" than the least religiously committed people.[26] An analysis of over 200 social studies contends that "high religiousness predicts a lower risk of depression and drug abuse and fewer suicide attempts, and more reports of satisfaction with sex life and a sense of well-being,"[27] and a review of 498 studies published in peer-reviewed journals concluded that a large majority of them showed a positive correlation between religious commitment and higher levels of perceived well-being and self-esteem and lower levels of hypertension Hypertension or high blood pressure is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. It is the opposite of hypotension. It is classified as either primary (essential) or secondary. About 90-95% of cases are termed "primary hypertension", which refers to high blood pressure for which no medical cause, depression, and clinical delinquency.[28][29] A meta-analysis of 34 recent studies published between 1990 and 2001 found that religiosity has a salutary relationship with psychological adjustment, being related to less psychological distress, more life satisfaction, and better self-actualization Self-actualization is a term that has been used in various psychology theories, often in slightly different ways . The term was originally introduced by the organismic theorist Kurt Goldstein for the motive to realize one's full potential. In his view, it is the master motive—indeed, the only real motive a person has, all others being merely.[30] Finally, a recent systematic review of 850 research papers on the topic concluded that "the majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse."[31]

Religious perspectives

Buddhism

Happiness forms a central theme of Buddhist teachings Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by adherents as an. For ultimate freedom from suffering "It is perhaps amusing to note the etymology of the words sukha and duḥkha (misery, unhappiness, pain). The ancient Aryans who brought the Sanskrit language to India were a nomadic, horse- and cattle-breeding people who travelled in horse- or ox-drawn vehicles. Su and dus are prefixes indicating good or bad. The word kha, in later Sanskrit, the Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena (or reality) and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion. The Noble Eightfold Path is the fourth of the leads its practitioner to Nirvana Nirvāna (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; Pali: निब्बान ; Prakrit: णिव्वाण) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering (or dukkha). In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through Moksha. The word literally means "blowing out", a state of everlasting peace. Ultimate happiness is only achieved by overcoming craving Taṇhā or tṛṣṇā (Sanskrit; Devanāgarī: तृष्णा) literally means "thirst," figuratively denotes unwholesome "desire" or "craving," and is traditionally juxtaposed with "peace of mind" (upekkha) in all forms. More mundane forms of happiness, such as acquiring wealth and maintaining good friendships, are also recognized as worthy goals for lay people In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch. In contemporary Buddhist communities, householder is often used synonymously with laity, or non-monastics (see sukha Sukha is a Sanskrit and Pāli word that is often translated as “happiness" or "ease" or "pleasure" or "bliss." In Buddhism's Pali literature, the term is used in the context of describing laic pursuits, meditative absorptions and intra-psychic phenomena). Buddhism also encourages the generation of loving kindness Mettā or maitrī (Sanskrit) is loving-kindness, friendliness, benevolence, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, love, sympathy, and active interest in others. It is one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four sublime states (Brahmavihāras). The cultivation of loving-kindness (mettā bhāvanā) is a and compassion, the desire for the happiness and welfare of all beings.[32][33] According to the Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from ancient India who founded Buddhism. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (P. sammāsambuddha, S. samyaksaṃbuddha ) of our age, "Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." [note 1] The time of his birth and death are uncertain:, "Mind is the forerunner of states of existence. Mind is chief, and (those states) are caused by the mind. If one speaks and acts with a pure mind, surely happiness will follow like one's own shadow!" In Buddhism, the third of the Four Noble Truths The Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: चत्वारि आर्यसत्यानि (catvāri āryasatyāni); Wylie: 'phags pa'i bden pa bzhi; Pali: cattāri ariyasaccāni) is one of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings. In broad terms, these truths relate to suffering (or dukkha), its nature, its origin, its cessation and the path leading states "to eliminate suffering "It is perhaps amusing to note the etymology of the words sukha and duḥkha (misery, unhappiness, pain). The ancient Aryans who brought the Sanskrit language to India were a nomadic, horse- and cattle-breeding people who travelled in horse- or ox-drawn vehicles. Su and dus are prefixes indicating good or bad. The word kha, in later Sanskrit, eliminate craving Taṇhā or tṛṣṇā (Sanskrit; Devanāgarī: तृष्णा) literally means "thirst," figuratively denotes unwholesome "desire" or "craving," and is traditionally juxtaposed with "peace of mind" (upekkha)," thus establishing happiness as beyond material and emotional possession and attainable only through an attentive practice leading to extinguishing of craving and aversion.[34] In SGI Buddhism Sōka Gakkai ("Value-Creation Society") is a lay Buddhist organization, derived from Nichiren Buddhism. Founding President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi first used the term Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value Creation Educational Society) in 1930 when he published his book The Theory of Value-Creating Pedagogy. He asserted that the purpose of education happiness is obtained by getting yourself aligned with the universe by chanting Nam-myho-renge-kyo to overcome your sufferings and that of others. It teaches that one must never look outside of oneself for happiness.

Catholicism

In Catholicism Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole, the ultimate end of human existence consists in felicity (Latin equivalent to the Greek eudaimonia Eudaimonia is a classical Greek word commonly translated as 'happiness'. Etymologically, it consists of the word "eu" ("good" or "well being") and "daimōn" ("spirit" or "minor deity", used by extension to mean one's lot or fortune). Although popular usage of the term happiness refers to), or "blessed happiness", described by the thirteenth-century philosopher-theologian Thomas Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas, O.P. was an Italian priest of the Catholic Church in the Dominican Order, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus and Doctor Communis. He is frequently referred to as Thomas because "Aquinas" refers to his residence rather than his surname as a Beatific Vision In Christian theology, the beatific vision is the eternal and direct visual perception of God enjoyed by those who are in Heaven, imparting supreme happiness or blessedness of God's essence in the next life.[35] According to Augustine Augustine of Hippo (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430), also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, or St. Austin was Bishop of Hippo Regius. He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity's Confessions Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St. Augustine in order to distinguish the book from other books with similar titles, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's, he lived much of his life without God. He sinned much and recognized his sinfulness. As a youth, he sinned for its own sake, and later, in the pursuit of a perceived good. When he lost a dear friend to death, it troubled him greatly, and he turned to God for answers. He turned to God to find true happiness and was converted to Christianity. He found that true happiness can only come from a relationship with God and appreciating God's creation for His sake, not its own.

Philosophical views

The Chinese Confucian thinker Mencius Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou, now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng; originally Zouxian), Shandong province, only thirty kilometres south of Qufu, Confucius' birthplace, who 2300 years ago sought to give advice to the ruthless political leaders of the warring states period, was convinced that the mind played a mediating role between the "lesser self" (the physiological self) and the "greater self" (the moral self) and that getting the priorities right between these two would lead to sagehood. He argued that if we did not feel satisfaction or pleasure in nourishing one's "vital force" with "righteous deeds", that force would shrivel up (Mencius,6A:15 2A:2). More specifically, he mentions the experience of intoxicating joy if one celebrates the practice of the great virtues, especially through music.[36]

Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) the Muslim Sufi thinker wrote the Alchemy of Happiness, a manual of spiritual instruction throughout the Muslim world and widely practiced even now.

About one hundred years later, the Hindu thinker Patanjali, author of the Yoga Sutras, wrote quite exhaustively on the psychological and ontological roots of bliss.[37]

In the Nicomachean Ethics, written in 350 B.C.E., Aristotle stated that happiness (also being well and doing well) is the only thing that humans desire for its own sake, unlike riches, honor, health or friendship. He observed that men sought riches, or honor, or health not only for their own sake but also in order to be happy. Note that eudaimonia, the term we translate as "happiness", is for Aristotle an activity rather than an emotion or a state.[38] Happiness is characteristic of a good life, that is, a life in which a person fulfills human nature in an excellent way. People have a set of purposes which are typically human: these belong to our nature. The happy person is virtuous, meaning they have outstanding abilities and emotional tendencies which allow him or her to fulfill our common human ends. For Aristotle, then, happiness is "the virtuous activity of the soul in accordance with reason": happiness is the practice of virtue.

Many ethicists make arguments for how humans should behave, either individually or collectively, based on the resulting happiness of such behavior. Utilitarians, such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, advocated the greatest happiness principle as a guide for ethical behavior.

Economic views

Main article: Happiness economics See also: Easterlin paradox

Common market health measures such as GDP and GNP have been used as a measure of successful policy. On average richer nations tend to be happier than poorer nations, but this effect seems to diminish with wealth.[39][40] This has been explained by the fact that the dependency is not linear but logarithmic, i.e., the same percentual increase in the GNP produces the same increase in happiness for wealthy countries as for poor countries.[41][42][43][44]

Economic freedom correlates strongly with happiness[45] while social security not at all,[46] and socialist East European countries were less happy than Western ones, even less happy than other equally poor countries[46].

It has been argued that happiness measures could be used not as a replacement for more traditional measures, but as a supplement.[47] According to professor Edward Glaeser, people constantly make choices that decrease their happiness, because they have also more important aims. Therefore, the government should not decrease the alternatives available for the citizen by patronizing them but let the citizen keep a maximal freedom of choice.[48]

It has been argued that happiness at work is the one of the driving forces behind positive outcomes at work, rather than just being a resultant product.[49]

See also

References

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  40. ^ "In Pursuit of Happiness Research. Is It Reliable? What Does It Imply for Policy?". The Cato institute. 2007-04-11. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8179.
  41. ^ Wealth and hapiness revisited Growing wealth of nations does go with greater happiness
  42. ^ Leonhardt, David (2008-04-16). "Maybe Money Does Buy Happiness After All". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/16leonhardt.html. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  43. ^ Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox
  44. ^ Boston.com
  45. ^ In Pursuit of Happiness Research. Is It Reliable? What Does It Imply for Policy? The Cato institute. April 11, 2007
  46. ^ a b The Scientist's Pursuit of Happiness, Policy, Spring 2005.
  47. ^ Weiner, Eric J. (2007-11-13). "Four months of boom, bust, and fleeing foreign credit". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-weiner13nov13,0,5698259.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail.
  48. ^ Coercive regulation and the balance of freedom, Edward Glaeser, Cato Unbound 11.5.2007
  49. ^ Boehm, J K.; S Lyubomirsky (February 2008). Journal of Career Assessment. Sage.

Further reading

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Gretchen Rubin

hu, 22 Jul 2010 14:10:31 GM

I love visiting this blog's companion site, the . Happiness. Project Toolbox - it's fun to add to my own Inspiration Board, keep up with my own One-Sentence Journal (mine is a journal of what I'm reading), check my Lists, etc. ...

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How much happiness has your pet brought in your own life ?
Q. Bootsie was adopted in my life.Because he was without a home and my moms friends were going to take him to the pound a couple years ago.We decided to keep him and ever since that day hes been really loyal to me.Has really brought happiness in my life.I am more emotional since i have him.
Asked by $ ( ( ) ) HIPHOp $ - Mon Oct 20 18:09:05 2008 - - 19 Answers - 0 Comments

A. All of my animals do,all have been picked up off the side of the road or were unwanted...5 dogs...1 cat...I bird(was a b-day gift) 2 fish...Love them all...have had racoons, baby possum, rabbits all kinds of pets ( all part of the family) They don't ask anything of us, but give us so much more than most people do...
Answered by mean evil woman - Mon Oct 20 18:24:53 2008

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