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Useful Origami, Adding Happiness to Your Life!

At an origami convention in New York City, Vicente Palacios, an origami artist and teacher from Spain, related how people often asked him what is origami good for. He would respond with another question: “What are babies good for?”

We certainly enjoy folding origami pieces that extend beyond the joy of creating and folding them. Many times these pieces are described as “useful origami” because we can place a trinket inside, or can use them as a picture frame, an envelope or bookmark, for example.

But if we label an origami box as “useful”, does that imply that an origami crane or a flower is “useless”?

If we focus on making “useful origami”, aren’t we emphasizing only the end result and not considering as equally important the happiness that the process of folding brings us?

Isn’t origami useful in the same way a baby is useful…  an invitation to love, to play, to have joy, to discover, to learn, to have a light heart and to make people happy?

Today, March 20th, is the International Day of Happiness. Let’s celebrate it by acknowledging and sharing the happiness that the practice of folding paper brings to our lives.

Make some origami today…

…and add happiness to your life!

“However you discover the art, you will always be grateful you did. Paperfolding is a delightful experience, an intellectual challenge, an entertainment, an opportunity to share ideas, and things of beauty, and therefore, a joy forever ~Rick Beech

Find here more origami instructions to make you happy.

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Photo: courtesy of Carolina Aguilera

10 thoughts on “Useful Origami, Adding Happiness to Your Life!”

  1. Thank you for your inspiration, Leyla.

    I think origami has a calming effect on me.

    But now you made me wonder, what are babies really good for :-)

    Reply
  2. Well, so far today, on a trip to Kansas City, origami has been useful by bringing happiness 1st) to me by creating a new modular model (the “Kansas City Star”) on the plane
    2nd) to Donna , the airport SuperShuttle employee who went out of her way to be helpful, so I made her a business-card Frog;
    and 3rd) to Jim W, by making him a Flapping Bird as a 92nd birthday present on the spot at lunch.
    Thanks for yet another lovely post, Leyla!
    Karen 3/20/2013

    Reply
  3. Pingback: International Day of Happiness | eastleighnet
  4. Beautiful, Leyla Torres…I am so delighted that you shared this with me. The warmth of your spirit combines beautifully with your love of origami, connecting with and inspiring us all. Today, you shared a smile of happiness. Thank you :-D

    Reply

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