[Enlarge]
If they were fine art painters, they would have painted pictures. If they were musicians, they would have written songs. But when Debra Joy Downing and Joseph Flanigan wanted to express their joy, they created a Web site encouraging people to be happy.
Flanigan, met Downing in 1995 in upstate New York. Not long after that, he posted www.happyheart.com to share their happiness. The couple has been adding to it ever since. "If we were writers, we would have written," Downing said. Instead, they worked on the Web site and created the HappyHeart concept. "We just kept adding stuff through the years," Downing said. The site eventually led the couple to Loveland in 2000.
While living in Broomfield, Colorado, they got their HappyHeart symbol, a heart with a happy face in it, registered as a trademark with a Loveland, Colorado address. The symbol was Flanigan's creation. While they were dating, he would leave Downing love notes on her car, signing them with the HappyHeart. It eventually became the symbol of the Web site. "I went from 46 to 16, leaving love notes on her car," he said.
They moved to Loveland after registering the symbol. The Sweetheart City was is a good place to raise their 2-year-old daughter, Joanna Joy, and an apropos city to continue working on the Web site. "Loveland is the home of HappyHeart," Downing said.
So what is HappyHeart and www.happyheart.com?
Basically the site helps people realize that they have an ability and the right to be happy. "We were born happy," Downing said. "But sometimes life conspires to bring us away from that." Flanigan added, "I think if we all introduce happiness in our lives, we can have happiness on a global level." It's good for you to be happy, Downing continued. "A happy heart is a healthy heart," she said.
The Web site shares different food recipes and recipes to make health products such as lotions. There are inspirational quotes, poems and other writings as well.
Recently, the couple decided to sell products on the Web site with the HappyHeart symbol, including the HappyHeart tea set and the HappyHeart notepad. The store will be added on the site soon. Artists are welcome to contact
HappyHeart about selling art that has an emphasis of happiness on the site. In fact, anyone is welcome to add to the Web site and share their happiness.
Sound sappy? Sound like life through rose-colored glasses? Maybe, but to hear Flanigan and Downing explain it, HappyHeart may have some
relevance. Consider the idea of the HappyHeart story, which is a section of the Web site where people are encouraged to tell their happy stories. The best example of a HappyHeart story is the tale of how someone met his or her spouse.
When people tell that story, they feel happy, Flanigan said. There is a glow that develops through their faces. "We always ask people how they met," Downing said. "When they start talking, the lights go on, and they get closer to each other." Flanigan said recalling the day our daughter was born has the same effect on him. "It was just incredible to me," he said.
Happiness, therefore, is the HappyHeart story, Downing said. Another interesting tidbit on the Web site is the Declaration of Happiness. There are several references to happiness in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, Flanigan said. That sparked the writing of the Declaration of Happiness.
"We declare this to be true: that we all are born happy; that each of us has inherent qualities of love, life, freedom, joy, peace and happiness; that relationships exist for the happiness of each; and, that the happiness of others is to be honored, respected and cherished," the declaration states.
"As individuals," Flanigan said. "We have the right to be happy. | 
