“I thought I was going to sneak away tonight. What a glorious night. Every face I see is a memory. It may not be a perfectly perfect memory. Sometimes we had our ups and downs. But we're all together, and you're mine for a night. And I'm going to break precedent and tell you my one candle wish: that you would have a life as lucky as mine, where you can wake up one morning and say, "I don't want anything more." Sixty-five years. Don't they go by in a blink??”[1]
Imagine for a moment if that could be you. This is the statement of someone truly happy, content, pleased with the way they lived their life. I understand it is a film, and William Parrish is fictional; but it does not stop me from believing that that type of contentment is possible. This is what I want in my life.
There are moments in life that bring fillings of complete satisfaction. Some moments you know that there is nowhere else you would rather be. The feeling of the presence brings so much joy, peace, comfort, and fulfillment. These experiences bring a sense that time has stopped for the moment (for your moment). In these moments the world around you disappears, and nothing feels better. I am searching for that deep sense of inner peace, gratitude, and in a sense love.
Happiness is really much more than feeling good. We each innately know this. In our darkest of times someone usually tries to console by saying words of encouragement and comfort. Some common phrases are “Keep moving forward”, “that is what life”. That is what we tell ourselves, even when things do not go as planned. We know that bad things have happened, and will continue to happen; but we tell one another to keep moving forward. If you were to ask why, the response is usually a statement that says ‘that’s life”. So, what do we do in these difficult times? Well, the world does not stop, the bills continue to roll in. Even if it feels like your world has completely imploded, the sun sets and rises. What comes next is the every day things. We pay the bills and we don’t stop living. Even if you think you know what will happen, it doesn’t always. This is called hope. We hope for better days and for something more.
There is nothing more miserable than when life inches along. Time ticks by, and no longer are you counting hours; and at this point, you hope to one day reach the point where you can count hours. Now you are counting seconds until another day passes. I have been at that point in my life, a time when my world felt like it ended; and only came to realize that did not end. In some ways that was more difficult and I had to someway keep moving forward. I decided that I was not going to let this thing beat me, and that I would find happiness, whatever that meant for me. There are times when positive emotions flood through the body; and times when you want time to slow. All I knew was that I wanted life to feel like it was moving too fast, because when you count the seconds in a day, or how many breathes you’ve taken in an hour, it isn’t enough. How can a man with no limbs, like Nick Vujicic, be so happy and I so unhappy?
Life is beautiful, and in darker moments it is very difficult to see. I want to find ways to concur those moments. To find quick ways out of the deep dark hole and find my way into contentment and joy. Happiness is a big deal to most of us, and I know I am not alone in my pursuit. If I was, they would not have included the right into the United States Constitution. Yes, I believe it is important to every one of us. How nice would it be to go to one spot to see many different techniques and steps to find happiness. The thing about happiness is that it can be temporary. Bad things happen or mood spoilers, but true happiness is what I am searching for. True happiness is more stable, and one bad thing, or a few, won’t shake it. That is what I am looking for, and if you are truly honest with yourself. I believe you are too.
References:
1. 'Meet Joe Black' (1998).
The pursuit of happiness is universally felt. As you stated, isn't that what all people in the world yearn for. Happiness can be family, friends, hobbies, money, etc to any person. Yet it is (or at least seems) impossible to grasp permanently.
ReplyDeleteThinking of happiness as an object/desire in and of itself is odd when you think about it. We can never "perform" or "do" happiness. We can only perform activities that seemingly achieve happiness as an after-effect. Yet your article details happiness as an obtainable objective. I think this might be a more healthy approach. Perhaps seeking happiness itself will bring it about more quickly than if you beat around the bush with secondary tasks that may spark happiness. Of course, this is all conjecture, but it makes me "happy" to think on happiness in such a manner.
This is an intriguing article. It is written from true emotion, and I can appreciate that. You did an excellent job expressing your viewpoint. My only criticism (and it's small at that) is to be careful about using semi-colons with conjunction words (and, or, etc). Semi-colons (in that context) separate two thoughts, and so do conjunction words; therefore, using them next to each other is redundant. Not to fret, however, as this is still a good article to read.