Don't people always say that you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone?
It's strange to say, but I used to get into these phases, periods, whateveryawannacallits, where I think, "It's here. I'm happy right now. Enjoy it, soak it up, savor and treasure every minute of it, because you don't know how long it will last, and life is about moments, feelings, people like these." In fact, I used to have a lot of moments like those. Of never taking anything, anyone, for granted. And then, just for a little while, I forgot to appreciate them as much.
Recently, I've been getting that feeling quite often again, almost constantly. I'm just happy, and there's no particular reason for it, or maybe ALL the reason for it. Where I just feel rejuvenated and jubilant, enthused and excited, and I want to do EVERYTHING and love everything under the sun!!! (can u guess I'm feeling it right now?)
So I got to wondering... what makes a person happy, truly content, with this inherent sense of joy and internal peace? What are the complicated and intricate little elements and nuances that, combined, make someone not just alive, but allow them to radiate, emanate, and embody pure joy? Is it sharing a bottle of wine and a delicious meal with close friends? Baking cookies and watching the people you love eat them? Running along the beach on a nice day? Jumping out of a plane with a parachute? Snuggling up in a down blanket? Expressing yourself in a piece of artwork and having others appreciate it? Traveling? Winning at rock paper scissors? Maybe 3 scoops of pistachio gelato?
"Happiness" in itself is a vague concept. It can mean almost anything, from brief, fleeting, satisfaction to deep, settling contentment and sense of purpose. Time Magazine has a pretty interesting article on happiness, even a list of 20 things that can make you happier. Even better, Los Angeles Magazine has 50. The New Yorker, of course, will have an opinion about everything. Gretchen Rubin wrote a book on how to amp the happiness in your life, in an orderly 12-step fashion. Real Simple's January issue on happiness caught my eye most recently. Every great thinker, writer, human being with a brain, will have thoughts, ideas, goals to achieve happiness. And all those things are true, I would say. All those, processes, checklists, research studies...
But to me, there's also something else that's innate, unexplainable and completely abstract. Like a magical piece of the puzzle that, once fitted, stays there and just makes sense, and allows everything else to align. Like the exhilaration you feel the moment you figure out how to ride a bike, or carve on a snowboard (which I will soon do!), that feeling to the infinite exponential. anything you've ever done where it all falls into place perfectly, as if you've just taken a step along the path that will lead you down the greatest road in your universe. And having that feeling last beyond the brief minute or hour or day, cherishing it and carrying the feeling onto your life.
I'm not proclaiming to know what happiness is, what makes people happy, or anything about happiness at all. In fact, I'm sure I'm not making any sense, and everything I've said is just gibberish. I still dont know anything about happiness. All I know is, is that it is complicated and symbiotic, and everyone has their own unique recipe. It's a compilation of loving and supportive family and friends, experiencing exciting, adventurous, and uninhibited moments, accomplishing something challenging, new relationships, shared memories, learning and growing, silliness and amazingsauce, chocolate brownie goo, the ocean breeze mixed with the sun against your skin, blaring music with the windows down, sweating like a pig while dancing your heart out to gangster rap, bright colors, berry smoothies, french toast at The Griddle, a bouquet of flowers, the smell of fresh herbs... dashes and handfuls and pints and a mixture of a million things. But the most vital ingredient, at least in my book, is sharing with others. Anything... laughter, love, high fives, skittles, maybe some cuts and bruises... because sharing inevitably reap rewards ten-fold. At least that's what I've discovered in my life thus far.
I don't know if there are any secret to happiness, and I'm not even attempting to find out. I'm just living it. Enjoying it. Relishing it for as long as I can. And if there are more secrets, hopefully I'll learn them all in the years to come :]
and of course, patent that shit and sell it for the big bucks.
No comments:
Post a Comment