little bits
I am and always have been an proponent of the theory that true happiness comes in little bits and pieces. Oh sure, sometimes the "big happy" comes along - an unexpected win, a vacation you didn't think you'd be able to swing but then pulled off, a relative who didn't actually have to die in order to give you their heaps and heaps of cash, just because they wanted to be around to see you enjoy it.
You know, that kind of thing.
For the most part, though, happiness comes along and hangs out with you for a little while. For an afternoon, a day, the length of a favorite song. It comes in the form of a rainy afternoon or a new recipe that falls under the category of "make again -- soon". And you stop, acknowledge the little upwelling of good feeling, and move along with life with that little feeling lingering in the background for a while.
Day to day life can be neither "happy" or "negative". It is what it is, as Calvin is wont to say lately. You live, you work, you do your thing. There exists neutrality to most of life in which there is nothing to say "woo!" over, but also nothing to say "waah!" over.
Amongst this day to day thing-doing, however, there are little bits and pieces of good, and fun, and positive. My belief is that your life - or to break it down into more manageable chunks, your day - is what you make of it. "Fake it till ya make it" is a favorite expression of my own. Push yourself to be in a good mood until you are. Search for your happiness, even amongst the shit, until you find it. Because it IS there, somewhere. Buried, sometimes, but present.
I think we as people tend to have an "all or nothing" attitude about happiness. People want to be euphoric all the time, and if they aren't then that must mean their life is the suck. It just doesn't work that way. Every day brings a little of both pleasure and pain - some days its a lot of one and a little of the other. And it just doesn't tend to balance out in the end with life's experiences tallied evenly between negative and positive. We are, as a species, full of angst. Which is why we need to look for, find, acknowledge, accept, and create for ourselves those small moments, those little pockets of peace.
Being happy takes effort.
You know, that kind of thing.
For the most part, though, happiness comes along and hangs out with you for a little while. For an afternoon, a day, the length of a favorite song. It comes in the form of a rainy afternoon or a new recipe that falls under the category of "make again -- soon". And you stop, acknowledge the little upwelling of good feeling, and move along with life with that little feeling lingering in the background for a while.
Day to day life can be neither "happy" or "negative". It is what it is, as Calvin is wont to say lately. You live, you work, you do your thing. There exists neutrality to most of life in which there is nothing to say "woo!" over, but also nothing to say "waah!" over.
Amongst this day to day thing-doing, however, there are little bits and pieces of good, and fun, and positive. My belief is that your life - or to break it down into more manageable chunks, your day - is what you make of it. "Fake it till ya make it" is a favorite expression of my own. Push yourself to be in a good mood until you are. Search for your happiness, even amongst the shit, until you find it. Because it IS there, somewhere. Buried, sometimes, but present.
I think we as people tend to have an "all or nothing" attitude about happiness. People want to be euphoric all the time, and if they aren't then that must mean their life is the suck. It just doesn't work that way. Every day brings a little of both pleasure and pain - some days its a lot of one and a little of the other. And it just doesn't tend to balance out in the end with life's experiences tallied evenly between negative and positive. We are, as a species, full of angst. Which is why we need to look for, find, acknowledge, accept, and create for ourselves those small moments, those little pockets of peace.
Being happy takes effort.
Heh. Given our conversation tonight, this entry was precisely what I needed to read.
Thanks for you words of wisdom.
:)
Posted by
Amanda |
6:26 PM
Well said, and thank you. I needed to hear that too.
Posted by
fish |
9:32 PM