The other day, my friend’s one-year-old granddaughter smiled and gesticulated as she looked at me through a laptop screen. She was so boisterous, so jovial, so filled with life. Do you ever wonder why most human beings do not feel this way, they are unhappy?
The simple answer is that, as we age, we discover that happiness is not easy. (1) It is, in fact, hard to be happy. This is even though Aristotle, for one, offers us a road map to bliss. (2) To be miserable is far easier, it would appear. I have to do nothing and let the vagaries of life wash over me.
If you desire the alternative, to live a joy-filled life, you must take a chance on you — be willing to take some risk. Conformity, however, does not encourage adventure. The stable and the safe is the requisite order of the day. This, nonetheless, is not the natural state of man. He is a curious and seeking being. Simply acquiescing into inaction and inactivity only produces great pain and longing — no merriment here!
We are told that the amount of drugs and alcohol consumed daily is at an all-time high. (3) Is there a correlation between the despair in the soul of the modern man and substance abuse? I think, yes! So, how does the individual commence to open the possibilities that exist for every human being?
Well, you must begin at the beginning. I must act: go to school, take a new job, move abroad, whatever action means to me. I must view my life as a grand adventure. But, I am afraid. Perhaps I will fail. But, fail you will — many times, for that matter. If you are serious about your efforts at being free, you must be prepared for multiple setbacks. Those who succeed in their mission are neither the richest, the smartest, nor the best looking. They are those who have steadfastly held onto their dreams, their hopes, their aspirations — one debacle after another.
Stay the course and keep your mission alive. In the end, it will not matter if you do nothing, for nothing from nothing produces nothing. There will be nothing to judge because your creativity will not come to exist. So if you want to be happy, take a chance on you. Act to improve your life! You won’t be disappointed!
The great motivator and public speaker, Todd Henry, (4) leaves us with a thought: The most valuable land in the world is the graveyard. In the graveyard are buried all of the unwritten novels, never-launched businesses, unreconciled relationships, and all of the other things that people thought, “I’ll get around to that tomorrow.” One day, however, their tomorrows ran (away).
A closing thought: It is the age-old story of the brilliant musician who never performs, the talented novelist who never publishes, and the accomplished actor who never goes on stage. The ones who are, ultimately, the happiest in life are usually not the most gifted, they were simply the people who got into the ship of life and pushed off from the shore — and dealt with the reality of wherever the wind of fate pushed them.
To sum up: This week, we spoke about being a little bit brave and taking a chance on me.
To be noted: From Lao Tzu (5) — The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.
Just for fun:
For reflection:
This week, on your joyful walk, please be alive and reflect on what happiness means to you.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Don’t be a wage slave – critical thinking is great!
Quote: Be grateful, be happy!
Footnotes:
1) Jordan Peterson – Why Humans Aren’t Designed To Be Happy
2) Aristotle: Pioneer of Happiness
3) Marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached all time-high in 2021
4) Creativity Under Pressure: Todd Henry at TEDxXavierUniversity