Curiously, we have epidemics of depression, anxiety, and metabolic health related disorders in our country. I say curiously facetiously because we know what’s causing these epidemics, yet we aren’t doing enough to diverge the course of our collective well-being from the inevitable. I know too many people in their thirties and already on the precipice of burnout, or have tipped all the way over. Having lived through and found a way out of chronic illness, I understand the necessity to balance one’s life. But here we are, it’s as if pursuing happiness is actually more likely to bring about its opposite.
Socially, we have been conditioned to believe that happiness is derived from obtaining things — personal success, a romantic relationship, physical attractiveness, an opulence of resources, etc. But these things are merely qualifiers of happiness. By placing something outside of yourself it’s unlikely that you’ll ever be satiated. Tired ass statements like, ”When that happens..”, “If it goes this way…”, “Once I get this role…”, and so on, run your life and dictate your choices. I call them tired ass statements because they keep your ass tired, circling round and round as the life you desire stays just out of reach.
It seems very un-human to delay gratification, yet, this is exactly what you’re doing by failing to realize that happiness isn’t a person, place, or thing. It’s a choice, made within the frame of your own Being, right here, right now.
I’m not referring to someone trapped in some horrifying reality and imply that they can just snap out of it. I‘m referring to the most common person, like you and I. We are ignoring the very essence of happiness— the inspiration and joy that comes from pursuing it— and wondering why we’re so miserable. Have you been on your way to the office and stopped for coffee, then had a pleasant encounter with a stranger,? Or how about when you start a new project and there is that rush of excitement of possibility? Happiness is in life’s nuance. If you pay close attention, it’s available at everywhere. Slow down and learn to find joy in the seemingly insignificant subtlety of life.
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