The Pursuit Of Happiness
Posted by VickyC on June 13th, 2010
How attainable is happiness? By definition, happiness is the acceptance of what you have vs. what you can’t have and being ok with it. So, what do we want?! In a world where there are so many choices, it’s damned near impossible to decide anything anymore! I mean, even something as simple as deciding which toothpaste to buy is a 20 minute ordeal.. “Do I get the cheapest one? .. But this one is on special – so it’s better value .. But I like this flavour .. But this one comes in Mint-Cinnamon-Lemon and I kind of want to try it ..” And then you decide on the one that’s on sale, but then you’re mad at yourself for not buying the cheapest one and also for not buying the mint-cinnamon-lemon one because you wanted to try it and be adventurous.
Where the hell does it leave us when we can’t even decide what flavoured toothpaste to buy?! It leaves us sitting in the doctors office having a mini-nervous breakdown asking for some crazy pills, that’s where.
So, what do we really want? We want a good job with awesome pay, but also to be free to go and do what we want when we want.. We want the freedom that comes with being single, but the comfort that comes with being attached.. We want to be romanced and wined and dined and glammed up and jetted to different places in some rich handsome guy’s private plane.. but we also want to veg at home in our ancient flannel pj bottoms, with no make-up on, our hair scruffily tied back watching box-sets of Friends while bundled up in our Snuggie and eating chocolate bars like they’re free.
The problem again is choice and not being content with what is in front of us – the whole grass is always greener thing.. Don’t get me wrong, if your grass is bug infested, then maybe jumping the fence to greener pastures might not be a bad call.. But just like lawns, we cannot expect that good things are just going to happen out of nowhere. Sure, sometimes we get lucky, but unless you have a horseshoe up your ass, that luck won’t last for too long… I’m not trying to be a pessimistic grumpy bugger, just pragmatic.. Like everything else in the world, life takes work – and a lot of work. Whether or not we can be arsed to put in the effort is the problem. But unlike grass, we cannot throw manure on our lives and hope for the best. Existing crap + additional crap = too much crap to deal with.
Not only are we given too many choices, everything has become too easy. You don’t even need to get off your ass to go to work, or to shop, or to pay your bills. So when we run into issues that require some proper effort, we’re lost. Sometimes I wish that this was an easier time – like the 50′s or something.. Post war, no need to worry about foreign exchange rates, baggage allowances, everyone had a job, there were no immigration policies, pretty dresses. Hell, at 25, I’d probably be married with a whole hoard of babies by now. All I would have to worry about is making sure 3 meals are on the table and that the baby-making is in order! Alas, that is not the case now. With more and more choices, life is only going to get more complex.
The moral of the story here is that you have to be content with the choices that you have made. When life gives you lemons, you can either make lemonade, bust out a bottle of tequila or start throwing them at people – whatever you decide to choose, make sure you’re happy with it! Don’t make lemonade and wish for tequila and then be mad when you realize you have nothing to throw at people!
Tags: Happiness, Life, The Pursuit of Happiness, VickyC, VickyC.me
Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist
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