NoImpactMan had a post this morning about happiness. It was a repeat, but one with good timing as this is something I’ve been contemplating more often lately as I try and simplify my life even more.
I’ve often wryly noted that change seems to be the only constant in my life, but the reality is that I like change, I like learning new things, I like trying to make things better. I think a lot of people feel this way, but that their definition of “better” centers around a new object or more money. This isn’t because they are bad people or anything, it’s just sort of what our society has become - how so many people have grown up. NoImpact Man talks about how he thinks this is in part because we’ve become less religious, and there hasn’t been much put forth to replace the role of the Church in our lives. Instead of turning to Faith when we are feeling low, we turn to Possessions to fill the void.
He makes a good point, and it’s easy to see that played out all around. Just hearing 5 minutes of campaign coverage, or listening to a friend talk about her co-workers who bully and play power games, or seeing how many people in the world project their own insecurities into manufactured reasons to hate another person… all these things are symptoms of fear and none of them seem very different than the guy who buys the Hummer so he’s the biggest thing on the road.
I don’t really know how to make any of that better, the only thing I know how to do is to try and not let myself get tangled up in other people’s messes. It’s difficult for me to understand or respect people determined to focus on negativity and control, the best I can do is extricate myself as politely as possible and move on. I’ve always thought the answers to the happiness issue were found in connecting with other people and working together to accomplish more that you could on your own. At least that’s what makes me happy.
Opportunities can arise out of the oddest situations. You can start in one direction and find yourself totally turned off by the time you see the reality the destination, but then there’s that side road at the last minute that winds up taking you exactly where you need to be. Life is funny that way, isn’t it?
