Monday 22 June 2015

Ode to Joy

We all aspire to be happy. We all want to achieve it. We all strive towards being it.  For many, happiness is the key to existence – life’s one true purpose. We are distraught when we don’t have it, and are often bored when we do. It’s a funny thing really.

Think about this for a moment: How many times in your life would you consider yourself to have been truly happy? I’m sure I could think of a few. Having TV marathons with my best friends, reading one of my favourite books, or just going for a solo afternoon walk in the middle of winter. Simple things make us happy, and more often than not we don’t realise it. But then, on the odd occasions that we do recognise our happiness, we can then be filled with dread for the time when it’ll stop.

Or is that just me?

 I tend to find that I’m happiest when I’m not realising it. I’m too caught up in my happiness to know that I’m so ridiculously happy. That’s the true, utter bliss we all crave. The kind of happiness that makes us stop thinking about happiness – that makes us stop comparing our lives to others' for even a minute. We’re completely absorbed and caught up in the moment, and it seems like nothing else matters. We can feel our hearts smile from inside us at the slightest of things.

Making someone grin so wide that lines form around their mouth, or they laugh so hard their nose and eyes scrunch up with mirth. Receiving a cup of tea when you weren’t expecting one but secretly really REALLY needed one. Watching the world, and knowing, from what’s in front of you that this is a truly awe-inspiring place. Finally beating your little brother at the Rainbow Road track on Mario Kart after countless failed attempts. Jumping up and down with your friends, belting out the lyrics to a song being played at your favourite band’s concert. Lying on the beach next to your family, slowly falling asleep to the gentle sound of the salty sea waves crashing against the sand. Cats in general. The excitement of opening a long awaited parcel that yes, is indeed for you. Running through crumpled and crusted leaves that have fallen down onto the concrete pavement on a crisp autumn morning.

These area all things that I totally and unreservedly believe constitute to my personal happiness. They're little things in life that we often look over, when we certainly shouldn’t. But if we did focus on them more – would they become bigger and more significant? Would we overthink them as we do so many other things? Maybe it’s better that we don’t think about them, otherwise they could stop making us so happy.

We should live our lives in the moment; that way we can all achieve as much happiness and contentment as is possible, in the short time we call life.

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