The Pursuit of Happiness

On a day back in February I felt inordinately happy, and I am not exactly sure why. I mean, most of the pieces of my life are in pretty good shape: healthy, loving wife and kids, some financial security, a job with meaning, friends who care, etc. But I am not a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. I am more of an even-keeled person who tends to worry more about what could go wrong rather than what is going right. So it was with some surprise that I found myself feeling this way yesterday. It wasn't necessarily and everything-going-my-way type of day, but things did go well overall. I think part of it was a somewhat silly (as in shallow) looking forward to the Duke-UNC game that I was going to watch that night (unfortunately Duke lost to a very talented UNC squad). I looked forward to relaxing and having a beer and wings and watching the game. Pretty normal day at work, went to kung fu, which as has been the case for a number of weeks now, was not able to fully participate in because of back and shoulder injuries. That usually makes me the opposite of happy, but I suppose I have gotten used to it to some extent, and I was able to teach the students, which still does make me happy. Going to get the wings did turn into a happy-making moment, as my older daughter stayed at kung fu for the second class, my youngest was at a sleepover, and my middle one ended up going with me to pick up wings. She had asked about eating there, but didn't seem invested in it, but I decided that this was an opportunity I shouldn't pass up. Of course, she loved going to dinner with just us, and watching sports on TV, because that is who she is. I loved it too, as just about any time I spend with a child on their own is just wonderful. Amazing how destructive sibling rivalry really is. I suppose it was an evolutionary advantage at one time, but now it just sows seeds of discontent. The thing with evolutionarily advantageous behaviors is that they are inherently selfish, which does not really improve our society. We evolved as a social species, but pre-civilization, selfish, aggressive and bellicose behavior probably carried the day. We are still dealing with the ramifications of those selections. But that is not what this post is about, right?

I read this blog entry, but I am not sure which day it was. It could have been that day...but I don't think it had anything to do with how I felt. So I guess I am just not sure why I felt extra happy, but I wanted to analyze it a bit in writing to see what I could come up with. It also occurred to me that it might be useful to define what makes me happy so that when things are going well, I can be unabashedly happy instead of reservedly so, which is how I usually am.

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