There is always something that we are hunting for. We have this blazing desire to achieve something, to be better than we were yesterday; to be happy.
There are a million things that we could do to potentially get to this level of happiness. But, it seems that we are constantly a step away from fully reaching absolute satisfaction. We work, we play, we do things that bring us a sense of accomplishment, but more often than not, we still feel we are lacking something.
I have found myself struggling, more than once, to really feel like I’m doing something important, something that makes me smile. There are a plethora of things in this world that make me smile: family, motorcycles, food, games and friends. Overtime, however, I began to recognize a pattern in my behavior; I was treating happiness as a destination. I was making it someplace to be and unfortunately, I was never there. Dark and harrowing feelings would creep over me and I would need to do something that made me happy, like there was a cure. I relied on other things, and people, to bring me gratification and ultimately I lost the ability to pursue the best version of myself. Happiness, to me, became a one stop shop, a quick fix that only lasted a brief amount of time.
Eventually, I was just always sad. Food couldn’t bring me comfort, games became boring and repetitive and even the furious and mechanical bellows of a motorcycle couldn’t put a smile on my face. Nothing seemed to work, nothing was good enough and I wasn’t happy.
It wasn’t until the beginning of this year that I saw the flaws in my ways. It wasn’t a eureka moment by any means, just a subtle, yet powerful, change in my outlook.
Happiness is not a destination. Happiness is a constant journey.
First off, I had to stop putting happiness in a box, limiting its potential to only a few (poorly) selected things, on my part.
Next, I had to come to terms with the fact that happiness doesn’t stop when I do; and I’ve stopped more than once. Happiness continues on, day in and day out and it’s my responsibility to grab it by the horns and own it. It won’t be easy, as a matter of fact, it’ll be impossible to really pin happiness down and say “okay, I’ve got it.” Since happiness is a journey, that means that the path to it is forever changing. Think about it like this- when you take a hike in the woods, you find a trail and you start walking. You’re surrounded by the best that nature has to offer: majestic trees, lush foliage, unique insects, clear skies and a cool, crisp breeze. You can stop for a while, appreciate the beauty of nature, maybe pick a few flowers but eventually you have to keep moving. If you stay too long in one spot on the trail, not only will you never see the beauty ahead, but what you have seen will begin to lose its shine. The flowers won’t dance the same way in the wind, the trees will seem just average and you get bored; you get sad.
Now, you have to remember that you are still on the same trail. However, just because you’re moving on doesn’t mean you’re forgetting what was. You may know what makes you happy, and that’s great, but you can’t settle for a single aspect of that happiness when there is much an amazing “hike” ahead of you! Who knows, maybe you’ll find a secret trail that leads you to a different, but better place, or maybe the path you’re on takes you somewhere you never expected; somewhere absolutely breathtaking. The thing is, you’ll never know what lies ahead if you don’t keep moving and exploring the possibilities. It’s an adventure! Not a pit stop.
I myself was stuck in one part of my hike and I had become stagnant where I was at. But once I started to move again, once I realized that I had only just begun my hike and that there was still miles and miles left in my journey, I saw the beauty that the path ahead contained. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate where I was it, however, it had served its purpose, it had shown me its beauty and it was simply time to move on.
Happiness doesn’t stop. Happiness is a living, fluid, vibrant and beautiful thing.
So are you.
So often we feel empty inside, or we feel that we aren’t “making it” simply because we’ve stopped hiking. We found a spot that was comfortable and we become complacent. But there is so much more ahead, it’s unknown, but that’s a part of happiness, the discovery of it.
Sometimes on your journey, other people join you and you see the sights together. You engage in the surrounding beauty, you explore, help each other out and push through. Sometimes those people stay on your path and sometimes they don’t. But you’re still hiking, you appreciate the beauty they added and you’re so thankful, but, you keep moving and hoping that there is more to come.
And there is.
Whatever path you may be on, don’t forget that it hasn’t ended. It’ll get difficult, you may have to take a break every now and again, which is fine, just don’t stop and stay put. Be willing enough to take the next step and brave enough to keep walking.
There is so much more that lies ahead of us, so much happiness and opportunity that is just a few steps away. It’s up to us to decide if we want to pursue it or not.
I say go for it.
And if you happen upon someone else’s path, be sure to encourage them, give them hope and help them discover the happiness that we all long for.
Keep your head up, keep your legs churning and always keep your eyes open.
Happiness is obtainable.
So keep walking. You’ll get there.
We all will.
NoProJo 