A Shy Man's Tale. Viewpoints: 8. E. Happiness
A Shy Man's Tale. Viewpoints: 8. E. Happiness
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." - Albert Schweitzer
What makes me happy? The answers are rather simple. They have nothing to do with money or possessions. I think the thing that makes me happiest is to have found someone to share my life with. I am very happy lying abed with my wife, Valerie. Just holding her hand during an excursion to the store, or any place else makes me happy. I like to explore new places with Valerie. My family makes me happy (It goes without saying, however, that at times one's children can drive you near to going over the edge of sanity. Every parent experiences this many times.)
The loyalty and support of friends also makes me happy. Friends are too precious to lose over petty arguments. I treasure my friends.
Other things that make me happy are also quite simple. A bright, sunny sky on a crisp cool autumn day will make me happy. Seeing the beauty of nature around me makes me happy. And that beauty can be that of the desert, forest, plains, mountains, marshes, whereever. For if you truly observe your surroundings, the beauty of nature can be found. Much of this is still the same things that made me happy as a child. The wonder of the world is still all around us.
I used to be happy doing physical activities: playing basketball, volleyball, and tennis. Unfortunately my current situation does not usually allow me to participate in such activities. Do I miss them? Yes. Am I unhappy because of that? No. There are other pursuits to occupy my time. Some of those other pursuits include playing the piano or guitar, and coaching Special Olympics teams. I've become very involved in fishing, especially fly fishing. I enjoy it. I enjoy tying flies to try and fool the fish. A good cast of the fly to the exact spot I wanted it makes me happy, even if a fish doesn't result. The always unexpected tug of a fish on the line is a delight.
Having a career that suits my temperament and skills also makes me happy. I can see the results that I'm having on students. Do I succeed with every student? No. I'd love to be able to do that, but it is not possible. I rejoice in the students that I am able to help, though.
If you notice, there is nothing material in this list of things that makes me happy. If I had just these things, I think I could live a happy life.
Although this section has to do with happiness, its opposite, sadness, will be present to some extent in everyone's life. The most persistent sadness in my life has been to do with grief: the loss of my mother-in-law (whom I liked and got along with extremely well), the loss of my father, the loss of my brother-in-law (who had a very quirky sense of humor, but near the end of his life was suffering severe psychological problems) and the loss of various friends due to accident, illness or old age. But the sadness is always overcome by the memories of the good times spent with them.
When was dating, breakups and failures in relationships often caused me to be extremely sad, but never caused me to stop seeking the relationship with the person I felt had to be out there for me. Persistence again...and that persistence finally led me to Valerie, and much happiness.
I began this section with a quote from Albert Schweitzer. I'll finish it with one that is probably a bit more like something that I'd say (being a bit on the cynical side):
"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory." -Albert Schweitzer
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