[Timoteo]

(04-25-2011 09:26 AM)D. Goodnuts Wrote:  

I've recently been exploring the topic of happiness.
I can clearly recall my years as a pre-teen living in SoCal as the the happiest times of my life. It seemed that I was generally happy as a kid. As an adult, I've learned that happiness is defined my moments. Having kids, getting married, vacations, getting promotions, etc.

These moments add up but don't seem to fully equal a state of overall happiness. Is it possible to return to those "happy days" of our youth?

I don't really know what happy means, or what happy is. When someone asks me if I'm happy, the best response I can come up with is, "I'm cool right now." As you get older, and more things weigh on you, that happiness that you define by "carefree youth" is gone FOREVER. Yes...there are moments here and there. In between those moments, it's just...life. Sometimes drudgery, sometimes just routine.

I look back at some of the great times I've spent with my boys (our forays to Vegas, or Miami, or LA, or years ago in Rio) and think THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. It can be hard as adults because our lives take us in different directions, and it can be hard to take time away from demands and responsibilities. But for at least a couple of weeks a year, you and your best friends need to try to convene somewhere and DO YOUR THING. Just unwind and not worry about anything other than enjoying your best friends, blow off steam, and leave those things that weigh on you behind. Just a couple of weeks of pure joy. The ability to do this makes you better at whatever it is you do.