Imagine this.

You’re walking along the white tiled floor of a business establishment having an open house night to interest future clients and employees alike when you spot the person you may or may not have a little bit of a liking towards sitting at a greeting table handing out information and directing newcomers to where they need to be like the good-natured person he/she is. The seat next to that person is empty, and, in a surge of confidence, you sit down next to him/her and strike up a conversation, pretending to be a part of the welcoming staff and greeting old friends and acquaintances as they pass you by (because apparently in this hypothetical world you know a lot of people).

“Hmm… How did your past relationships work out?”

“Ehhh. I don’t know if you’d really want to know. I get into it.”

“That’s alright. I won’t judge you. I promise.”

…

“…So how about you? What happened with the other people you dated?”

“Haha… what are you, some kind of guidance counselor?”

“I guess so. Let’s hear it. I won’t judge you either, no matter how long or weird or ridiculous it sounds. I promise,” you say with a playful smile.

You hit it off pretty successfully, and a while later, you end up becoming this person’s anything and everything. The honeymoon stage comes and goes, early problems are quickly remedied by communication and effort, and for a while, life is wonderful.

You should be able to guess where this is going.

Jump to a few months later. You and this other person are having an argument, like all healthy relationships should have from time to time. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work.

“You ALWAYS make those kind of excuses. It happens every single time, and I just brush it off and hope you’ll make it up later.”

“Excuses? When I’m busy I’m actually busy! I TOLD you, I have a lot of time constraints, you have a lot of time constraints. We talked about this a long time ago! And I’m trying! I really am!”

“If you were really trying, if you went and at least made an EFFORT we wouldn't even be fighting about this right now! That’s all we do, __________. All we do is fight.”

“Well, why the hell are we even bothering at this point? I’m done,” you say. No no no no. I don’t mean that! I really don’t…oh God… why did I say that?!

“Excuse me? I wasn't done talking, asshole.”

And for the next few minutes the world around you and this person who was (or is?) so important to you crumbles. You are either in deep anguish or bitter anger at this point, so quietly you croak, “I cheated on you.”

Your partner stops talking.

“You what?”

You respond, “It was… it was a month ago with someone you don’t even know. And… it wasn't your fault at all, I swear. It was out of lust and want. I’m so, so very sorry. You’re the one I love. Please…”

Unless of course you’re the bitter-anger type of person, in which case you respond, “Yeah. And now that I think about it, I’m glad I did. To hell with you.”

Regardless, that one confession did it. And in that instant, before both of you know what’s going on, the room seems to spin out of control.

“I cannot believe this. Who the hell are you? To come in here and just bring that up? Do you think dropping that casually would help at all? What in God’s name is wrong with you?!”

Your partner storms out of the room and slams the door.

“I trusted you,” He or she murmurs to him/herself.

“Whatever happened to not judging each other?” you murmur to yourself.

Now there are many, many things to pick apart in a scenario like this, such as forgiveness, communication, and levelheadedness, but let’s take a closer look at the implications of those helpless murmurs.

People Make Other People Happy

This is kind of obvious. After all, even the most introverted of us find comfort in a select few to keep company every now and then. Without other people in general to service the normally quiet and reserved, there would be no books, no solo hobbies in the back room, and no video games. Conversely, without people, there would be no driving off to IHOP at one in the morning, no lunch time BSing and joking with the guys or girls, and no memories that last until the day you die (Not to imply that any of these activities are exclusive to extroverts/introverts).

It is through our interactions with others, whether direct or indirect, that can define us and lift our spirits. To be able to share experiences with friends and family brings content.

People Put Faith/Trust in Other People

Your friends trust that you brought the Taco Bell they said they wanted to the jam session. Your teacher knows you’re a good student, so he trusts that when he gives you his car keys to grab his laptop for him, you won’t take his car for a joy ride. In a serious relationship, you have faith that your partner is someone who will accept everything that you are and that he or she will never do this, or never act that way, or will always be willing to do whatever. Your parents raised you right, so when you finally leave home, they have faith you won’t end up dying a drug addict years down the line.

We put hope in other people and like to think that no matter what, an adverse consequence will never occur. That your words and actions are sound and that whoever involved is sound as well. After all, your intuition’s never been wrong, right? And so-and-so is just so honest, so amazing, so admirable, so full of integrity and selflessness. There’s no way you’ll be let down by these people you think so highly of.

You may find as you go through life that this is not always the case with those you meet. And it definitely won’t be the case for you, either.

People Make Mistakes

We are all a victim to this, every single day, whether we like it or not. You are susceptible to the same flaws and temptations as the one sitting next to you. It doesn't matter how religiously pious you are, how well-intentioned you are, or how far you are in your life journey, you and everyone else in this world can still mess up every so often. Some mistakes are big, some are little, and some can never be undone.

Humanity is far from perfect. People are going to disappoint you time and time again. You are going to disappoint people, too. And not because you were trying to disappoint, but maybe because there was something you were simply unable to do at the time. The same goes for other people. There’s no stopping it. It’s something you are going to have to learn to work through and figure out how to remedy. The best that you can do is find people who are and are willing to be better from all their mistakes, in addition to making that behavior common in yourself as well.

therefore,

People Should Not be Your Ultimate Source of Happiness

A cheating husband, a cowardly soldier, an arrogant performer, an immature sophomore… mistakes can run shallow, deep, subtle, and unafraid all at once. They happen over time or in an instant, and the following results can be permanently damaging. It is for this reason that you should not lean on other people as your sole comforter.

If you constantly rely on man for all your joy and splendor, you will constantly be disappointed, for man will fail you.

This doesn't mean to never rely on people ever again

Quite the contrary. PLEASE, don’t take this as an article about how dreadful other people are. Get out there and find people worth your time. Don’t adopt a “It’s me against the world” mentality and completely lose the best of humanity due to the prevalent shortcomings of the few.

Mutual trust is built upon faith in one another. But to think that being let down by people important to you will simply never happen is fatalistic. Do not idolize the ones who have been so exceptional to you. Like I said, we’re all still human. Even the best fall down sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with that.

What you have instead

As a Christian, I firmly believe that God will bring me up out of every storm no matter what. It’s going to be really hard sometimes. The Bible never said you wouldn't suffer. But I hold to the truth that I will always find my way back to joy.

To me, God is the one who will never fail, disappoint, or forsake me, because unlike people He IS love; He doesn't try to emulate it like we have to here on Earth.

Skeptics, make of that what you will.

What to do without an ultimate source of happiness

If you don’t particularly believe in any god or gods for that matter, all you really have is yourself. But even you fail yourself sometimes. You have to come to grips with that and keep going anyways. Because you are never going to find someone else who’s willing to power through life with you 100% of the time other than yourself. Just don’t give up. Giving up means spiraling into a pit of depression that…well… only you can get yourself back up out of.

That, or months of therapy.