A thought about our poursuit of happiness
Am I thinking too much, or am I merely one of these modern people whose quest consists of trying to get a little closer, one thought at a time, to the best version of themselves? If not pointless, the debate is at least endless. It has now been 2 months since I went away from France. And here I am, looping the loop to the first article I wrote 2 months ago. I can see myself, on this plane between San Francisco and Shanghai, going through all the amazing experiences I’ve lived for the past couple of weeks. Which flew damn quickly. The cities and landscapes I’ve seen. The friends I’ve made and those that were lost and found. The languages I’ve spoken. The books I’ve read. The food I’ve tasted. The incredible wildlife I’ve discovered. The mess I went through. Well, the good times, as much as the bad times. That leads me to thinking if, yes or no, this whole journey has born fruit so far. Of course the answer can’t be so Manichaean. There’s a few shades of grey. Usually, we — overthinking modern creatures — never debate much far from the ultimate subject: the poursuit of happiness. Are we happy? To me, it all ended up to that simple observation. I wasn’t feeling completely happy with my life. As simple as that. Yes, some might say I had a few of the material things that would make someone have a decently enjoyable life, but let’s not drift to what we already know: happiness does not blossom through material possession. Two months away from the societal dogma I was referring to, and in fine, after witnessing some of the purest treasures of our planet, I come to define this phase — that some would call a burnout, a mid-life crisis or a need to find myself — merely as a period of self-discovery. I firmly believe that you is a never-ending evolving concept. Thus, there could not possibly exist an ultimate version of you to be reached. A minute passes by and you’re already in contact with a whole new set of stimuli modifying the perfect balance you had finally found. Here you are, with new given cards. New mood, new dreams, new challenges. And the quest is to do all over again. Well, I guess we’d better off go with the flow. We’re better off doing what makes us happy in life. We’d better live today as if it was our last day, and make plans as if we lived forever. Be strong under the storm, as well as enjoy every chunk of the good weather.
So let’s do what makes us happy and let’s enjoy every minute of it.
P.S.: Reading being the key access to the quintessence of mankind’s knowledge, here’s my August Book list:
- The Old Man and the sea, Hemigway
- Les dieux voyagent toujours incognito, Laurent Gounelle
- Warren Buffet, the Making of an American Capitalist, Roger Lowenstein
- Moonwalking with Einstein, The Art and Science of remembering everything, Joshua Foer
- The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle
