What is your goal in life?
Originally published at isb-sb-ninadew.blogspot.be.
“What is your goal in life?”
“To be happy.”
“To be happy? That’s your goal? How stupid.”
“Why are you saying that? To be happy is probably one of the most important things in life, because when you’re happy, you are finally good with yourself.”
“Well no. When I ask what your goal in life is, you need to answer something with more logic. For example, I want to become a billionaire, I want to become a doctor, an artist etc… Don’t just answer that you want to be happy, that’s just too easy.”
“Easy?? You think it’s easy to be happy? Well, you see, for me it isn’t. Because being happy demands not caring and not caring means what people think or say don’t matter to you. And that is the issue. Because no matter how hard you always try to convince yourself that their opinion doesn’t matter, you always fall into a deep dilemma where actually, you do care. And their opinion matters on top of everybody else’s. Because you see, today, you try so hard to become someone of greatness and popularity that you forget that that isn’t what life is about.
For example, everyday I know how careless I should be about how I dress up, because my clothes aren’t who I am and my brand new bag doesn’t represent my personality bottled up. I know things like this shouldn’t matter, but unfortunately they do. Every morning I do wake up caring about my outfit and whether or not my friends or other people will like it.
Life isn’t about having to please someone else by what you wear or the way you act. Life is about pleasing you and living for yourself. And you know what the hardest thing is in being happy? The fact that you are scared to be happy. Yeah, I think I’m afraid to be happy. I think I’m afraid to be happy because every time I am, something bad always happens. As if that happiness is always temporary and somehow it never could last as long as sadness or despair.
One day I was having the most memorable time of my life with my friends and the next, my mom called to talk about my grandma being hospitalized. As if all the happiness you learn to accumulate was never made to become permanent. And with the simple words saying “grandma’s not feeling well” could take away the bright smile off a face. One simple phrase can bring down your mood back down. Because everything is temporary, and nothing stays permanent . Only memories do, and again, they only represent a mere thought based off the past events.
And it may seem so dumb and unoriginal to say that my own goal in life is to be happy. But, when you think about it, it is just so hard to find that happiness you have always longed for your whole life. And on top of all that, one of the things that is the hardest in being happy is being satisfied with what you have. You may say that you aren’t that type of person, that greed and envy was never a recurrent feeling in you, but truth is, we live in a world where greed is the only reason we destroy each other.
Again, that is why my goal is to be happy. I don’t want someone to look at me and hate me for me being selfish or looking unpleasant. I don’t want someone to love me for my money, my clothes, my popularity. I want someone to look at me and say: “This person seems effortless and happy.” or “I wish I could be that careless and free.”. Because in the end, when you step out of the crowd and finally please yourself, that is when you are really happy. And that is why my goal is to be happy. Still think it’s easy?”
- Inspired by saying from Beyoncé (song: Pretty Hurts)
“Happiness isn’t a picture taken in colors or a bright new horizon near a great mansion. Happiness can also be as simple as the smile of a careless child on the streets. Because at least, that child is innocent enough to not be hiding many lies behind that smile.”
