This Simple Quote Will Change Your Perspective on Happiness
A French poet’s beautiful advice on how to be happy
“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” — Guillaume Apollinaire
There was a point in my life when a quote like this would’ve gone right over my head. It still does sometimes. But then I remember.
I’ll admit that at first glance it can come across as shallow. After all, isn’t it just telling us to be happy? How is that deep?
In a way, it is just telling us to be happy. But it does so by subtly redefining the word from how we normally use it.
What this quote touches on is something so fundamental to the human mind that we often overlook it. It’s not deeply hidden in the mind or out there in the world. It’s right on the surface, and when we connect to it, it feels so obvious. You realize that happiness is like your lost glasses; you can frantically search around for them only to discover that they’re already on top of your head.
This quote is reminding us that we should — at least “now and then” — stop pursuing the more shallow happiness from the external world and instead connect to our inner well-being. This deeper form of…
