"Is Anyone Ever Happy Anymore?"

The words hit me like a brick when I saw them from a friend in an e-mail.

I sat back and took them in.

So much in that one sentence.

Now usually I'm more optimistic, but I have to tell you it got me thinking...

4th grade to be specific.

I remember standing single file waiting by the door for the bell to ring.
I was staring at Barbara Runco's double scrunched socks when I heard her say
she couldnt wait until high school was over.

High school. Really? What happened to elementry school?
Or 4th grade for that matter?!

After high school, she said, you could choose what you want to be when you grow up,
sleep in late and have no homework.

Wow, yesssss!
I couldn't wait until after high school now either.

I was convinced right then and there that once I was an adult I would 'be happy'.
As if life waits to bestow that magic gift.

So high school comes and goes and we are given the opportunity
to make some major life decisions.

We bide our time and do some soul searching.
We work to make a paycheck, feel a little lost and think happiness will be found after college.

Then degree in hand, panic sets in.
Seriously, where is this 'happy place'?
So we continue to search, and think we might find it in another person.

You wait, wish and pray for the person of your dreams to come into your life...
cause then you will certainly 'be happy'.
And then they do.
And you are happy.
Ahhhhh.
For a moment.
But wait...maybe true happiness is when you get married.

And so it goes...

Are we wishing our lives away all for the pursuit of happiness?

We live in a world where expectations are high and I wonder if perhaps
we set ourselves up for disappointment.

What is happiness?

Is it big profound moments or all of the little ones in between?

I am not certain, but what I do know is that all happiness is fleeting.
The question though is, does it have to be?
Is it possible to keep that feeling?

Like our most favorite picture, if we close our eyes, I swear we can almost bring back that second. 
The smell, the sound, the feeling.
What if our happiness depends upon how we view life,
 and what we remind ourselves to recall and experience again?

 Happiness.
It doesn't go away. It's always with you.
If you choose to visit it.

I read some where that if you incorporate enough little bits of happiness into your day, and hit pause when they come, if only for that moment you might find that you know exactly what it means to 'be happy.'

*p a u s e*

When was the last time you hit pause?

I'd love to hear your last moment of happiness. Was it bold or a quiet reflection?