Epilogue:I finished reading The Geography of Bliss not too long ago. I forget to mention it. Perhaps, I meant to not mention it. I'm not exactly sure. The subconscious is a strange thing. Anyway... I finished it (finally) and was quite pleased with the lack of answers found in the book. I was also glad to see Asheville thrown in at the end, but am now fearful of it progressing. Go figure.
Here are some of Eric Weiner's parting words...
"... only a fool or a philosopher would make sweeping generalizations about the nature of happiness. I am no philosopher, so here goes: Money matters, but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude."
"Of all the places I visited, of all the people I met, one keeps coming back to me again and again: Karma Ura, the Bhutanese scholar and cancer survivor. 'There is no such thing as personal happiness,' he told me [Eric]. 'Happiness is one hundred percent relational.' At the time I didn't take him literally. I thought he was exaggerating to make his point: that our relationships with other people are more important than we think.
But now I realize Karma meant exactly what he said. Our happiness is completely and utterly interwined with other people: family and friends and neighbors and the woman you hardly notice who cleans your office. Happiness is not a noun or a verb. It's a conjunction. Connective tissue."
"I'm not 100 percent happy. Closer to feevty-feevty, I'd say. All things considered, that's not so bad. No, not bad at all."
Hi. Me again. So, now I wonder, am I happy? On a scale of one to ten, where do I fall? Maybe these questions are why I chose to ignore the end of this book adventure.
I don't know how happy I am, but I'm pretty sure that I am happy. I'm not miserable. I have a wonderful family (who has their own crazy agenda), great friends (though they're dispersed across the country), a boyfriend who loves me (and lives two hours away and haven't seen in almost two months), my very own business (without a lot of customers), some money (not a lot, but most of the time it's enough) and, generally, I am busy enough not to notice any pain or impulsive enough to entertain myself through the nonsense.
Maybe I'm feevty feevty. All the happy things in my life have down sides, but if I can ignore those parts, then I'm fine, yeah? Yeah. I think. Don't think of endings. Only beginnings. Wait out the bad for the good. Ignore the bad? Not sure.
How can you not be happy in a life where peanut butter and strawberry jam Uncrustables exist anyway?
And I am throwing all my thoughts away. And I'm destroying every bet I've made. And I am joining all my thoughts to you. And I'm preparing every part for you.
3 comments:
finally! someone else appreciates uncrustables!! Don't get the peanut butter honey ones. yuck. somesort of fake honey. narsty. also yum: chic filet lemonade. i gegt a giant diet one. thanks to jess burton. it's so tasty. i think they even give refills. one day i had two giant ones.!! that's a lot of acid in my tummy. oh well. your blog is so interesting. havent read it lately to be honest. havent done much of anything because TOp Model on you tube is such a distraction!
I think our level of happiness is largely influenced by the context in which we receive things. For example, a bath at the end of a good day full of bubbles can be the cherry on your day. The shower at the end of a long hard day can be the only way to wash the funk off. I think Into the wild is a beautiful explanation of happiness and relationships. You can be happy(maybe satisfied is a better word)alone, but happiness is always better when it is shared. There are going to be times when you are alone, and all you can do is make the most of the little joys in life. bubbles.sunscreen smell and really good tangerine tofu.
strange.
I had a conversation with my heather today about a job offer she received, from the man who invented uncrustables and sold the idea to smuckers.
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