Happiness runs in a circular motion.

"I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?"
-The Pursuit of Happyness

I think this is one of the most thought provoking quotes any movie has ever created. I suppose all the studying for finals has made me want to think in a more abstract way rather than about concrete things like the prevalence of AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa or forms of resistance of Malaysian female factory workers or whether or not a ping pong paddle should have a high coefficient of restitution. Whatever it is I've been giving it some thought.

It seems that in today's world it's hard to find complete and total satisfaction. I mean COMPLETE satisfaction because it seems like something it always missing or something could always be better. Take a look at wealthy people. If they were completely satisfied would they keep buying those fancy cars? Would they settle for the house with only 2 stories and four rooms or do they have to have the pool, 14 acre lot, and guest house? It sure doesn't seem like it.

I pose the question that many before me probably already have:

What does it take to make someone completely happy?

It probably depends on the person. To one person, it could be a just roof over their head. To another, it could be a roof over their head surrounded by friends and family. And to another, it could be a roof over their head, surrounded by friends and family, with 539 plasma tvs, surrounded by 32 Aston Martins of various colors.

That brings me to ask another question:
Are we completely happy and simply don't know it? Has society made it so that we are always looking for something better? something more?

I don't know if I could say that I am happy. I think I am. I'm pretty sure I am. If we break it down to the basics of basics I should be. My heart is beating normally. I'm breathing normally. I'm functionally normally. I'm fit and healthy (for the most part) No life threatening diseases or anything. To take it a step further: I have a home and a family I love and food...that's pretty important. To go even further: I go to a great college, I've made great friends who are lots of fun, I'm getting good grades, nothing has really significantly brought me down.

And yet...I guess I could be able to run a bit faster and have better upper body strength. I guess I could've gotten into a "better" college. I guess I could be getting better grades, I mean some of my friends are getting better grades than me. I kind of wish I didn't have classes on fridays. I'd really like a new camera. And I really really want to go surfing. I guess I would be happier if I had those things...but it's not like it's affecting the way I live, I don't dwell on it.

It must all be state of mind. I guess you could never really be satisfied if you're constantly looking at what people have that you don't. But if you think about it, you really shouldn't think about it too much. There will always be someone out there getting into better colleges. Someone always doing better in school. Someone always making more money. Someone always driving the nicer car and living in the nicer house. I think having this mindset will make it impossible to be truly happy if you're always wanting what others have, but if there's anything in this world that is hard to change, it is the way people think.

I wish I could confidently say that I am completely satisfied with my life, but the truth is, I'm not and I don't really mind. I don't really want a perfect life with everything I want because then I wouldn't have anything to work towards. I'd never feel a sense of accomplishment or those small moments of happiness when something goes right. But I will say that I am extremely happy with my life right now. I love where I am. I love where I'm going. I love what I'm doing. I love who I'm around and even though I might not have a Canon XSi or an Al Merrick surfboard or that special someone, I'm okay with it. I'm lucky I can say that because I'm sure there are far too many people out there who can't.

"So what have you done to make yourself a little bit happier?"
Saosin

That's basically what I'm asking you. Good luck on finals.

wildwombat