Happiness Is...

I think that there are 3 kinds of happiness. Past, present, and future.

Past tense happiness includes feelings of satisfaction, contentment, pride, and serenity. Here within, you rely on nolstalgic elements and good memories to serve as a window for peering into a glorified past. Whether it was the time that your buddy got wasted at a party and wandered into main street ass-naked in 30 degree weather, or the time when you got straight As by busting your ass before summer break started, you look back with a little smile on your face and are glad that you’ve had the opportunity to have had such experiences.

Present forms include things that pleasure your senses: for example, enjoying good food, listening to your favorite music, absorption of knowledge through reading and learning, enjoying the company of friends, family and loved ones, having sex, getting drunk or high (if that’s your thing), feeling the adrenaline of competition, or even doing something crazy like skydiving or driving 30 miles over the speed limit.

How about the future? I believe this is difficult to attain and maintain. We can have hope, optimism, trust, security, faith, and self confidence. You can set lifelong goals towards financial success. You could be planning a family. Or maybe, you’re looking forward to early retirement. The fear here is, how far can you take this if things don’t go exactly as planned? Does your brain have to be rigged or trained a certain way to always look forward without reason and cause to worry and stress out?

It’s important to strive for all three types in proper moderation. There are those who always look to the past for non-existent answers and thus forgo on living for the moment. There are those who overindulge in the present with decadence and ignorance, never preparing for future consequences. And there are those who are so optimistic/happy-go-lucky that it becomes a cruel façade of denial and self-deception.

What has been interesting to me is reading about these spiritual/meditative types who claimed to have transcended the perpetual flux of emotions. Nirvana, eternal bliss, a permanent high, what have you. They withdraw from the high emotional demands of the modern human condition (like forgoing all material possessions and walking around in a loincloth like Buddha and fasting for days on end) and dedicate their minds to an altered state of an enlightened mind. Being a spoiled kid that goes to college who has been brainwashed by popular culture and the media and consequently wants everything in life (money, fame, babes, fast cars), I don’t exactly know what’s worse: Being a hobo ascetic, or being ultra-emo.

On a side note, I find it a little strange that clothing brands trumpet this mantra towards life most frequently. American Eagle touts, “Live your life!“