It is commonly said that the key to happiness is living in the now. Too often, we spend our waking moments dreaming and planning for a future just beyond our fingertips.
Tom Hennen, in his poem, The Life of a Day, says, “We examine each day before us with barely a glance and say, ‘no, this isn’t one I’ve been looking for,’ and wait in a bored sort of way for the next, when we are convinced, our lives will start for real.” In one sentence, Tom has encapsulated man's primal psychological flaw. In a lifelong scavenger hunt for the key to happiness, we look past the beauty smiling at us round every corner. Instead of stopping to smile back, we drive full speed ahead toward a destination unknown, hoping and praying that when we get there, we will instantly know that this is the place; the place we've always dreamed of, where happiness stares you in the face without blinking. How naive. Not to say I'm immune to this sentiment. But like everyone else who ponders it, I realize how absurd we are to saunter through life with our dreams perpetually set on the horizon. Spend all your time grasping for things just out of reach, and you'll forget to enjoy that which you already hold. However, my question is this: If you have already stumbled upon that majestic place where happiness massages your soul 24 hours a day, how do you return once again to find beauty in the banality of reality? The irony is that we have all unlocked the key to happiness at one point or another in our lives. The problem is that key only opens the door for a fleeting moment. The pure, uncut happiness we all seek is ephemeral. The question now, is what to do with the key until we find another door?
3 Comments
11/18/2009 12:35:11 am
so true!! i'm always looking ahead... gotta learn to live in and appreciate the present! life is pretty good here and now if you think about it!
Reply
Christos
11/18/2009 12:46:01 am
So awesome. I have read your stuff starting years back and will always be impressed. Continue on your path to enlightenment, or at least whichever path you choose.
Reply
courtney Baldwin
11/18/2009 01:42:10 am
I love your writing Marc. You use just the right words to describe these emotions that others, including myself, cannot describe. Keep it up bro. Mad love
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Random Thoughts
Welcome to my blog. The literary sanctuary where I will write about anything and everything. Feedback, both positive and negative, is encouraged. Thank you. Archives
June 2010
Categories
All
|