Happily Ever After

We expect happiness. Think of all the times you've heard people answer that they measure their success by the extent that they are happy. Think of all the songs that you listen to that are about a soul searching for happiness. Mankind is in a constant pursuit of happiness because we think we are entitled to be happy. We expect happiness.

Not to be the person who sees the glass as half empty, but I think our neediness to be happy is a little skewed. Actually, I think it's a little selfish. I think that I'm learning that life isn't about being happy; that our successes shouldn't be built on the foundation of how happy we are with life. I think that we have a higher calling in life than to pursue our own happiness. I think that we were created to live a life beyond ourself. We were made to become better people, not happier people. I think somehow this comes full circle; that becoming a better person will make us a happier person in some respect. However, I think its the process of becoming a better person that deters us because its not about finding happiness. Its not about what we expect life should be.

Becoming better means sometimes taking the narrow road, something that can be uncomfortable and scary because you don't know exactly where it will lead. It means taking risks and becoming vulnerable. It's about hurting, being broken. Through this though, we become better people; as we become better, hopefully we encourage other people to do the same. And it's then that we really start to live life - when our life becomes not about us but about others.

I'm still trying to figure out how to do this because, like so many others, sometimes its just easier to settle for complacency. Sometimes its just easier to live in my comfortable apartment, to get in the same routine everyday, to never look beyond what my eyes can see in front of me. Sometimes its easier to believe in a happily ever after. But I know that's not what I want from life. It's not what I expect.