Who wants a slice of Happiness pie?

For my final post of the week, I'm concentrating on HAPPINESS.


As it's Friday, there seems to be a common sense of celebration at the conclusion of the traditional working week, regardless of whether there is a day of work or a day off awaiting on Saturday. It's not ground-breaking but it's happiness alright.


A few slices of clarity (some of mine and some from friends) have also compelled me if you will to try and broach the topic without too many nauseating cliches becoming involved. 


The first slice was working out that western culture as a whole is utterly infatuated with the idea of happiness. It seems as though are whole lives are shaped around achieving a constant state of contentment. I am definitely in favour of contentment, but all day every day? It's just not going to happen, reality makes sure of that.


The second slice came courtesy of the combination of Bridget Jones's Diary and alcohol. The huge rush of empathy I felt towards Bridget as she realised that something in her life had to change, otherwise she would end up alone and found dead eaten by Alsations was notable. But, it wasn't a fear of DYING ALONE that I had to combat, I had to change something so I don't FEEL ALONE. Bingo! 
A more coherent version of this idea I saw this very morning in my friend's room.

  


The third slice of clarity was in the form of a conversation with another friend. She was telling me that she had come to the conclusion that happiness isn't an all consuming emotion. Happiness is not mutually exclusive to feeling insecure or angry or upset. I think she's spot on. 
I've found that notion to be very true, particularly since going on nursing placements. Most of the time I'm excited about helping patients, and also terrified of doing wrong by them. Seeing your patients in their situations often leaves me evaluating what I have to be thankful for that I never think about. I'm really happy and thankful to be able to walk, talk and eat without assistance for example. 


But going to such an extreme of a very ill person doesn't always get you feeling any better about your own life and in your own skin. Sometimes I wish that the broader definition of 'being happy' equated to how day to day life plays out. I'm happy because I got the last chocolate cannoli in the shop, or I got the green man the second I pressed the pedestrian button. Adding those instances up can make for a whole lot more happiness than maybe you realised you even had.


Gotye was definitely right, you can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness. So I'm not waiting around for some sort of euphoria to set in because one day I might finish my degrees, travel the world or eventually 'settle down'. So I'm taking all the smaller bits of happiness and putting them together for right now. 
Hope your weekend is a happy one (ha ha). K x