HAPPINESS
2.
good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.
So where is the Thoughtful Wanderer going with this essay? First of all, isn't that old saying, "The long and the short of it?" That's correct, but for the purpose of today's blog, I've turned that around, and hopefully I can explain why.
Part of what prompted me to write about this, was a line in an email from a friend in Australia. During a recent conversation he was having with mutual friends back here in Canada, my name came up. Apparently the friends in Canada said to the friend in Australia that Paul had, "fallen off the face of the planet." Now as far as I can tell, at least at the moment, my feet are well and truly still planted on the ground, so in a literal sense, no, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, but in another way, I most certainly have done so. But why?
The why is tied in directly with the title of today's blog post, and it also explains why I've switched that old saying around. These days, and for quite some time now, I've had a very short view of my future, and believe it or not, I think that that is a good thing, and is directly related to my current happiness. I, like everyone else "on the face of the planet" have no idea what day will be my final day, but I do know that it will come. I accept that. Three little words. But I really do, and as a result, it helps me to get the maximum amount of life out of each moment. That is the goal. This mindset, at least for me, and I can only speak for me, has had the effect of increasing my happiness. It seems to be a paradox, but so it goes.
In addition, because this is my view of life now, it helps to put a very sharp focus on how I spend whatever time I do have left. Unfortunately, this has probably had a negative impact on others, and if that is so, then I apologize. However in my defense, I wouldn't expect to try and tell anyone else how to spend their precious time.
For whatever reason, this rather abbreviated view of the future, has, at least in my experience, a very negative impact on most people, and I guess that I am now well past the time of trying to share this point of view with others. It seems to make them either sad, or at the very least, they want to change the subject. I certainly don't want to intentionally make anyone sad, so it seems best to not mention this view of life in "polite company" as it were, and perhaps that explains why Paul has "fallen off the face of the planet." Instead, I continue to focus on the moments I have, however many more they will be. It may be difficult for others to get to this mental state of mind, but I can highly recommend it. You too, can end up looking like my new furball friend, Silken in the above photo. Blissed-out and content.
living a life of simple acceptance,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
PS: I may not be able to post on February 14th and 21st due to either computer issues and/or my travel itinerary, but I will endeavor to do so if at all possible.
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