The Pursuit of Happiness

Have you ever had such a strong pursuit of happiness that you did not stop for a moment just to be happy? Our pursuit of happiness seems to be misguided, whether by our own minds or the conditioning of the media driven world in which we live. We now associate being happy with money or products, yet both of those usually create a bigger void in our lives that is near impossible to fill.

I often ask people, what would make you happy. The responses obviously vary however a high percentage respond with a purchase of something, a trip, plastic surgery, etc. If I could just buy this or that, get an enhancement here or there, take that cruise, I would be happy. The question becomes what happens after that incident, how long before the happy wears off or did it ever get started. You see when we are material driven we lose the happiness we thought we were going to get because it is either not the quality we thought we would get, which is an excuse by the way, or like a new drug we could not get enough of it.

The pursuit of happiness in materialism will always leave carnage behind. We step over others to gain our self serving ego driven joy that only sets us up to have to have more. That is sad because the people around you can feel the power, control, and bitterness you unknowingly express in your solo pursuit of material happiness.
What makes you happy? What do you think will make you happy?
This is a great question to ask someone that is dying from a terminal disease or the elderly. I can promise you almost without fail that they will never respond with a dream of materialism. My simple mind tells me that our pursuit of happiness should be centered around our search for self.

It is in our greatest search for self that man will find true meaning in life. The acceptance of self in a world that conditions us to hate who we are is a wonderful beginning. Stop looking at the wrinkle cream, the botox, the miracle or wonder drugs to find who you are, or worse to make you who you think you want to be.

God created you an original stop trying to make yourself a copy of someone else. Your blue print is unique, you are not a cookie cutter throw away person. You are you and you are THE GREATEST MIRACLE IN THE WORLD. You were born with the seeds of greatness but life gave you a drought and your seed never sprouted. It is time to water those seeds with love and believe in your heart that you deserve to be happy. Not in a material way but in a way that stirs passion and love.

We, you, me, all deserve to find happy, peaceful joy in this life. I urge you to find it by finding you. Learn to open your mind to possibilities you never thought possible, learn to dream again. Accept who you are, with all your dents and dings. Love yourself unconditionally and you will truly learn to love others. Remember the world and the people in it are not bad, it is our self centered view of them that makes them good or bad.
Give your heart permission to explore areas that were once off limits. Stop living in the shadows of others and learn to live your potential.

Life is truly a dream, especially the moment you decide to live it. No man is a failure until he starts blaming others for where he is in life. Blame is a train wreck that serves no one. You are where you are and honestly you are in the right place to build the dream of life once again. Build it from the ground up. Build with hope, love, and peace. Build it with the belief that you can climb the highest mountains. Build it with the belief that you are only limited by your own mind. Life is short and life not lived is a wasted life. Helen Keller so eloquently said "the only thing worse than a life without sight is a life with no vision". I think she understood the pursuit of happiness, do you.

Peace love and joy
Dale