Mountain Peaks

 So since I'm treating this as an open book journal for all to read and comment on, I've side-barred several topics that I would love to get to or have been working on to talk about what is relevant in my life. This is a slightly different post thematically but hopefully relevant and enjoyable nonetheless.

Lately, life has been good. It snuck up on me, much like spring can and will after the arduous cold hard months of winter. One day, you just go outside to check the mailbox and you realize that the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and you could probably swap out the sweats and slippers for some shorts and flip flops. Similarly, my life is blooming right now. This was only brought to my attention by a friend who had asked me about what I was writing about. I hadn't been writing at all.  As I pondered the "why," I quickly realized that it was because nothing had inspired me recently.  Further exploration and introspection revealed that I almost exclusively write, inspired by the trials and tribulations (and subsequent lessons learned) that I encounter.

After this personal revelation, I made known to my friend this [troubling?] trend to which he replied:

"Happiness writes as white ink on a white page"

-Salman Rushdie

So today I want to explore what we do when things are good.  To be honest, I have pinned my hopes on the fact that some of you will interpret the quote differently than I do, and further anticipate those interpretations to be commented below.  I love discussion.

Here's a paradox for you: Good times are both highly memorable and yet distinctly forgettable once they have passed.

Personally, it seems to me that I can recall and recount difficulty with the greatest of detail, in comparison to simplicity and ease. I expect this is a symptom of the human experience. Why spend time and energy focusing on good? It would seem, at first glance, that there is little value in doing so when there are much more pressing and stressful matters at hand. There is always another corner sneaking up on us, that we have to round, and what unspoken horror awaits us? Speaking from an evolutionary standpoint, it would appear to me that survival dictates that we process any level of distress with the utmost urgency and attention. In that case, I would pose a question or two to myself: 

• Do we ever actively seek out negative minutiae when things are good?
• Are we ever guilty of sabotaging our own happiness by looking for something to worry about?

I know that on the rare occasion that I recognize that my life is relatively stress free, I immediately erect walls and buttresses with which I may guard my newfound precious treasure. I want to prolong that feeling for as long as possible, all-the-while begrudgingly acknowledging that the moment is likely fleeting. It is easy to get caught up hoarding happiness and in the process, lose it. 

I have really worked on self-awareness and anxiety management this last year and from my current perspective, I see a few viable options of approach to the conundrum of prolonged happiness.

First, recognize the moment. It is so easy to nitpick and find fault or reasons to worry. Our lives are, by design, over-crowded and stressful. So take time to take account for how things are going. I have found that more often than not, things are better than they first appeared. We take the negative grain of sand in hand, and focus so intently upon it, that we fail to recognize the beach that surrounds us. A little self-awareness may divulge the fact that we have more "happy times," than we at first give ourselves credit for.

Second, enjoy the moment. You are here and you have made it! You have ascended the mountain of life and the summit is glorious. Word of advice: DO NOT LOOK DOWN. Every peak will eventually have a descent. It is the nature of things. But why worry about the inevitable, and in the process, lose grasp of the happiness of the moment? I would bet that making the most of a period of peace will soften the blow of having to descend once again in the muck. 

The second point seems key to me. Because we shouldn't just swap out the white ink for black. We should put the font in bold, italics, underline, and highlight it. Give yourself something to both look back at, and anticipate moving forward. Something memorable. Enjoy the good and the bad knowing there is always good somewhere, sometime in your future. 

To put it simply: live in the moment. Be thankful. Count your blessings. Share your joy and positive energy with others when you've got some extra to share. Lets choose to live happy lives, because it is inevitably our choice.