Shiny Happy People

So I watched The Pursuit of Happyness yesterday.
Good movie.

Although the main story was that of a man struggling to survive with barely any money, a young son to look after, and the dream of a making a better career for himself to look after his son, there was one line in the film that really made me think.

The main character narrated a thought about a line in the declaration of independence:
Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of Happiness.

He said that he had always wondered why Thomas Jefferson thought to put the word PURSUIT in there. Like, how did he know it would always be a pursuit? Did this mean that we as humans could never fully be happy in this life? That we will always be pursuing the dream of happiness, rarely able to attain it, only chase after the idea of it?

Very interesting indeed.

This struck a strong chord with me, because I have been struggling with this for the last few months in my own life.
When I heard this in the movie, it was a total whoa moment.

I really wonder…

What exactly IS happiness? What do we base it on? What should we sacrifice for it? Is it even a tangible state of being? And if so, for how long?

Not trying to be a pessimist here, but I really do think that the moments of true happiness in life are few and far between. The majority of it seems like a struggle to reach some plain of palatable contentment.
And that’s only within ourselves, as singular beings.
Add other people to the mix - friends, family, spouse’s - it seems damn near impossible to attain a balanced state of happiness throughout.
Then there’s societal pressure to be the portrait of success, and that almost always boils down to money. A man made evil that we spend our entire lives trying to make, hoard, spend, and invest. Another pursuit all in itself.

So I’m thinking, perhaps this theory of happiness is just that for a lot of people - a theory, a dream.
An idea that keeps us going, keeps us working, keeps us sacrificing our own wants/needs.

Maybe yes, maybe no.

In many ways, I suppose it’s a good thing. I mean if we all woke up one day and realized that true happiness is a myth, I suppose we would all soon become a very depressed and counter productive society.
Mediocrity would become the new black.

The dream of ideal circumstances keeps us motivated to try harder and do better, and I guess that could never be a bad thing.

My thought, though, is that perhaps we should be content with what we have and who we are as we are, at some points in our lives.
Feeling the need to continue to pursue this allusive happiness we hear so much about can really take our focus off the here and now, which may be just fine as it is.

There will always be something we long for, something we imagine will complete us and fill in the gaps, which we are convinced will lead us all to the coveted elation of true happiness.
It keeps us moving. It keeps us determined. It keeps us focused on a prize.

What do you suppose would happen if you actually reached true happiness though? If you attained everything you had ever dreamed about, worked towards, and sacrificed for?
Do you believe it would be everything you had wished for?
What would your goals be after that point?

Would that be the end of the course of your natural life - because the pursuit was won, the prize obtained?

Interesting to think about.