The Pursuit of Happiness



 

This was written for Blogophilia

Week 6.10 Topic: “Wish Upon a Star”

Bonus Points:

Hard (2 pts): Quote George Sand **

Easy (1 pt): Use three vegan foods in your blog (I did not)

 

 

So I was originally thinking of poeming this topic, but when I looked up George Sand quotes, this is the first one that I saw:

"There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." **

And I disagreed with her.   

Maybe it’s the way she said it, but the part of me that doesn’t like to be told what to do, took issue with her telling me the only way to achieve the only happiness in life; perhaps suggesting that if I hadn’t met that exact criteria, then I haven’t experienced the only happiness possible in life.  Initially I assumed she was talking about romantic love.  In that sense, I’ve loved over the years, but I haven’t been loved back in a very long time.  And just because the second part of her equation isn’t there, that doesn’t mean I haven’t had real happiness, or that the only one happiness we can achieve is hinged upon not only loving but being loved in return. 

But then I thought of the other, non-romantic type of love – love of friends, family, humanity.  When I wish upon a star, do I wish for that special someone to come into my life, for another chance at romantic love and, apparently, my only shot at the only one happiness possible?  *shrugs*  Not really, not anymore.  Because that doesn’t define me or limit my ability to truly be happy.  Instead, I look to the stars and wish that my family and friends stay safe, and happy and healthy.  (Of course, sometimes I go a little sideways and wish for a bajillion dollars so my friends and I can travel the world, but that’s another story – lol!)  But I do love to love, and loving makes me happy.

To love and be loved - how important is that “and”?  That’s what has me the most hung up on this quote.  Is it the vital component to the only one happiness in life? The only one happiness??  I tried to think what it would be like if I didn’t have family and friends who loved me.  Would it negate my capacity to love?  Could we still love strangers, the earth, the moon and stars, the forest or the ocean or the animals?  Would we still love music, and traveling, exploring, creating?  And if we could, then is that enough to achieve happiness?  If so, then there is more than one happiness in life, and more than one way to achieve happiness, and the quote is wrong.

"There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved."

I read that quote to my nineteen-year-old daughter a few minutes ago, and asked her if she agreed with it.  She said she didn’t either, then she referred me to this quote, from the Anime series Code Geass:

“A long time ago, Nunally, Suzaku, and I talked about something. We wondered what happiness would look like if we could give it a physical form. If I'm not mistaken, I think it was Suzaku that said that the shape of happiness might resemble glass. His reasoning made sense. He said that even though you don't usually notice it, it's still definitely there. You merely have to change your point of view slightly, and then that glass will sparkle when it reflects the light. I doubt that anything else could argue its own existence more eloquently.” ― Lelouch Vi Britannia

We all have our own happiness inside us, and our own point of view in how to achieve that.  There is no singular end-all, be-all answer. 

© Dahlia Ramone:  April 2, 2017