When reading before bed (yay! I have time to read before bed again!) this week, The Happiness Project was discussing if the happiness of a person could only be measured after a person is happy in the face of adversity.
This has always been a source of guilt for me. I have led a very fortunate life. From having a supportive family to getting into University of Maryland to finding my job at Berger, my life has not had to face many hard times. Thats not to say I don't work hard at my job and schoolwork, I do, but I realize a lot comes down to just plain good luck.
I haven't experienced the death of a close family member since I was 8 and have never lost a very close friend. I realize how incredibly fortunate I was that my parents were able to afford to pay for my undergraduate education and that Berger is currently paying for most of my graduate school. I make a decent living at a job I like and I have a great support structure of friends. Life is Good.
So, does that mean I'm not truly happy? Overall, it's fairly easy to be happy. Sure, I've had to work late all of this week and most of next, but for once I'm getting overtime, so I really don't mind. The only truly upsetting thing that has happened to me lately was the Computer File Deletion Fiasco of 2010 (I back up in email and on Berger's internal drive now, lesson learned!). And really, in the scheme of everything, that wasn't all that bad. Within 24 hours I had recreated everything and then some.
No real cohesive thoughts today. Haven't had the time to mentally compose this blog ahead of time. Just kind of the inner ramblings of my mind. I think that while adversity can strengthen a person's resolve and appreciation for happiness, the absence of catastrophe and struggle doesn't negate happiness.
Some people say, you can't enjoy happiness until you've experienced true sadness. I don't know that I agree with that.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the captcha to type in to post that comment was "bumsmart." Hmmmm.
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