unexpected

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me that I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life."

--John Lennon

What is the key to happiness? Is it love? Is it friendship? Is it family? Is it success? Is it doing what other people think you should do with your life?

I am currently in the midst of an interesting twist, as Lisa would say. Of course, the road you are on seems to be smooth, then there is a construction worker who has to go and jack things up. You have the option of continuing to drive down the bumpy road that you are on with the chance of ruining your car, or you have the option to turn down a different one and press re-route on your GPS. Your ultimate goal is happiness. Do you continue driving down the bumpy road that seems to be a direct line to the end? You cannot see if the road smooths out, or if it indeed does end up where you want it to go. There is also the option of taking an adventure and driving down a new road, one that has a lot of turns and detours to the end goal of happiness. Taking that road allows happiness to come to you because you have to make it for yourself.

There is a famous saying that I love. Gay Hintze (an elderly woman I knew very well) made it into a bookmark for me: You may be at a fork in the road but it is the forks in the road that make life interesting and lead us to new adventures. The journey is half the fun.

I really do feel that the journey is half the fun. It reminds me of To Wong Fu. Vida Boheme throws the map out of the window while they are trying to get to LA. On the way, they encounter things that they would never expect and touch the lives of a dinky little town. Yet, it is what they wanted in the end--the growth, the friendship and the happiness.

"So don't be afraid to make mistakes, to stumble, to fail, cause most of the time the greatest rewards come from the things that scare us the most. Maybe you'll get everything you wish for... Maybe you'll get more than you could ever have imagined... Who knows where life will take you. The road is long and in the end... the journey is the destination."

--Chad Fiveash

Hues and Hughes

Here I am in Connecticut. Cheshire to be exact, and there is no cat here telling me confusing riddles that are hard to understand.

As I sit here and devour the eloquent, articulated ideas that Ayn Rand proclaims in her minimal words, I ponder many things that I have learned over the past few years and more importantly, the past few months.

A couple days past I saw the almost as ingeniously conceived movie Eat Pray Love. This is what has sparked my intriguing devotion to my thoughts.

"We cannot know what will be wrong or right in a selfless society, nor what we'll feel, nor in what manner. We must destroy the ego first. We must believe. Believe even if your mind objects. Don't think. Believe. Trust your heart, not your brain. Don't think. Feel. Believe."

This summer has been quite crazy. I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned a lot about friendship. I have learned a lot about relationships. I have learned a lot in general.

I have learned that I if I put my mind to it, I can do just about anything. I can pick up something very difficult that I would never think I could learn and become confident in myself.

I have learned that some people are crazy. They may seem sane on the outside, but the more one gets to know them, they turn hostile, untrustworthy and a lot of lies can be spread quickly.

I have learned that I need to not trust so easily. What I say to someone might not always stay in confidence. Things seem to always leak. Either that or you never know who is listening.

I have learned that someone you might think hates you, is jealous of you or rude may in fact be looking out for you and wanting to be a friend.

I have learned that moving forward with life may be difficult, but it is also the first stepping stone to creating a happy life. You can never look back with regret, but you can look back with fond memories.

I have learned people do truly care.

I have learned that some things are not worth leaving behind. They are worth holding on to and never letting go.