What Makes Me Happy - Day 2.2

Arrived back from a wonderful lunch of soup and salad.... alright, so the soup and salad wasn't so wonderful, but the company was indeed more fulfilling than the food.  There are few things more satisfying than good conversation with good friends... Which brings me to another point - there are many things in life much richer than a slice of cherry cheesecake.  The food brings momentary comfort and fulfillment - but it is indeed fleeting, and in fact, soon leads to regret, just like any temporary "fix" or "high".  For example, drinking yourself stupid can make you feel like a million bucks in the moment - maybe it pushes your money problems to the back of your mind, maybe it gives you the nerve to tell that guy you think he's hot, but it stops feeling fun when the room starts spinning and you wake up praying to the porcelain gods (with a helluva headache) the next day, and it sure as shit doesn't pay your bills or cause Mr. Right to magically appear and sweep you off your feet. 

So, sure, when I'm feeling down, that brownie seems like an insanely brilliant idea.  That brownie is easy.  It's tasty.  It's convenient.  It doesn't judge me.  But.... I judge me, and I know that that damned little square of ooey gooey chocolatey goodness isn't going to do anything for me in the long run but raise my blood sugar and make me want to do double sit-ups the next day.  Which got me to thinking.... what if, everytime I started feeling that creeping sensation of depression wash over me, I simply made a list of all the things that make me happy (other than food)?

This ended up being quite a project, because my list, it turns out, is quite long.  Oh, there's the usual, like spending time with family and friends, or hell even my pets.  Seeing a funny movie, going to a rock concert, listening to my favorite band, spending time outdoors and relaxing with a book when the weather's nice, cheering on the Bears during a good season, traveling somewhere exotic when the TSA's not trying to cop a feel, writing, drawing, watching the two guys from Supernatural mud wrestle.... OK, that last one may have slipped in from my subconscious, but you get the idea.  There are plenty of (healthy and much more fulfilling) alternatives to create a bit of happiness in your life - ones that don't come in the form of temporary highs that lead to regret.  Americans are a stressed out people - we work, work, work, and find it hard to come down.  As a result, we're often living our lives jumping from one high to another, in the ultimate pursuit of pleasure to distract us from the daily bump and grind, and we fail to take a moment, slow down and ask ourselves, "Is this REALLY making me happy?" or "What do I REALLY want to be doing right now?" Perhaps we need to ask ourselves these questions more often.  If your answer is, "Gee, I really, TRULY want that brownie right now," then go ahead, have that brownie.  But I'm finding that, more often than not, my answer suprises me because it's usually something along the lines of, "Well now that you mention it, I'm pretty full - but I DO feel like finishing the latest Hunger Games book."

BINGO.

-J