Shooting at Bubbles

Kim & I - a happy moment

In a lot of ways I am a pretty lucky guy. I get to write every day about the things that intrigue me, fascinate me and make me think; and I also get paid which is a great bonus. Even more important though is that I am lucky enough to have a woman in my life who has supported me as we have traveled the road that led to this point and it hasn’t always been an easy road.

I was reminded of this when I read a post today by Penelope Trunk as she shared some rare pictures of her recent wedding to the farmer. I left off reading the post feeling incredibly happy for Penelope, which if you have followed her blog for any length of time you will agree, her happiness is well deserved.

But then I started thinking about my own life as it is right now and wondering what simple things would add anymore happiness to it. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t have any ambitions to be rich. I am more than happy with being able to make sure we have a roof over our heads even if it is only apartment. Not having to worry if the end of the month will come before the end of the money is a great stress relief which given my need to wear a nitro patch is probably a good thing.

Happiness is a funny beast. We are often led to believe that we need to constantly raise our expectations regarding what we want out of life. Yet some of the happiest people I have known have lead what a lot of people would consider simple lives.

In a world where we look to that next new car, a bigger house, the newest gadgets and the next great moment of our lives I sometimes wonder if we have forgotten that happiness more often comes from the little things in our lives. So I decided to take a minute or two and given my current place in life to see if there was any little happiness that could make my life better.

It didn’t take very long before I figured out three different things that would add a little happiness into an already happy life. They boiled down to a purely fun and selfish item, a personal betterment, and finally a bit of love of my life happiness.

The first on the list like I said is purely selfish and something that I have wanted for a long time. It isn’t anything extravagant or really expensive these days and for most people in this business nothing more than an incidental expense. For me however a laptop is still a luxury but with summer around the corner one that I really would like to to be able to afford. After all the happiness of being able to work outside with our dog being able to enjoy the outdoors all day would be a nice bonus.

On the more personal note I wrote at an earlier point about the problem I have with my teeth and how much I wish I could afford the required dentures. Sure this may not seem like a lot to some folks but I know that there is a really big image problem when dealing with other people. You find yourself never smiling and for the most part doing whatever you can to avoid contact with people. In this case happiness over being able to interact with others has a much higher price tag.

As to the last item … well my really close friends know to a certain extent the health problems my wife, Kim, lives with everyday. While I suffer from chronic pain I still manage to be fairly active but the same doesn’t hold true for her. In essence I am her care-giver as the pain she lives with isn’t something I would wish on my worst enemy. For me the greatest little happiness would be for her to have one day without pain and without having to take all the medications she needs. Unfortunately no amount of money will bring that little happiness for either of us.

Life might not always be fair and I always amazed at how people seem to pass over those things in life that do bring them a little happiness. We need to learn to treasure those things, those moments. Much as I have by reading Penelope’s post.

And for Penelope – I truly hope that this day brings many more days of little happiness. Thank you.

Penelope's wedding