The Happiness that is Life

Sometimes we get so caught up in the race of life that we forget to stop and think whether this marathon we're trying to get first place in is even worth it. We never stop to look up at the clouds or stare out at the endless ocean and see the sun set. We are too busy rushing to get ready to catch the bus that is going to come in the next six minutes to take us to the cubicle where we sit and block out all signs of another day passing by. Often times these questions run through my mind as I run to catch my own bus to another day enclosed by doors and windows but as I run I see a man walking with his fishing rod to the lake. And my emotions get torn by the question, the happiness that is life? Have we just perfected the skill of compromise and adjustment and can tune our minds to be happy in the unhappy? Or are we all just leading this imperfect life in the hope of a bigger perfection somewhere at the end of the tunnel? Why has it become so hard to live for today, for this moment and even if it is just one day in the year, why has it become so hard to take a breather from this rat race and give yourself a break. People talk of vacations but even there, the wrath of the blackberry, the iphone, the laptop do not leave your shadow.

Today I stopped. I breathed. I sit at the pier of Lake Mendota with the 70F sun shinning on my face, the calmness of the water soothing my eyes and the fluff of the clouds making patterns up high and making me smile. And even though I sit with my iphone next to me and my laptop in front of me, my mind has stopped and my heart is breathing. The song, 'Missing Sunday' runs through my headphones and I can't help but think that sometimes, it's good to have a day go missing just so the path becomes a little less hazy and life a little less jaded.