The quest for happiness

Life is just a series of events that occur between the highlights. 

Y'know... the countdown chain until Christmas, marking days on the calendar until the next birthday, waiting for a vacation.

Maybe there is something wrong with how our brains are programmed.

We wait with anticipation for these highlights in our life, and breathe them in with pleasure.  Then it's over.  You're left with memories to relive, wanting more. 

We have a Disneyland trip on the horizon to look forward to.  I remember how this works.  We wait.  Dreamy and excited.  We spend four fabulous days at Disneyland, and are sad when it is over.

One year we went for five days.  Do you know what happens on the fifth day?  You find yourself eating popcorn on a bench, tossing some to birds.  You start going on the more boring rides.  A spin on Mark Twain, actually visiting the Hall of Presidents, riding the horse carriage.

Although you still enjoy the cemented memories, it just becomes... enough.

There is such thing as too much birthday, too much vacation, too much holiday.

So how do you find the balance where you aren't left wanting more and you haven't exhausted the fun factor?

The human brain grows bored, restless.  Could this be caused by an emotional malfunction of the mind?

I think the world is full of sad, lonely people trying to fill a void.  Few have truly found what makes them happy.  Maybe the brain is programmed incorrectly.  Maybe they are going about it all wrong.

We believe money buys happiness.  We think it's important to keep up with the Jones'.  We invest in materials, not human companionship.  I'm saddened to predict that, for most people, this will never change.  It's a shame.

I'm going to ride roller coasters with my children, and treasure those memories. 

I'm going to remember that life doesn't always have all the highlights we hope for.  Actually, life doesn't usually go the way we thought it should have, hoped for, or could have.

Then I'm going to remember to treasure the few people in my life that truly bring me happiness.  They are timeless and irreplaceable.
And hopefully, if I've done it right, they know who they are...