The Pursuit of Happiness

I used to think that to be happy is the ultimate goal in life. Consequently, I thought hurt and sorrow were the evils we must avoid at all costs. It's a bit naive in my part, now that I think about it. Not that these perceptions are wrong, but just not as absolute as I thought they were.

Happiness would lose its meaning if we were constantly happy. There wouldn't be that glory and that want to be happy. At the same time, the feeling of pain would lose its meaning because these are two complimentary emotions that to lose the meaning of one would render the other meaningless as well. Everything would just be the same, if we were brought up to feeling only one side of the spectrum of human emotions because I don't  think we'd discern feelings if that were the case, because we wouldn't be able to identify which is which.

I've new found appreciation for the whole range of human emotions, be it in the good or bad side of the scale. Pleasant emotions make us feel better, make us feel more complete and I still think it's a good idea to strive to be happy. At the same time a lot of emotions are unpleasant and unwanted, but understanding that there's a rainbow because of the rain creates a whole new perspective; we should take in the good and the bad, because life would be more meaningful with both. 

Let's not be picky and take a cue from Forrest Gump, "Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." 

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Image taken from here.