Day 18: Where are you happiest?
I see happiness as a state of mind.
I wouldn't say that where I am determines my happiness. Obviously being in a beautiful/ familiar/ comforting/ exciting place doesn't hurt, but I think that if I know I'm only feeling happy because of my surroundings, then it's just not genuine.
This sounds a bit depressing, but let me give you an example. Last summer, I went on holiday to Kefalonia with my family and some family friends. One evening we decided to go down to the nearby beach and swim in the dark. I'll always remember swimming in that warm, inky-black water and looking up to see the sky full of millions and millions of twinkling stars as being one of the most amazing things I've ever done. It was the kind of stargazing you just can't do in a city: where the more you look, the more stars seem to appear, getting smaller and smaller as you find yourself looking further and further away into the darkness.
I remember thinking I should be truly happy in that moment. Yes, I appreciated the beauty and I was more than grateful for the privilege, yet the happiness I felt was almost fleeting. I was painfully aware that it couldn't last, and instead of savouring it, I couldn't help but worry about what I felt was wrong with my life. Being in a beautiful place and still thinking about how much I was dreading my future only seemed to highlight my underlying anxieties.
Maybe that example makes me sound spoilt and ungrateful, but I'm not sure how else I could have explained what I mean. I guess that I need to be truly happy within myself before I can be happy anywhere, regardless of how beautiful or amazing the place is. I can also be surrounded by everyone I love and still feel just as isolated and unhappy as when I'm sitting alone in my room; perhaps even more so.
I think if I'm really happy, then it doesn't matter where I am. My happiness is connected to me and, if it's genuine, it doesn't just break off in an oppressive location or a difficult situation.
What do you think about happiness? Is where you are important?
Harriet x
I wouldn't say that where I am determines my happiness. Obviously being in a beautiful/ familiar/ comforting/ exciting place doesn't hurt, but I think that if I know I'm only feeling happy because of my surroundings, then it's just not genuine.
This sounds a bit depressing, but let me give you an example. Last summer, I went on holiday to Kefalonia with my family and some family friends. One evening we decided to go down to the nearby beach and swim in the dark. I'll always remember swimming in that warm, inky-black water and looking up to see the sky full of millions and millions of twinkling stars as being one of the most amazing things I've ever done. It was the kind of stargazing you just can't do in a city: where the more you look, the more stars seem to appear, getting smaller and smaller as you find yourself looking further and further away into the darkness.
I remember thinking I should be truly happy in that moment. Yes, I appreciated the beauty and I was more than grateful for the privilege, yet the happiness I felt was almost fleeting. I was painfully aware that it couldn't last, and instead of savouring it, I couldn't help but worry about what I felt was wrong with my life. Being in a beautiful place and still thinking about how much I was dreading my future only seemed to highlight my underlying anxieties.
Maybe that example makes me sound spoilt and ungrateful, but I'm not sure how else I could have explained what I mean. I guess that I need to be truly happy within myself before I can be happy anywhere, regardless of how beautiful or amazing the place is. I can also be surrounded by everyone I love and still feel just as isolated and unhappy as when I'm sitting alone in my room; perhaps even more so.
I think if I'm really happy, then it doesn't matter where I am. My happiness is connected to me and, if it's genuine, it doesn't just break off in an oppressive location or a difficult situation.
What do you think about happiness? Is where you are important?
Harriet x
