Happiness…The Pursuit
Happiness…The Pursuit
By Cathy Perkins
With so much meanness floating around the US right now, I found
myself falling into a funk. Rather than wallow in disgust with our elected
leaders—and unfortunately, I have to use that term in spite of too many lacking
leadership—I decided to focus on the good things in life. At the top of that
list of good things is happiness.
Defining happiness, however, is a bit tougher.
Gee, that was helpful.
Beyond that, the definition seems to divide into two broad
categories:
- the immediate emotion: joy and pleasure
- life satisfaction: an overall appreciation of
one’s life as a whole
While I’m all for events or activities that bring joy and
pleasure, I found I was drawn to that more subjective well-being. I find joy
and pleasure in my family and my community as much as I do my personal pursuits
of writing, art, and travel. What makes me happy doesn’t necessarily make another
person happy. And given that I’ve been staring at a blank screen for two days,
trying to figure out the one scene (that I skipped) needed to finish the first
draft of my latest novel, writing is not making me happy right now.
your purpose in life, the successes you’ve had, the satisfaction of who you are
and what you’ve accomplished. I’m happy right now because I’m grateful for the
life I have now. This isn’t because of something I’m doing at the moment, but rather
because I work hard and have achieved things I’m proud of.
So, what about you? Do you feel life is good, meaningful and
worthwhile?
An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories. When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd. Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook
Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.
She’s hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award (at least after she finishes that last scene in Calling.)
