happiness is....

In life, it becomes very easy to become miserable. Misery can come from anywhere. The job. Family. Neighbors. You name it. You'll find misery just about anywhere. Happiness, on the other hand, isn't so easy to come by. True happiness is a bit of a rare commodity.

If you doubt it, just look at all the people you put up with in any given day. At different points of the day, we have to deal with aggressive drivers. Maybe you have a real jerk of a boss. At one point or another, most of us have to deal with co-workers who manage to cause all sorts of problems for us. Failing marriages is commonplace, creating misery for everyone involved. Finances and health issues can frequently cause problems.

Problems like this, and so many more, can make a person legitimately miserable. It's any wonders why people can become angry, bitter, depressed, and so on. It's stuff like this that makes happiness so important.

Where does a person gain happiness from? For some, it's their children. Others may find happiness at church (or respective equivalent). Perhaps some of you have one or two really great friends that you can count on, no matter what.

This may seem idiotic to some of you, but I still manage to gain pleasure out of pro wrestling shows. I've heard the points about it being fake or I should've outgrown  this sort of things when I was a kid. Yet, I still manage to enjoy it anyway.

Why?

Because watching a good wrestling show is no different for me then watching any number of movies and/or television shows. When I watch any of the Rambo movies, I know Stallone isn't really killing anyone. Even though I know Stallone isn't killing some evil Commie, I can really get excited when watching Rambo shoot a million rounds a minute without reloading once.

It's no different then watching anything else. Does anyone really believe Ed O'Neill is married to a lazy, red-headed woman from Wanker County? Anyone really think that he makes minimum wage selling women's shoes?

Wrestling for me is no different. I know it's all planned out and I still manage to enjoy it. If a show is done well, it can be just as entertaining as any movie or TV show.

Happiness for me also comes in the form of having some quiet time. It could be as short as 15-20 minutes. Could be 3-4 hours. Whenever I get plenty of time to myself to be alone in my thoughts, I usually manage to enjoy myself. When I'm alone, I might just sit back and enjoy some music. If a favorite TV show is on, maybe watch that. As long as I have some time to just be alone and not deal with anyone.

I've never been an outgoing person, so it drives me nuts when I have to spend a lot of time around others.

I also find that I enjoy having a meal around those that I care about, no matter how dysfunctional they may be. It doesn't even have to be a good meal, so long as I'm with loved ones. It's a pretty short list of people I care about.

Much like dad, I enjoy long drives in the country whenever I get the chance. Just east of here (Fargo-Moorhead) is Lakes Country. I enjoy the scenery out there. Doesn't matter if I go to Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls or any other town.

Outside of stuff like this, I don't get a lot of happiness. Then again, it's usually the simple stuff in life that keeps me happy.

Comments? Thoughts? Feel free to add them in the comments section below.