The Key to Happiness

I think I have found the key to happiness. In a departure from my traditional style, I will save you the wordy build up and get right down to it. The key to happiness lies in our ability to realize one simple fact. The fact is this...

Every minute we spend is an investment.

Unless today is the day of our death, we are all given the same 24 hours to invest with however we choose. When we invest poorly we feel like shit. When we invest well, we feel happy.  This is not to say, however, that poor investments should be avoided at all costs. After all, even the poorest investments can still pay the long term dividend of a lesson learned. But rest assured, before you realize what the lesson was, you'll probably feel like shit.

The secondary benefit of treating every minute like an investment is the meaning it creates in the most mundane, unglamorous aspects of our lives. 'Making lunch' for the kids, becomes an 'investment in their nutrition.' Lounging on the couch doing nothing is really an 'investment in rejuvenation.'  While I admit that these examples are borderline ridiculous, I believe there is great benefit in looking at all aspects of life in this way. If we actively take a look at how we invest our time, maybe our actions will become collectively more positive. For example, if you called spreading office gossip 'investing in a toxic workplace,'  would that make you want to do it less? I hope so.

In sticking with my theme of un-wordiness (not a word) I will spare the fancy wrap around conclusion and leave you instead with two questions:

1. Do you feel as good as you want to feel?
2. What are you investing in?

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The Complexity of Love

Love. Where do I begin?  I'm kinda into word usage and definitions, so let's start there.  Dictionary.com defines love as:

1. n. A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2. n. A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child or friend.
3. n. Sexual passion or desire
4. n. A person toward whom love is felt; beloved person
5. v. To have love or affection for

This five point definition simply covers all of the bases in regards to love, however, love in and of itself is not always simple. The reason for this is that love exists in a very complex entity known as the human mind. Not the human brain, but the human mind.  I'm sure there are great debates out there on the topic of brain vs mind, but the way I see it, the brain is a physical, tangible organ that controls the function of the body.  The mind, on the other hand, is an abstract collection of ideas, thoughts, feelings, and emotions that adds depth to function and meaning to life. Where it becomes tricky is that Love (and all of it's depth) may exist in the mind, but it only resides there because it is tangentially permitted to do so by the function of the brain. I feel like I'm slipping off track here, so let's bring it back around with some logic: Matters of the mind are complex. Love is a matter of the mind. Therefore, love is complex. 

So, what are we to do with all of this complex Love?  Well, we can choose to do many things with love. We can acknowledge love, we can ignore love, we can question love, we can accept love, we can analyze love, deny love, embrace love, and the list goes on and on. Depending on the circumstances, I'm sure that each of us does all of these things with Love at some point in our lives. It just depends on for whom we have the love or from whom we receive the love. Lately I've been in a mood to think about Love. Not a singular specific love in my life, but rather the entire collection of my Love. One of my favorite thinking tools is the use of metaphor. So, without further a do, here is my grand metaphor for love: Love is a dwelling. It is mansion with many rooms. Each person we love has a room within our mansion of Love, and every room is different.  Some of the rooms are lighted and some of them are dark.  Some of the rooms are entered daily, yet others may go unvisited for months at a time. Some of the rooms are vacant; awaiting the arrival of a future love, while others are sealed off permanently for a lost love that will never return. Whatever the scope or circumstances of a love, all love has a place within our mansion of Love, or compound of Love, or cottage of Love, or whatever. 

After we allow ourselves to establish a metaphorical mansion of Love, the next step is to begin thinking about the people we love and figuring out what each of their rooms looks like and feels like. Are they stuffy? Are they airy? Are they vibrant? Are they drab? Are they cold? How are they lit? Maybe by a candle? Or perhaps a grand chandelier? What about the doors? Are they open or closed? Or maybe there's just a curtain at the entry way? Are there windows in these rooms? The scope of this task is enormous and its duration is infinite, for love is fluid and ever changing. Some times love will seem easy to describe and other times it will seem impossible. Going forward as I continue to seek a greater understanding of my Love, I am sure I will feel overwhelmed, at times, by its complexity. It is at these times that I will return once more to the origin of my metaphor...

Love is a dwelling; a place of residence; a home. Love is a shelter.  Live in it.

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