Pages

Monday, October 22, 2012

Cultivate Your Happiness

(source)
“No mockery in this world ever sounds to me so hollow as that of being told to cultivate happiness. What does such advice mean? Happiness is not a potato, to be planted in mould, and tilled with manure.” 
-- Villette, Charlotte Brontë

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about happiness. I've been studying Mills and Kant and Aristotle. I watched the documentary Happy the other day. I've been trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. The above quote was read for my 19th Century British Women Tales class (shut up, I'm an english major and this is fascinating), and if you've read Villette, you know that Lucy Snowe is a narrator of woe and malaise. As well as unexpected hilarious quips (look, she compared happiness to a potato, I mean come on). However! I quite disagree with her belief.

I cultivate my happiness. I do it in farmer's markets picking out the reddest, juiciest apples. I do it in searching through Strand Bookstore for the perfect novel to read on a park bench. I do it in serendipitous subway rides after finding one another at crosswalks. I do it in wearing oversize sweaters and dark lipstick while the wind rustles hole-speckled, orange leaves for me to step down in a perfect crunch. I do it in using italics.

Today was really and truly pleasant, for no big reason at all. I find my best days are started with good books, a hot drink, and a song playing over and over in my head. I cultivate happiness so I can have days like this.

Since entering this so-called adulthood, I've realized that life (or mine at least) has become a process of waking up. I want to stay awake. I want to take advantage of every opportunity to create happiness. I cultivate my happiness. How do you cultivate yours?

Listening to: Who Do You Like? - Joywave

No comments:

Post a Comment