“The Call” came in… “Dose, I’m not happy.”
And with that statement came a discussion around happiness, aka a constant state of elation. Sad to say that this 25-year-old – and very smart – young lady was under the impression that happiness was a daily “event.”
Who doesn’t love being happy? The Dose does. But what I also know is that happiness is based on happenstance. And it’s only one of three common emotions… the other two being sadness and neutrality. The Dose is a pretty upbeat, positive person, but being happy all the time has just never happened.
This conversation ended with my analogy of our moods as the levels of a house. Dancing on the roof – being happy – is an occurrence. We can’t stay on that roof, as this place wasn’t built for daily living. Neither is the basement… yet it is the “mental” hiding place we go to when sad.
The main floor – the living quarters of a home – is where most of our lives are spent. And that’s where we should expect to spend most of our emotional lives.
Time on the roof – wonderful, celebrate! Time in the proverbial basement – keep it short or seek professional help.
Life is primarily made up of routine activities. Let’s accept that… while appreciating those rooftop experiences!