This morning something occurred to me that sums up my feelings about goals, creativity, and life in general. Initially I was surprised that it took me so long to have this realization, but after closer examination and using the keen perspective of hindsight it appears I haven’t been focused on much of anything until about 9 months ago.
What I’m talking about is pursuit. Naturally we all know the infamous ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ but what occurred to me finally, at the age of 28 (28!) is the pursuit. The pursuit of it.
What an amazing word and an amazing phrase: The pursuit of happiness. Not the hopes of happiness, not the dreams or the goal setting or the ambition of happiness. The pursuit of happiness.
It’s a great phrase because pursuit indicates forward motion. It indicates action. Going after something, working, being active towards achieving something. Then I understood everything I’ve read lately and everything I’ve achieved and not achieved and why it did or didn’t happen. And it all boils down to pursuit.
Pursuit is the reason I hate television. It’s the reason I don’t want to be surrounded by negative people, uncreative people, and people who make excuses, fear failure, or create limits and barriers for themselves and others.
Pursuit does not allow room for any of those things to be substantial. It obliterates them. It is the ultimate problem solver.
In my efforts to be more positive, more helpful, more creative, and in general happier, I’m going to start applying the pursuit rule to my life by simply asking myself:
Am I truly pursuing my happiness right now?
To be quite honest, I’m scared. There are a lot of things that I am not pursuing right now, or that I don’t pursue enough and there are a lot of things I do that distract me from pursuing happiness. This is new for me – for years believing that anyone can achieve anything, yes, but believing and pursuing are two different things. Believing is easy. Pursuing is work.
I’m starting small and I’m starting today. One phone call, ten more minutes of time, a few more steps in the right direction. In a year I hope to be in a full sprint, ahead of the pack and running up front with the winners; those who are happy because they pursue it. I want to leave the dreamers behind once and for all.
Allow me to react a little. I think this is a wonderful reflection on the art of actively living. It only takes a second of observing nature to realize that we have unlimited blessings all around us. But do we enjoy them. Do we go out and ‘pursue’ a sunset or pursue a perfectly green meadow. Not often enough!
But! In Buddhism we call the natural state of things – the way human life is set up – Dukkha. Dukkha means suffering. It’s sort of the way things are. But what the old wise men taught is that suffering comes out of being unsatisfied – craving more. The only issue I have with focusing on a pursuit is that it comes from the assumption that what ‘is’ is not enough. That you must attain happiness and that happiness is somewhere – out there. Somewhere beyond ourselves that we must attain – a wordly, conditional state of being. I think this pursuit might in the end cause more suffering – thus the cycle of life.
Cultivating a sense of joy with just being – just breathing- just living in the moment – can result in a steady stream of happiness!
Either way – I’m not going to sit on a lily pad and meditate all day on my ass – being in the happiness. I’m out in the world – pursuing my bliss – as you are. But I think a healthy balance of pursuit and sitting/breathing/living in the moment could maybe be the key. :)
Thanks for making me think today, Lykens!
Very interesting. I have no argument but would like to point out instead that being content with what you have is a pursuit in and of itself, in fact, in might be one of the most difficult pursuits we face.
Being content with what you have, to me, also means exploiting talents, intelligence, skills and gifts granted. Those are things that aid in the pursuit of being content with what you have. If you have an immense talent and desire for something, then clearly you aren’t content with it laying dormant.
hmmm. you are so right! surrendering to what ‘is’ is often the hardest thing to do, and a very worthy ‘pursuit.’ So often fear and denial keep us from being content with what is because we do not have the courage to face how amazing we are! This quote sums that up for me:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. ”
It is true that the natural tendancies and talents that live within us are amazing – holy even! I guess it is a balance of relaxing your ego and letting them be expressive and pursuing experiences that allow this to happen.
hmm. love this. I’m off to Italy tomorrow to sing my heart out! This is a great interchange for me to think about on my way. thanks again – you are officially in my google reader, lykens!
officially, it’s time to un-dog ear your copy of eat pray love and bury it.
Beautiful realization and a great reminder to us all. Thanks for this post.