Always Search

"Do more of what makes you happy"

"If you're not happy with what you have, change it"

I'm sure we have all either said, read, or wrote some form of those two quotes. I see a version of them all the time on pinterest, on facebook, in books. They always seemed to make perfect sense to me - until my world view shifted and I was seeing everything from a completely new perspective. I think what more people should say/believe is "FIND what makes you happy ... SEARCH for something that you enjoy ..." and don't sweat it if you're not sure what that is yet. If you're lucky enough to know what you want in life, know for certain, then kudos to you (seriously, I'm jealous, that is amazing) - but for the rest of us it's not that easy.

I think what makes someone happy changes daily - which makes perfect sense to me. You change daily. The person you are today is different than the person you were yesterday. Maybe only slightly, maybe a whole lot - but you have changed - the day has affected you in some way or another. I'm not trying to say that just because yesterday you ate strawberries and that made you happy that today you would turn your nose up at them. I'm trying to say that, in the bigger picture, you are different. You may not notice it in your day-to-day life, but look back a year later and see what's changed.

"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different..." - C.S. Lewis (isn't it funny that the entire above paragraph can be summed up in this one quote!?) ;)

Instead of me sitting here writing about this, I'm going to actively take my own advice. I am going to start searching for things that make me happy. I have my current list (writing, reading, fashion, anything Paris-related, etc.) however, I want to take that list and dig deeper into it. I write in this blog now, I write in my journals but maybe I'll find that I enjoy writing fiction more. I want to read a new book every month - a book that I normally wouldn't be drawn to and if I find that I truly enjoy it, then that's something I can add to my list. If I don't, then no harm done, I'm just a little more well-read.

I want to continue searching every day - I don't want to look back at this year and see only my grief and sadness. I want to see something good come from this, something productive and beneficial. I hope that you start your own search - FIND what it is that makes you happy, but don't stop there. Look again, search for something new - don't settle.