My timing sucks, a new baby, a five year old with more extra-curricular activities you shake a stick at and working part-time from home hardly leave me time to tackle the housework, let alone go out and find and hopefully improve myself.
I often question if we, as a generation, are much harder to please? Were our parents in this constant pursuit of happiness, or did they just knuckle down and get on with things. Why are our heads in the clouds, constantly dreaming of a better life; more money, great career, bigger house? At what point do we say: "hey, let's take a step back and be bloody grateful for what we do have"?
I just read a post on the brilliant Bloggertropolis blog. Steve admits that he and his wife are searching for something else, something to make them feel happier in their lives. Steve mentions his job as being one of the main reasons for feeling unfulfilled in life. I often look back at my old career, missing the independence, the money and the responsibility. I conveniently forget the hours stuck in traffic, the impossible deadlines, extra hours worked without pay and moody colleagues though. Can any job really give us the emotional success we strive for? Surely even Hollywood movie stars want to throw a sickie every now and again.
Money seems to be on everyone's list as a way of achieving happiness. OK, so life is much less stressful if you can pay all your bills on time and don't have to dig around in bargain bins, but is being rich in money the same as being rich in life? We have become obsessed with obtaining things, just recently as a family we have amassed a lot of hi-tech goodies, a kindle, an iPad, a DS3D and an android phone a-piece, does it make me happier that I can now access Twitter from 5 different machines in my home? For all the hundreds of hard earned euros spent, the Christmas present that has bought us the most fun and joy is the age-old game 'Guess Who'.
A new baby brings new perspective. Suddenly everything becomes simple again. I look down at the little girl in my arms as she smiles her beautiful gummy smile and goos and gaas at me. The overwhelming sense of love and, yes, happiness is like a kick in the stomach. I've been looking at this all wrong; I don't need to do more with my life. I actually need to do less, want less. Just kick back and enjoy my young family.
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| More fun than an iPad |
I'll still worry about how much money we have. I'll still want to move to a bigger house (preferably back in England) but really none of that really matters because there will never be enough money, the perfect house, the best job etc. I don't think I'll ever be really satisfied with anything that can ultimately be bettered. The grass will always be greener!
Wikio
