The Meaning of Happiness Keeps Changing
"Oh, it doesn't take much to be happy"
How many times had I heard that damned phrase?
Like it was a rule,
A code of conduct,
Written down in my moral science book -
Somehwhere between 'love your parents' and 'go to bed early'.
It's more stringent when you're a child because being happy is so easy
Everyone reminds of your apparent lack of responsibilities except that one
I think what happened here was the meaning of happiness changed
And someone forgot to notify those in charge
In 1970, happiness meant a good life, that is bread everyday and a permanent roof,
In 2002, we were looking to self actualize.
(I cross my fingers here that I was not the only weird kid).
It's great that they strived and borrowed some happiness for our young shoots
A simple life, a loving home
However, when things are borrowed,
The heart gets greedy and begins to yearn for some more of it's own.
So where was I?
Meaning of happiness changed?
Oh yes.
I forgot to pause for breath too
When it changed multiple times in such short spans of time.
I thought happiness was a lot of friends.
So, I made some.
I think I perhaps never got the numbers right or that I changed them too often.
I moved on.
I thought happiness was exuberance, the spotlight on your face
Laughing and playing games
Perhaps I was a bad actor
I waited for the next round.
I thought happiness was you
Telling you all of life's gory details.
Or maybe it was you?
Curling up near the landline
Hands playing with the cord.
Or was it you?
You brought happiness when you came.
I thought about happiness with a lot of yous,
That was probably me at my most confused.
I had a lot of these fits.
Happiness, it seemed, had finally arrived
It was my new job, my new class, my new friend, my going out
Why did it have a *conditions applied?
It was madness
In succession I watched these arrive and go.
I obviously did the thing most natural thing there was to
On my way to being an 80 year old lady -
Like a trader
I weighed all of them,
Like a scientist
I probed them all together and then in isolation
Like a writer
I pondered
Sometime somewhere when I got tired and stopped
I struck upon the most wild and ridiculous idea
Was happiness... me?
I mean..
Things went yet
Happiness is me trying
Pushing with those stupid little projects
Failing spectacularly
Crying spectacularly
Writing my heart out
Then chasing new notions, ideas and dreams
It's me saying thank you and really feeling it
It's me when I bother to sit with myself and others
It's me striving to push others to sit with me
It is hard work to get what you want.
It seems like happiness was this training
To understand the rules better now.
With so many changes that have happened
And a literal blank book ahead
I would be wise in not calling this permanent
But at this point of my worldly wisdom,
I am fairly certain
Happiness is from me.
How many times had I heard that damned phrase?
Like it was a rule,
A code of conduct,
Written down in my moral science book -
Somehwhere between 'love your parents' and 'go to bed early'.
It's more stringent when you're a child because being happy is so easy
Everyone reminds of your apparent lack of responsibilities except that one
I think what happened here was the meaning of happiness changed
And someone forgot to notify those in charge
In 1970, happiness meant a good life, that is bread everyday and a permanent roof,
In 2002, we were looking to self actualize.
(I cross my fingers here that I was not the only weird kid).
It's great that they strived and borrowed some happiness for our young shoots
A simple life, a loving home
However, when things are borrowed,
The heart gets greedy and begins to yearn for some more of it's own.
So where was I?
Meaning of happiness changed?
Oh yes.
I forgot to pause for breath too
When it changed multiple times in such short spans of time.
I thought happiness was a lot of friends.
So, I made some.
I think I perhaps never got the numbers right or that I changed them too often.
I moved on.
I thought happiness was exuberance, the spotlight on your face
Laughing and playing games
Perhaps I was a bad actor
I waited for the next round.
I thought happiness was you
Telling you all of life's gory details.
Or maybe it was you?
Curling up near the landline
Hands playing with the cord.
Or was it you?
You brought happiness when you came.
I thought about happiness with a lot of yous,
That was probably me at my most confused.
I had a lot of these fits.
Happiness, it seemed, had finally arrived
It was my new job, my new class, my new friend, my going out
Why did it have a *conditions applied?
It was madness
In succession I watched these arrive and go.
I obviously did the thing most natural thing there was to
On my way to being an 80 year old lady -
Like a trader
I weighed all of them,
Like a scientist
I probed them all together and then in isolation
Like a writer
I pondered
Sometime somewhere when I got tired and stopped
I struck upon the most wild and ridiculous idea
Was happiness... me?
I mean..
Things went yet
Happiness is me trying
Pushing with those stupid little projects
Failing spectacularly
Crying spectacularly
Writing my heart out
Then chasing new notions, ideas and dreams
It's me saying thank you and really feeling it
It's me when I bother to sit with myself and others
It's me striving to push others to sit with me
It is hard work to get what you want.
It seems like happiness was this training
To understand the rules better now.
With so many changes that have happened
And a literal blank book ahead
I would be wise in not calling this permanent
But at this point of my worldly wisdom,
I am fairly certain
Happiness is from me.
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