Or is it the other way around? Progress is happiness? I heard this on a podcast the other day and it made me think. I used to think that my goal in life was to be happy. If I was happy I could enjoy my life. But is happiness really a goal? I’ve been struggling with the state of the world we are living in. Celebrity culture and the instalife. The bombardment of advertising telling people they are not healthy enough, happy enough, and that their lives would be so much better if they were. In the end, how do you want to be remembered?

“Wow she had GREAT abs!”

As I look back at my life and as I close in to my 40s I have come to realize what makes me happy. I feel the path of my life going in a direction for me. My path may not be the one that you would choose but it is the right one for me. I may make some mistakes, lots of them but I will learn from them and that will be part of my journey.

I will not push my path on others. What makes me happy might not make you happy. There is a lot of talk about longevity. For some, that is a goal. For me it is meaningless. I lost my mom when she was 56. She did nothing to shorten her life. She was active and healthy and strong. She just got dealt the wrong cards in the end.

I want to live my life and learn from yesterday. Progress is happiness. I will not stop myself from doing something I want to do because it might take years off my life. What is life if it isn’t lived? I’ll take the chance.

It’s about the way you interact with the world. Like cells in the human body. They are connected and work together to make the human body function properly. You get a cut, the platelets come on over to help out. The white blood cells fight off bacteria. Every cell in the human body is important. And it only take ONE cell to make everything go wrong.

I honestly don’t know where I am going with this. I guess what I am trying to say is this: Be at peace with who you are, what you look like and your past. You can always improve but just enjoy being you. Flawed and all. Who says you need to be more? And remember that you are part of something much bigger. Like the cells in the human body we all have purpose and meaning on this earth. One bad cell can make it all go horribly wrong.

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Open your heart and open your mind. That last line is the one that gets me every time.