Photo by Caju Gomes on Unsplash

A Flat Line of Nonstop Serotonin

August 3, 2000

What does truly happy, truly mean? Happily ever after and all of that? Can a person be truly happy for longer than a minute, an hour, a day or a week? Perhaps, if lobotomized. Or insane.

What is happy anyway? For me, happy seems to be mostly moments — that delicious first taste of hot chocolate with whipped cream, the beauty of a coral rose, my child giving me a hug and kiss, my favorite song coming on the radio, the smell of rain on earth or my husband phoning me, “Hello Sweetheart!”. Some happy times last longer — a call from a loved one; a walk among purple mountains, blue skies and sugar pines; a day at the lake with the family. But trying to remember a whole week of pure bliss …

Even on the loveliest vacation, some bad moments will crop up. And some of us don’t even get a vacation. How can one make or have a truly happy normal week? Is there a way to be happy? To feel that each day overall was good?

Maybe true happiness isn’t a flat line of nonstop serotonin and endless sappy sweetness. But just life. Life lived with one foot in reality and the other in pure optimism, hope and faith. Gratitude for the simple gift of life and being lucky enough to be here. Savoring the little things we love and realizing how much they add to our lives. Meeting life with a smile. And following the golden rule.

As Aristotle said, “Happiness depends on ourselves.”