What it means to be happy

A discussion tonight with an old friend who has lost her cat. The acceptance of things as they are and not railing against "God" when bad things happen. We spoke at length of what it is to be wise. A broken heart is a part of the suffering of what it is to be human. We cannot escape from these things. We concluded: contentment is not about 'ha-ha happiness'. Contentment is a state of being, an awareness of a resource within oneself to overcome most of the bad stuff that happens to us all. Like a well that we can draw on. I have learned from my own life that without having suffered as I have, I would have not been in the position that I am now, with an ability to love still intact. Unfortunately, this understanding of the universe and life is not that dissimilar to religion: one cannot be taught to understand just as one cannot be taught to love.

Photo copyright SvD.