Sunday, October 7, 2007

Toward HAPPY as more than an intellectual concept

Happy is almost mythological, isn't it? (Your agreement here would do a lot toward that whole "your misery loves company" thing). I am trying to be happy. I am trying to attain happy. I am trying to embrace happy. 'Odd how many verbs attempt to bridge the gap between "I" and "happy".

Here are some goals:

GOALS TOWARD TOTAL AND COMPLETE ENLIGHTENMENT

I. Craft and create more.
A. Make a quilt.
B. Build a dollhouse.
C. Make creepy little dolls that I will love.

II. Divorce self from television while reminding self that television is not the devil.

III. Learn bird calls.
A. How?
B. How? (This second is redundant, but I was trained to never have a B without an A in a Harvard outline - not that this is really a Harvard outline).

IV. Stop being a gatekeeper of the English language.
A. Get new job.
B. Find new career.
C. Care less.
1. Possibly use drugs.
2. See B****.

V. Go to coffeehouse for no particular reason with no papers to grade or books to read.
A. Look out window.
B. Listen to birds.
C. Identify each individual sound.
D. Write them down on paper.
1. Turn into poem.
2. Submit to nice journal.

VI. Stop suspending belief in that neo-academic way and learn to trust own instinct.

VII. Develope new relationship to food.
A. Eating is right and good.
B. Food is God's number one gift.
C. Food smells good.
D. Food can make us very, very happy.

VIII. Watch Bill Murray more.
A. Also, Will Ferrel.
B. Also, Eddie Izzard.
C. Also, Anthony Bourdain.
D. Also, for good measure, Gilda Radner, Tina Fey, and Grace Allen.

2 comments:

Foxygen said...

- I used to make quilts when I was younger. I stopped a few years ago and got rid of my fabric before I moved to Iowa (couldn't fit it in the car). Now I'm finding I want to do something creative. I like to put stuff together, preferably in no particular pattern, which is why quilting worked for me.

- Television is not evil, except when you can only get in ABC and CBS. CBS is full of murder and unfunny people.

- Anthony Bourdain is the coolest person in the world, and now I've been to one of the places he's been - Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland. Now I'm becoming cool (but not cool enough to hang out in Portland - I don't have a hipster haircut).

- Happiness is hard. For real, yo.

Anonymous said...

Viktor Frankl says happiness comes to you as you find meaning, that it can't be found through pursuit. I say happiness is intermittent. Perhaps like my experience of God. And with that it's been a long time. It's late at night and I'm tired and sorry I missed your call the other day. Perhaps this weekend. Yes, do listen to the birds sing and at this time of year the drying pods on trees rattle in the wind. Good night.