“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.”
Not to be confused with Robert Oppenheimer from the Manhattan Project, James Oppenheim was an American poet and author who is best known for his short stories and novels. Much of his work discusses “social and democratic aspects of life,” commenting on the circumstances of the labor market of the day.
The lesson from the above quote is a common one, but it is always one that is worth revisiting. Far too many of us seek happiness from some external source. We think that happiness is something “out there” that must be found and attained, but that’s like chasing a dangling carrot. At the end of the day, happiness has to come from within, not without.
We have to realize that happiness is not an end goal or destination. It is not some tangible object that is located in one specific location in one particular configuration. Instead, just as Dale Carnegie taught us, the key is to enjoy “the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.”
If you think that there is a magical pot of gold out there somewhere that will make you happy, you’ll never find it. It doesn’t exist. It’s not about the grass that appears to be greener on the other side. Instead, it’s about the grass that is directly under your feet. It is about nurturing that grass and finding happiness within yourself. It’s about making the best out of what you have and figuring out how you can make it even better.
Above all else, realize that life is a journey and every step you take, regardless of direction, is a gift of immeasurable value.
Happiness presents itself everyday in things we do or people we interact with each day. You really don’t have to look for it, your body will tell you when it’s happy.
Just seeing my kids makes me happy. Now, they also make me cry and drive me to the crazy man level, but in the end they are always making me happy. If something isn’t making me happy I just put it in the “that sucks” box and move forward.
I agree with the idea to looking for something near you.
We spend to much time wondering extreme thing to do, but many of us we never do what they dream and they also lost little preciuos things in their little garden