Dance like No one's watching

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lucimay
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Post by lucimay »

happy is as happy does? :D

i dunno...define happy.

not arguing with anything anyone's said thus far, it's all good, but for me,
even attempting to define whether i'm "happy" or not tends to cause anxiety! (am i happy? i feel happy but what if that's just me ignoring what i'm unhappy about, what if i'm just lying to myself that i'm happy? maybe i'm just not dealing with things i should be dealing with, maybe i'm delluding myself that i'm happy...ad infinitum) :lol: i think too much therefore i am too much.

contentment sometimes makes me complacent, discontent is sometimes
a catalyst of necessary change.

...moment to moment, day to day

i'm enjoying being alive, working through the difficult times included.
everyday there's a revelation, every night there's dreams, and...

i dance whether there's anyone watching or not. :biggrin:
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies



i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio



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gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
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Fist and Faith
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Post by Fist and Faith »

lucimay wrote:maybe i'm delluding myself that i'm happy...
No such thing. If you're happy, you're happy. (And clap your hands.) There's no such thing as deluding yourself that you're happy. (Or, if you prefer, everyone who's happy is deluding themselves.)


lorin, I don't know anything about your housing situation. I'll take SD's word for that. Really sucks. But what I'm getting at is this... You wanted to get a house. That's fine. More room is nice. A change is often nice. The problem is the person who tries to get a house, but fails. That person should still be happy in the old place. Buying a house should not be the requirement for happiness. Nothing should be. If getting things is the only way to be happy, you're doomed. Because, eventually, we all fail to get something we want. Probably a great many somethings. So none of us should be happy? pfffffffffffff
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
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lorin
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Post by lorin »

Fist and Faith wrote:
lucimay wrote:maybe i'm delluding myself that i'm happy...
No such thing. If you're happy, you're happy. (And clap your hands.) There's no such thing as deluding yourself that you're happy. (Or, if you prefer, everyone who's happy is deluding themselves.)


lorin, I don't know anything about your housing situation. I'll take SD's word for that. Really sucks. But what I'm getting at is this... You wanted to get a house. That's fine. More room is nice. A change is often nice. The problem is the person who tries to get a house, but fails. That person should still be happy in the old place. Buying a house should not be the requirement for happiness. Nothing should be. If getting things is the only way to be happy, you're doomed. Because, eventually, we all fail to get something we want. Probably a great many somethings. So none of us should be happy? pfffffffffffff
words of wisdom, Fist. I bought the house to give these foster kids a taste of a different life. but perhaps doing that taught them the wrong lesson. not sure. either way, they are gone or going, and soon the bank will own the house.

but it is a good lesson, and I will survive. I still have my job, my health and life will go on. In a funny way I am looking forward to downscaling. Sometimes you just have to tear down, make some space to build again.

all is not lost. :wink:
The loudest truth I ever heard was the softest sound.
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Post by Menolly »

Fist and Faith wrote:
lucimay wrote:maybe i'm delluding myself that i'm happy...
No such thing. If you're happy, you're happy. (And clap your hands)
stanza :clap:
stanza :clap:
refrain :grinlove:
stanza :clap:
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Savor Dam
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Post by Savor Dam »

Someone seems to be in a happy (albeit somewhat silly) mood...and that is a good thing!
Love prevails.
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Change is not a process for the impatient.
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A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
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Post by Cybrweez »

'East of Eden' has a good bit about always thinking it's better in the future, but I don't have book on me now. Samuel Hamilton is a great character.
--Andy

"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur."
Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.

I believe in the One who says there is life after this.
Now tell me how much more open can my mind be?
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Zarathustra
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Re: Dance like No one's watching

Post by Zarathustra »

lorin wrote:Dance like No one's watching

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we will be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teen-agers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there is no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It is best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D'Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special; special enough to spend your time - and remember that time waits for no one…..

So stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose 10 pounds, until you gain 10 pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or 15th, until your song comes on, until you have had a drink, until you have sobered up, until you die - to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Excellent. Best post of the thread for sure. 8)
Lord Foul wrote:Most people care too much. Stop caring; let it all go, and you'll get to inner peace quicker...
I don't know ... this is unsettling to me. Stop caring? Maybe a change of focus is sometimes in order, so that we care about the right things. But "stop caring" is like "stop being human."
Avatar wrote:I just think that our happiness shouldn't be tied up in material requirements. If you can't be happy with what you've got, getting more stuff or different stuff (or going some place else) is probably not going to be enough in the long run.
Well, if you mean only bits of matter, then I (sort of) agree. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) most of the things we care about are made of bits of matter. My kids are bits of matter. My wife's body is bits of matter. Trying to separate ourselves from the world is not only futile and inauthentic, but also a great big delusion.

But these bits of matter are important to us for more than their sheer substance, but also in how they transcend their mere material being. I love my kids no matter how their matter is arranged. I love my wife no matter how she looks (easy for me to say when she looks so damn good :twisted: ).

Being in debt sucks. Being upside down in your house sucks. Metaphysical jingos to make you feel better don't really work nearly as well as being financially secure. I feel for you Lorin. I'm still renting, but I have a plan to build a house debt-free. That will make me very, very happy.
Joe Biden … putting the Dem in dementia since (at least) 2020.
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Post by lorin »

I am bumping this. Blame it on HLT. It was a great thread full of lots of wisdom from lots of great people.

Two years later and so much has changed and so much remains the same. I have been through the fires and survived. It feels good to read back to everyone's pearls. Some really good, smart people here.

Lets not lose track of who and what we are as a group.
The loudest truth I ever heard was the softest sound.
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