Happiness
Whatever Makes You Happy
Happiness is the end goal of most humans. “Whatever makes you happy!” is something my dad always used to say as I was growing up. Along with “That’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick” or “You can be right but you can be dead right.” It’s funny how those little adages can stay with you for decades.
It took me a long time to figure out what made me happy. When you are young you don’t yet know all the options open to you. You’re at the mercy of parents, teachers, and circumstances over which you have no control. But I believe I always had an inner core of happiness. My dad’s nickname for me as a kid was “Smiley.” And when I pore over photographs of myself as a child, I do seem to be smiling a lot, ever since I was an infant.
Happiness at Work
We, the Crystal Pyramid Productions video crew have always enjoyed our work, and it’s really true that if you do, then you actually never “work” a day in your life. We built our video production company up from covering small events and producing for non-profit organizations to where we are today, shooting high-end productions for broadcast and corporate clients. During a shoot with the rapier-witted cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 with special guest Weird Al Yankovic, I was laughing so hard I cried while commandeered a long-lens camera to record a Rifftrax Christmas show. (It was a lock-down shot for much of the show, so I could laugh all I wanted.)
In the course of our career, we have chatted with stellar talents like J. Craig Venter, the man who mapped the human genome and is now working on a way to provide energy sources from algae, and former football star Kellen Winslow Jr. We have interviewed Hillary Clinton and Hilary Swank.
Celebrities Are People
I can tell you that Charlize Theron and Kim Kardashian are astoundingly beautiful; that Gene Simmons kept five crews waiting on a red carpet for two and a half hours with promises that several A-list celebrities would be coming, which was a ruse to get publicity for the comic book enterprise of his son, Nick (No A-listers showed up); that Carrot Top has bulked up like he was tired of having sand kicked in his face, that unlike Gene Simmons, Stan Lee was the epitome of graciousness, that Jerry Springer likes to sing Karaoke and is good at it, that Arnold Schwarzenegger is smaller than he looks on the big screen, and his hands are the size of hams.
I believe that our acne-ridden teenage years are sort of like the annealing process of the human being. If you can make it through alive, then you can find happiness, because we choose to be happy. It is up to you whether you want to dwell in the pit of darkness or not.
Happiness Lessons from Avatar
I saw a news piece about Avatar at the height of its popularity. The reporter mentioned that many viewers went to see it multiple times, and that when they left the magnificent cinemascape of Pandora and emerged back into the light of Planet Earth, they were depressed and suicidal. It sounds to me like people have chained themselves too long to their computer monitors and big screens.
A writer named Richard Louv, whom we interviewed about his book, “Last Child in the Woods,” coined the term, “Nature-Deficit Disorder.” He points out that children need exposure to nature, like a plant needs sunlight. Their parents set them in front of the mindless babysitter, the television set. This is not only a disservice to children, but to society.
To achieve a balance of good health and happiness, you’ve got to go out there and get your dose of Vitamin D. Go take a walk around the block. Ride your bike. Go to the beach or your local park.
Mission Trails in our Backyard
In San Diego we are fortunate to have a huge city park in the country, Mission Trails Regional Park. I ride my mountain bike there a lot, or hike to a small set of waterfalls. There’s Cowles Mountain which I have blogged about before, the highest mountain in the city of San Diego.
There are many other fun destinations where my friends and I go to ride our mountain bikes or hike. There are creeks to swim in, boulders to climb, shaded areas out in the mountains to bring a bottle of wine and a picnic. We do it at least once a week, and sometimes twice.
Can you ever really get “enough” of nature? (P.S. When you spend time in Nature, you’ll be less likely to let bad things happen to it.)
As in the animated movie, “Up,” people just postpone their adventures until they are too old – or dead – to do them. Don’t let that be you. Go and have a little fun with your “Mother” (Nature). Do it today.
