The power of love

What constitutes happiness? Is it fun, excitement, stability, money, productivity, friends, family, love maybe? Is it different for everyone? Does anything satisfy everyone? Probably not. Which ones are most important for the largest amount of people?

HI

Fun is important, right? All work, no play, that wouldn't work for me. For someone it might, but that might have something to do with them finding work to be fun. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike my job, but it's obviously not what I think of when I think about having fun. Leisurely activities and relaxation are a cornerstone in both mental and physical health.

But simply having a good time might not be enough. I think a certain degree of discovery, excitement, is vital to one's well-being. Doing new things, switching it up a bit. Breaking out of the mold, reinventing yourself. A stagnating life is oft coupled with depression, but I know not for sure which one brings the other.

On the other hand, moving forward doesn't amount to any sort of happiness if it's not accompanied by control and stability over the situation. Everyone needs stability in life. Security is what it comes down to. Having a secure job, a plan for the future, a sustainable situation in life. These things are paramount to long-term satisfaction in life. Having something or someone you can rely on is a blessing, but often financial security is the key to a sense of stability.

They always say money doesn't make a man happy. But I just might think it does. A little bit. It's nice to have nice things. That's why people work hard. Almost anyone can cut costs, there's always cheaper ways to get by. But we don't want to do that, do we? Instead we work harder.

Which leads me to productivity. For me, creating things brings me joy. I write this blog. I draw. I have my projects. I do productive things not just for money, but also for the sense of accomplishment. It's very important to me that I feel I'm accomplishing something. It applies just as well to individual moments as to life. Although I'm not great at it, I love baking. I like fixing my beat-up bike when it decides to give up on me. I also like that I'm studying, moving forward in life. I feel good that I'm accomplishing something, in that in a few years, I'm sure to be in a different place, in a different situation. Earning more money...?

No, that's not it. In a few years, I'll have new friends. Don't get me wrong, I like my current friends, but I'll have new and different ones in 5 years, with whom I'll experience new things. The thought excites me. Having friends (new or old) is essential to being happy. I need people. I just do. I wrote about it last year, how I got all grouchy and down when I was all alone in a foreign city for almost a whole week doing entrance exams.

And family is important. Knowing that you're not alone, that you've got people backing you up no matter what.

But if you have all these things, does that make you happy? Are these things even enough?

A few days ago, I had this strange dream. I don't really remember it that well, but it wasn't a particularly good dream but neither was it by any means a nightmare. It was just a bit, well, strange. The kind of dream that you'd tell someone about. When I woke up, though, I realized I have no one who I feel likes me enough to want to listen to my boring dreams anyway. And that really shook me. It was worse than the awkward dream. 

Maybe that's what we need to be happy? Someone who will listen to us talking about what we saw in an imaginary place while we were sleeping. That must be some kind of love, right? Love is all those other things. Love is an umbrella, and it under it is all the fun, the excitement, the stability, the riches and the accomplishment, and it shields us from the harsh realities of life. Can you have none of the other things, live a mundane, poor, hopeless life, but be happy by way of love? I think you can. And that's pretty darn beautiful.