IF YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT
[Optimism warning: This post contains pontificating of an upbeat nature that may irritate people in a cruddy mood. Or not.].
Nothing like a jolt of depressing homesickness to put things in perspective.
For the most part, I would peg my recent maritime visit as an unqualified success. I did a stint at the Moncton Yukyuks that was very fun, and another at the Halifax Yuks that was even better. The shows were very nice, the audiences friendly, and I managed to squeeze in some visits with family and friends.
But there were moments when I really wanted to get back to Montreal. I’m no stranger to these feelings when I’m touring around, but for some reason the sentiment crystallized quite clearly with this realization:
“Everything I want is back home.”
It’s little moments like that that tell you life is going pretty well.
It’s odd how we’re sometimes too busy rushing around to notice, but once in a while it’s good to remind yourself when you’re happy. Sure, we experience joyous moments, whether they’re Christmas mornings or finished swim-a-thons or Just for Laughs shows. But we don’t often spot it when life, in general, is pretty good.
I can only remember a handful of times when it hit me that I liked where I was in the space-time continuum. Once it was while I was skimming the wading pool at my first summer job. I had sun, friends, income and even a sense of responsibility to boot. Another time was sitting up late at night in my residence at Mount A. I had food, shelter and as much freedom as I’d ever known. And I’ll admit, not a whole lot of responsibility being felt there. Living in a one-bedroom apartment in Halifax, working at a group home, paying rent and bills on time, I remember feeling like a productive cog in society’s machine, while still enjoying the life and luxuries to which I was accustomed.
The neat part is I remember these happy times with fondness, but not with any particular longing. In each case, I wouldn’t trade spots with the “me” back then. Residence Dave wouldn’t have traded with Wading pool Dave, and One-bedroom Dave wouldn’t have traded with either of them. And as for Modest-house, Scruffy-dog, Knocked-up-lady Dave, well, there’s no other Dave I’d rather be right now. Which is nice. Gives a feeling of forward motion.
Sometimes it’s scary to acknowledge happiness, because things can change in an instant. An acquaintance of ours just suffered a miscarriage which would be heart-breaking in any event but especially given our current status quo. Another person I know just lost his mother in a car accident which seems too awful to imagine. Like most rarities, happiness is delicate.
It’s very saddening. But sometimes it feels like it’s all the more reason to quietly recognize when our own lives are good, and be thankful, and enjoy it while it lasts.
So, not knowing what the future will bring, I find myself appreciating that this is a good time right now. And if I’m very, very lucky, in a few months this good time will be fondly remembered by Modest-house, Scruffy-dog, New-mom, Baby-bundle, Proud-Daddy Dave…
…and he won’t want to trade places either.
[Optimism warning: This post contains pontificating of an upbeat nature that may irritate people in a cruddy mood. Or not.].
Nothing like a jolt of depressing homesickness to put things in perspective.
For the most part, I would peg my recent maritime visit as an unqualified success. I did a stint at the Moncton Yukyuks that was very fun, and another at the Halifax Yuks that was even better. The shows were very nice, the audiences friendly, and I managed to squeeze in some visits with family and friends.
But there were moments when I really wanted to get back to Montreal. I’m no stranger to these feelings when I’m touring around, but for some reason the sentiment crystallized quite clearly with this realization:
“Everything I want is back home.”
It’s little moments like that that tell you life is going pretty well.
It’s odd how we’re sometimes too busy rushing around to notice, but once in a while it’s good to remind yourself when you’re happy. Sure, we experience joyous moments, whether they’re Christmas mornings or finished swim-a-thons or Just for Laughs shows. But we don’t often spot it when life, in general, is pretty good.
I can only remember a handful of times when it hit me that I liked where I was in the space-time continuum. Once it was while I was skimming the wading pool at my first summer job. I had sun, friends, income and even a sense of responsibility to boot. Another time was sitting up late at night in my residence at Mount A. I had food, shelter and as much freedom as I’d ever known. And I’ll admit, not a whole lot of responsibility being felt there. Living in a one-bedroom apartment in Halifax, working at a group home, paying rent and bills on time, I remember feeling like a productive cog in society’s machine, while still enjoying the life and luxuries to which I was accustomed.
The neat part is I remember these happy times with fondness, but not with any particular longing. In each case, I wouldn’t trade spots with the “me” back then. Residence Dave wouldn’t have traded with Wading pool Dave, and One-bedroom Dave wouldn’t have traded with either of them. And as for Modest-house, Scruffy-dog, Knocked-up-lady Dave, well, there’s no other Dave I’d rather be right now. Which is nice. Gives a feeling of forward motion.
Sometimes it’s scary to acknowledge happiness, because things can change in an instant. An acquaintance of ours just suffered a miscarriage which would be heart-breaking in any event but especially given our current status quo. Another person I know just lost his mother in a car accident which seems too awful to imagine. Like most rarities, happiness is delicate.
It’s very saddening. But sometimes it feels like it’s all the more reason to quietly recognize when our own lives are good, and be thankful, and enjoy it while it lasts.
So, not knowing what the future will bring, I find myself appreciating that this is a good time right now. And if I’m very, very lucky, in a few months this good time will be fondly remembered by Modest-house, Scruffy-dog, New-mom, Baby-bundle, Proud-Daddy Dave…
…and he won’t want to trade places either.
posted by David Pryde at 8:28 PM
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