..and was happy?

Pursuit of happiness.  What a concept.  The Declaration of Independence states every individuals right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  I like the idea that the declaration promotes an esoteric notion such as happiness.  


There is one problem though: What the hell is happiness?  


We all want it, everybody sells it.  It comes canned, bottled, as a cream, in a weight loss book, a DVD, podcast or even in the shape of a car.  Oh, and let's not forget all the happiness that can be found between pegs.  


Have your parents said, do whatever makes you happy?


Unless you are fortunate to have hippies as your predecessors, happiness was probably not a round table discussion.  But why the hell not?  Why are we going to school, get jobs, seek mates and do all kinds of shit to accumulate knowledge and wealth?  I just said to my nineteen year old college daughter, that it is likely there is no one on record ever that has as his / her last breath said that they were happy with all their accumulation of materialism.  Imagine some old geezer, 99 years old, sucking up the last liters of oxygen, pointing to his kids and grand kids, saying:  "Thank God i have $4.5 million in liquid funds, two homes a slew of cars and art, I am ready to meet my maker"!


Every book, movie and play that has had a death bed scene in it always had the dying guy find closure with a long lost relative, his own spouse or kids that he has not talked to for years.  You can picture it:  The 'enemy' brother walking through the hospital room and just hugging and caressing his dying brother, saying, "I always loved you, man".  Guy dies, fade out.


THAT is the stuff of happiness.  Emotions, relationships, connection to a fellow human being.  Our soul demands it like our body demands air.  


The worst punishment in the American penal system is solitary confinement.  A human in a ten by ten cell for a year, is a broken vessel, never the same again.


I always confuse and mislabel my need for connection and not having enough. When i have limited connection to friends, my own family, my curtain just comes down.  But don't be fooled.  that alone is not happiness.  I need fulfillment, positive self image, physical health and attention, just for starters to have my soul balance on the beam of happiness.


I love pontificating on this internet thing.  Remember in the nineties we used to call it the "information super highway"  what a bunch of crock!  You should see me with this eyes half open know it all, 55 words per minute look..


Very funny guy check him out his Vlog: http://www.youtube.com/user/RayWilliamJohnson