Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Love, Life and the Pursuit of Happiness

If I thought that I would die tomorrow, I would tell my family, friends, and colleagues that the principles that bind love, life, and the pursuit of happiness encompass the most important things in life. Every event in my life has fallen into one or more of these three categories. Each one works with the other to not only develop your journey but also to influence the path of those that follow you.

Love is an elementary lesson in many ways. Love is learned at a young age. Children learn to love their nurturers by showing an affinity towards them in spite of the circumstances. A child seldom holds grudges for long periods of time and often, no matter what discipline they may have previously suffered, a child still clings to the nurturer. As time progresses we learn that love is not always reciprocal and that true love involves several other good qualities such as patience, kindness, forgiveness, and perseverance. As a result, we learn that love can be used to gain favor in life. Iron sharpens iron. When we show love, we receive love and when we receive love, we learn to show it more effectively. There can be many obstacles in life and love helps you to triumph over those barriers.

Life is awkwardly coupled between love and the pursuit of happiness. Life is unpredictable but yet the pursuit of happiness is ongoing. The pursuit varies over the course of your life but the happiness that you seek is constant. For some, happiness is found in riches, for others, happiness is rooted in their contributions to society. My pursuit relied on obtaining a Juris Doctor degree and beginning a lucrative career as an attorney. That plan was quickly thwarted. Although, I am returning to law school, I am now focused on pursuing a career as an educator, a researcher, an author, an orator and an academic enthusiast. This is a new pursuit but I am hopeful that it will ultimately bring me same happiness that I originally sought, only better because it has been enhanced by life's experiences.

Love, life and the pursuit of happiness are eternally connected.

Life often disrupts the pursuit of happiness but love can conquer the defeat that life brings.

1 comment:

Thanks for sharing with me as I take this journey.