My whole life, I have watched individuals struggle to find the meaning of life. Some rely on an increase of serotonin levels and others believe in a joy that is achieved through a higher power being we commonly refer to in society as God. I have watched people distract their way through life by hanging up quotes about dreams they don’t have the courage to chase while others continue to make more money to buy more valuables that will eventually end up in card board boxes under the basement stairs.
Now, I’m 19 years young and hold no position to clarify the meaning of life or how to achieve happiness. I don’t have all the formulas memorized and am nowhere close to being up to date on my religious history books. Nevertheless, I have come up with my own theory; the more time you spend chasing your own happiness the further away you will stray from achieving it.
It sounds weird I know, but hear me out.
Maybe living isn’t about finding the meaning in our own existence but creating meaning in others. Maybe it means being the friend who listens on the phone ’til three in the morning after a bad breakup or being the older sister who spends an extra 15 minutes playing make believe. Maybe happiness stems from being the neighbor who delivers cookies to the young family moving in down the street or being the girlfriend who sits and watches a Bronco’s game despite her distaste of football. Maybe meaning comes from being the stranger who grins when they walk by or being the grandchild who takes interest in their grandparent’s past.
Maybe all this time we have had the key to happiness, we’ve just been forcing it into the wrong lock. Peace, love, joy, satisfaction, none of these emotions can be brought about on our own. They all grow in their own individual way as we continue to form connections between us and something or someone. The solution has been right under our noses all along. It’s in the eyes of the two-year-old you sometimes tend to, the wrinkle in your grandfather’s grin, and the laughter bursting from your coworker’s lips. In order to create happiness in our own lives, we must first be willing to share it in others.