Is there a road to happiness?

There are good days. And there are bad ones. For some, each day can mean a better day. Others don't have such luck.

This is a respite from my usual blogging about politics or entertainment or drama in any form.

This morning, I was surprised to find my 10 year old dog, Genie, wagging her tail on my bedside. She has osteoporosis and now finds it difficult to walk on all fours. She manages to run around limping on three paws. The past weeks, her daily stroll around the village and to the chapel where she accompanies my mom has been downgraded to just simple strolls around the garden. I've taken her back and forth to the vet and the vet just says that it's natural for her old age to take a toll on walking. Every day seemed difficult for me and my mom to watch her limp around. But Genie has learned to live with her limitations. And every time I come home and my driver would honk the horn of the car, Genie would be at the window, wagging her tail and barking with joy that I am finally home. She looks up to me when I arrive home and waits for that proverbial pat in the head and the hug on her bulky body. Then she limps around in circles. Happy.

Happy.

This morning I looked at Genie and saw in her old droopy eyes happiness. And asked myself, what does it take to make one happy?

The material things we have are actually temporary provisions in keeping us stay in touch with the current world. A new iPhone, a MacAir, a new Accord, a brand new house, a trip to Europe, a million bucks, a diamond ring. You get one, you try to top it with the next. Our endorphins are wildly stimulated, temporarily, until it hits us that we're not happy with what we have and we need something new, something more, something else.

I am sure that all of us wake up to moments of emptiness. Another day. Breakfast. Driving to work. Working for the money. Going home. Another day. Some of us, nope, all of us, one time or another have wished we were in other people's shoes. What we forget is that many of those who eventually found happiness have taken the road less traveled. While there are a few who probably were born with a silver spoon, or had material things shoved to them by a stroke of luck or through graft and corruption, not all of us become contented with these temporary breaks of "happiness". And many of us have own stories to tell. Yet we fail to answer the big question - is there a road to happiness?

Contentment, many people believe is a parking stop for those who have no dream or ambition. I disagree. Contentment is an idling zone which all of us must make. It serves as a temporary pause that all of us must make to assess and reassess where we are with our stories in the journey called life.

In spite of Genie's temporary limitations, she had mustered enough joy today to jump up my bed and I gave her a great hug. Then my cat, K2, joined Genie in a group hug. Today, I woke up to a different view on my quest for the road to happiness. I know that like Genie, there will be ailments or bad luck that may come my way, but there is a road to happiness. We all need to find that road.

No matter what the cost, I am determined to find that road...