...it's the pursuit people

I saw a t-shirt commemorating the 4th of July this year. "Life-Liberty-Happiness" It saddens me how wrong that is, you are not guaranteed the right to happiness, rather the pursuit of it.

Lottery winners are more likely to be bankrupt within ten years of hitting it big than had they not. Their divorce rate is 200% higher than the average person. (I heard that on Dave Ramsey who was reading an article) It was recently announced that for the second time this year an Extreme Makeover Home Edition home was lost by the family it had been given to. Earlier this year a family couldn't afford the taxes, most recently the family had taken out a mortgage on their paid for home and couldn't repay. Seems that having happiness given to you doesn't always work out.

How many times have we as parents scrimped and saved for the most awesome Christmas present ever only to have it broken by New Years?

Happiness isn't something that you can have delivered. It isn't something you can inherit from your parents. It isn't a wedding gift or a luck of the draw. Happiness is wild and it needs to be hunted down and drug home, when you get it their it needs to be cared for and it will escape the first time you turn your back on it, and you have every right to chase after it every single day of your life.

I wouldn't tame the beast of happiness if I could. I won't be giving it to my children, it's much too hard keeping my own happiness fed and kept, I couldn't imagine trying to look after theirs.

So if you are sitting there waiting for your box o'happiness to come with the UPS, stop. It's a late night infomercial scam. It will break before your payments start. Go and hunt some down and drag it home, after all it's your right.