The Pursuit of HappYness

In the movie 'The Pursuit of HappYness' Will Smith's character often refers to the famous lines from the Declaration of Independence and talks about how it is the pursuit that matters more rather than happiness itself, however we all we define it. To me the question is not whether this is true or not but why it is so. Is it because we spend our lives pursuing things rather than enjoying the fruits of our labor? Or perhaps because all too often the long-desired happiness doesn't turn out to be happiness after all? In many ways both of these statements are true. But for me the heart of the matter lies elsewhere. The pursuit matters more because the way we set out to achieve happiness individually ends up defining us as personalities and, viewed collectively, shapes our society. Indeed a lot can be said about a man's character by the way he accomplishes his dreams and I know for a fact that I've learned a lot about myself that way. Nonetheless, I also know that I need to be asking myself a lot more frequently the question how my pursuit shapes the society I live in and how it can affect it positively. We all need to ask ourselves that question, even Will Smith's character who goes through hell to achieve his own version of happYness.

I just crossed paths on the street with David Axelrod, the architect of Obama's campaign. As I was walking past him my mind switched into 'Memento' gear and started reconstructing (or making wild guesses about) his day so far. He had no spring in his step and that made me think that perhaps he had started his Sunday with a jog that had taken its tall on him. Perhaps after the jog he had seen the latest polling data, which had been so disastrous for the Democrats that that he had decided to drop his plans for a quiet Sunday at home and go to work instead. On his way to work it is possible that he had what he thought was a 'game-changing' strategy trick and that had gotten him so excited so as to take this straight to the President and Rahm E. The strategy would turn out to be an easy sell. And maybe as we crossed paths he was all too aware that the new strategy would need a lot of work and that he would have no quiet Sundays for God knows how long.

Or perhaps I am just being completely presumptuous and he is simply a slow walker.

The Myth of Sisyphus on a Friday night

We are like Sisyphus in our daily lives. We start each week at the bottom of the mountain and we carry our burden at work until we reach the peak on Friday night knowing very well that we are going to have to do this again and again (unless we are fortunate enough to be in one of those European countries where everything shuts down in August and we can postpone the inevitable for a little while).
But are we really like him? As I stand on top of the mountain right now and revel in my victory I start to think that he was more cynical than me and perhaps than many of us. He was never happy because he was always all too aware of his predicament.  I am, on the other hand, perfectly content to live for the moment and ignore what will come in two days. It's Friday night after all! Stay tuned for a follow-up on Monday morning and in the meantime enjoy your weekend :)

The Plunge

I still vividly remember that early morning in June 1996 when I took the high-school entrance exam for the American College of Sofia. I remember it all: the nervous walk through the campus before the exam, my squeaky wooden desk and even the smoke that was coming from behind our car as my parents and I drove away after the test (my dad had forgotten to release the parking brake!). Maybe some day those memories will fade away. Or maybe I will simply lose the ability to relate to them and they will turn into paintings that I can never warm up to like all modern art after Picasso. 

Yet there is one thing that I will never forget. I will never forget the mixed feeling of excitement and fear as I was staring at the blank sheet before the beginning of the essay section of the exam. Now, as I face a similar situation, I understand that this was precisely the feeling I needed to have. Any creative act no matter how simple requires you to take a leap of faith in terms of your own abilities. You should be afraid and excited at the same time because that is the only way you will be ready to take the plunge...