Recently, one of my children asked me what my idea of perfect happiness was. Although this was a perfectly good question, I was unable to answer her. I’m not sure there can be perfect happiness if you’re a human who is still alive. Life is wonderful, fascinating, joyful, complicated, educational, beautiful and meaningful…. as well as horrific, scary, painful, frustrating, sad and traumatic.
You don’t get one without the other.
The best we can do is find good therapy for the hard times, actively work to make life better for all and keep our attention on the good stuff. It’s also helpful to remember that we don’t have to be unhappy because others are.
Although perfect happiness is a long shot for humans, dogs seem to have it all figured out. If they’re safe, fed and have someone to love, they’re good to go. We can only hope that human evolution will help us be more like dogs.
