The Pursuit of Happiness

We all search for something in life.  Something to define us.  Something that shows everyone what we're about.  Some people look for it in money, some in fame, some in drugs, some in relationships, and some in religion.  But those people won't ever find it.  Not because they are looking in the wrong places, but rather because they are looking at all.  That's the tricky thing about self definition, is that it can only come from within ourselves.  It isn't about anything material or your legacy or anything like that.  It is more of a feeling, or a simple state of being.  It has more to do with being true to yourself and being happy than anything else.  We can have money, or a spouse, or be famous, or invent something cool, but that won't ever change who we are inside.  Who we are inside can only produce those results, not the other way around.  Being poor and happy is exactly the same as being rich and happy.  We're all together on Earth and what common goal do we have other that the pursuit of happiness?  It is the most basic piece of the human puzzle, but also the most revealing one.  The things that bring an honest smile to your face, the really personal things, they're what we live for.  It is our happiness that makes us human.  Anything beyond that is just white noise.

Here are a few things that make me smile, no matter what I'm feeling:
-Everyone at church dropping their guard and letting themselves become effected by God

-Seeing pure innocence in someone

-Being able to sit with my friends or family in silence but be totally comfortable, just because it's us

-The spark of someone's creativity

-People that are curious enough to ask "why?" in everyday situations

-The zoo

-Someone that knows themselves well enough to admit they're messed up, but also wouldn't trade that part of themselves for the world

When Wheels are Turned

For a long time I have always thought about this theory of the turning color wheel.  Not many people know about it and I'm not even sure if there is a name for it but I'll do my best to explain it.  On the right is a standard version of the color wheel.  It goes in an order that can explain which colors match best and complement each other.  Everyone, aside from people that are color blind, can recognize the primary colors as red, yellow, and blue.  This is where I'm about to blow your mind. So be warned.  What if everyone's color wheels are different?  What if through someone else's eye's all the colors looked different than they do to you?  I'm not talking about being color blind, I'm talking about being color turned.  What I mean by that is that someone else's color wheel may be turned a half rotation so that the colors are in a different order.

This is where you may be saying, well then they would say the sky is green.  But that isn't true.  Since we have all been taught since we were born that whatever color we see the sky is must be blue, we could all in fact be seeing different colors.  So John Doe may see the sky the way I see green.  But to him this would be normal.  The second argument is that everyone knows what colors match.  Even though that isn't entirely true (I know from experience) there is still an answer.  Because the color wheel has just been turned, the colors would still match, just in a different way than other people see it.  Below is an example of how it would work.

Now I'm not trying to win the Nobel Prize here for some half baked theory that no one really understands very well.  Rather what I am trying to do is provide a better example than walking in someone else's shoes.  If you really think this deeply about it, you have no clue how everyone else see's the world, well, because you've only seen it through you eyes.  Perspective is a powerful thing.  It can play tricks on you, but you can also fall into the trap of thinking that the way you see things is just how everyone else sees them too.  It's difficult to have the presence of mind to stop and think if we're doing this.  But the people that can sense how other people perceive the world are some of the most successful people in the world.

So next time you get mad at someone, or someone hurts your feelings, or things aren't going your way just take the time to think how everyone else sees it.  Look at the situation through your bosses eyes, or your girlfriends, or your parents, or the homeless man's, or the African kids, and just try to think of how different things are for them.  They say you never know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, but to me, you'll never know a person until you've seen a day through their eyes.

Just a Spot in the Sky

It's funny how a star in real life is much easier to see when you're in a small town.  Away from all the smog and lights and distractions they really seem to glow.  But when you go to a big city only the really bright ones make it through the clouds.  It's kind of like that in real life too.  The whole big fish in a small pond analogy.  When we're put into a bigger environment it's almost impossible to shine through.  That's why I stopped trying to be a star a long time ago, my real ambition is to be the moon.

Even though it is scarred and kind of distant, it's always the brightest thing in the sky.  It can make the dead of night nearly as bright as day.  That's kind of my life goal.  To turn things from the worst of the worst to the best for people.  Because, just like people, we don't see how the moon effects us. Until one day is sends the tide up to soak your towel at the beach.  But that's just a prank. Just take the time to go look at the moon and how beautiful it is.  Then maybe you'll realize who plays the role of the moon in your life.  Hopefully they can teach you how to turn dark into light.

T.C. Street

Go Live

I started blogging as a way to get my ideas out in the open and to figure out my own mind.  But the more I write on it the more it becomes an advice column.  I thought about that for a little while today and asked myself what is the best advice I know to give right now, at 20 years old.  The best thing I could come up to is to just live.

Live and explore.  Explore everything around you.  Learn everything you can about yourself, your family, friends, city, and everything that is important to you.  Go all the places that you've always wanted to go.  Figure out your favorite thing to do and do it every single day.  Find something to be passionate about and someone to passionately share it with.  Think.  Think about everything that happens and why it happens.  Think about what you care about and then fight for the cause.  Set a time to go back to your childhood and remember what made you laugh.  Remember what made you happy.  Get in the car one day and just drive, drive until you're so lost that you need directions.  Stay up all night long one night and then sleep all day.  Turn off every electronic device you have for a full day.  Let curiosity grow you until you can't grow anymore.  Read a book that no one has ever heard of.  Find God, trust me, He helps!  Don't be effected by everything that is bad in the world.  Be the cause that effects people and makes them happy.

All I'm trying to say is that nothing is certain.  Nothing is for sure, not even time.  We don't have much time here on Earth, let's be honest.  So use what time you have.  Dream, and dream bigger than anyone else ever could.  Build yourself a life that makes you wake up smiling.  Be the person that defines what life is instead of letting your life define you. Just go live.