A Shallow Well

Because of my natural tendencies, I find myself reminded of some things in particular, over and over in life. You too, I bet--that seems to be the way things work. Life is learning, life is growing, life is a series of lessons about oneself and about… life.

For me, being someone so inclined to think deep thoughts, and so intrinsically fascinated with what is below, behind and beyond the surface level of things, I am often reminded that not everything has to be so complex. Depth isn’t always necessary, everything isn’t secretly profound, and some things are just perfect at their simple face value.

We might associate the concept of shallowness with larger negative ideas, like shallow people living shallow lives, which makes us think of selfishness, ignorance, narcissism and hedonism. Goodness gracious we can’t let everyone go around enjoying too much pleasure for pleasures’ sake, now can we?

Well, when I stop to think about it (of course I do), I wonder what is so bad about partaking in and recognizing personal pleasures? Deliberate pleasurable experiences can be real gifts that bring glory to any old day. I mean, what exactly are you trading this day in for, in terms of joy and satisfaction? Forget accomplishments for a moment, and consider only the time you are giving toward finding yourself happy today.

You are trading this day of your life for the experiences you are having. When I stay on the surface of how I spend my time, I don’t need mind-expanding ideology to get a clue about what kind of a trades I’m making. It isn't terribly complex to think, hey, this must be important, because what I’m doing with each of my days is pretty much all there is to them.

Such a simple notion. It makes it seem (to me, at least) like it needs further support to be true.

First, it’s not a stretch to state that making yourself happy is indeed a matter of health. It’s a scientific fact referred to time and again in medical studies and mind-body communities: stress wears you out and takes you down. Stress kills. Even just general malaise will compromise many of the important physiological factors that signal us as healthy. And guess what? Medically speaking, Happy IS a sign of Healthy. How you feel matters.

Second, being well doesn’t require a complete absence of physical disorders and ailments. We’re creatures; we have biology to contend with. But a lifestyle in which you feel and live well regardless of biology is yours to create and enjoy. We may not always have/be/do the best there is, but we can always have/be/do the best we can under the circumstances. We can always pick the best parts of our day, and fill in some of the smaller remaining moments with the simplest of pleasures. We don’t have to feel guilty about it, either. Even when the rest of our hours are quite serious. Yes, it’s that simple.

Don’t underestimate your ability to honor your life with the most basic of happy thoughts. Don’t make the mistake of thinking a list like the one I’m about to share isn’t important, or isn't enough. It is shallow...so I can dip my cup easily. I can see my reflection.

1. Nathan’s Half Sour Pickles, Dairy Queen, Lou Malnati’s
2. Books, articles, recipes, grass, dirt, seeds, water, the moon
3. The smell of crab apple and cherry blossoms; now lilacs too
4. The fake glow skin lotions that mimic a couple days of sunkissing
5. Old couches which snug to our bottoms after a day of food and outdoors
6. Freaking people out with the disturbing hairy-butt-man photo at the studio