Tonight I received an inquiry from a friend who asked if I was trying to define happiness. The basic answer to his question is "no" but here is my complete response to him.
No, I don't think my reflection was a quest to define true happiness. I think my bigger question is why, in the midst of circumstances that should make us feel happy, do we still sometimes feel so restless. I've often referred to myself as a "romantic". By that I don't mean a ladies man. I mean someone who is a dreamer and idealist. People like this, including me, tend to always have feelings of longing, often for something they can't even name or define. As a friend once said about Thomas Merton, "He was always longing for the further shore". My life is good and there is little that justifies complaining. However, I still often have this sense of longing. I'm just not sure what I am longing for!
Perhaps this longing is what drives me in life and what motivates my restless soul and questioning mind. Sometimes it seems like a lonely journey but I know I do not travel this path alone.
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