100 days ago I committed myself to the longest relationship I have ever had in my life to a hashtag. My delirious suitor being, #100happydays.
100 days ago, it seemed like a logical thing to do, I mean, I had a guaranteed standpoint for content on Instagram, and a go-to hash when I was really desperate and out of wit.
And so it began. Day 1: New dog; Day 2: Writing my friend’s 21st birthday speech; Day 3: Picking flowers in the garden; Day 6: Running my first continuous 5km; Day 7: Discovering glorious hidden courtyards in Melbourne; Day 12: Basking on the grass and watching the clouds; Day 20: Getting published in print; Day 32: Shopping for produce at the local organic store where the old man still carries boxes to my car; Day 48: Conducting my first press interview; Day 69: Waking up to the city skyline; Day 77: Stumbling upon a full on Ashram; Day 83: Finding my ultimate mentor; Day 96: Witnessing foggily pastel sunrises; Day 99: Making pancakes for my two favorite bachelors.Looking back on the last 100 insta-posts, I can’t believe how intensely insane, busy, brilliant and humbling each day has been, and it’s true that a picture says a thousand words.
Behind each cheeky Amaro-filtered image is a story I will never forget, a moment I recall with intensity, and the exact reason I thought it a good idea to press the round capture button which would save that instant in both my collective memory and the world of insta-space forever.
I realized as the days went on that not every dinner will be at a cool new spot littered with food porn-esque menu options, not every morning will deliver some amazing news or a beautiful view, and not every afternoon will I have the opportunity to brew some Green Tea, in a gorgeous teapot, overlooking a stunning garden, while I read my favorite book. Hate to break it to you angel, but it’s not going to happen. And we can’t wait for the perfect timing, weather, and stock levels of a tea collection to be perfect in order to be ‘happy’.
You need to make it, source it, demolish it and devour it in any way possible. If it’s the unusual colour of a leaf as it turns from green to burnt orange at the dawn of autumn, or even the fact that you found a pair of matching socks to wear on a dreary Monday – let that be your happiness.
I think we are overly sophisticating it, as we have seemingly everything today – not in a cynical way – ILY Wi-Fi, power steering, infra-red saunas, steam ovens. But really, happiness is not exclusively grandiose, beautiful or even profound, it can also be simple, tainted, rusty and even sad sometimes.
I’m stumped for what 98% of the population are looking for in happiness, and in their endless search for it, mistaken the new rad song on the radio, or the untouched left-overs from last night’s dinner, for nothing more than examples of the daily grind. Because although basic, these seemingly simple things are much more than that, and deserved to be snapped up by your iPhone 5C, accompanied with a short and sweet #happy caption.
I’m not suggesting you go and commit yourself to an extended marathon of 100 happy days, but puh-lease be conscious of the little happy things, and be super aware of the big happy things (maybe write those ones downs at least!).
Lastly, don’t put happiness on a pedestal like you do Ryan Gosling, you can at least grab, lock up and keep the former in your back pocket.
I couldn’t finish this post about happiness without a stock standard quote from old mate Buddha, could I, so here goes:
“There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path”.
If you have no idea what this whole #100happydays business is about, check it out here, and definitely, peruse my instagrammatical journey @thesheonaexperiment.
Love Sheona xo