第4章OurPursuitofHappiness(1)

第4章ourpursuitofhappiness(1)

·anonymous·

wechaseafterit，whenitiswaitingallaboutus.

“areyouhappy?”iaskedmybrother，ian，oneday.“yes.no.itdependsonwhatyoumean，”hesaid.

“thentellme，”iasked，“whenwasthelasttimeyouthinkyouwerehappy?”

“april1967，”hesaid.

itservedmerightforputtingaseriousquestiontosomeonewhohasjokedhiswaythroughlife.butian’sanswerremindedmethatwhenwethinkabouthappiness，weusuallythinkofsomethingextraordinary，apinnacleofsheerdelight—andthosepinnaclesseemtogetrarertheolderweget.

forachild，happinesshasamagicalquality.iremembermakinghide-outsinnewlycuthay，playingcopsandrobbersinthewoods，gettingaspeakingpartintheschoolplay.ofcourse，kidsalsoexperiencelows，buttheirdelightatsuchpeaksofpleasureaswinningaraceorgettinganewbikeisunreserved.

intheteenageyearstheconceptofhappinesschanges.suddenlyit’sconditionalonsuchthingsasexcitement，love，popularityandwhetherthatzitwillclearupbeforepromnight.icanstillfeeltheagonyofnotbeinginvitedtoapartythatalmosteveryoneelsewasgoingto.butialsorecalltheecstasyofbeingpluckedfromobscurityatanothereventtodancewithajohntravoltalook-alike.

inadulthoodthethingsthatbringprofoundjoy—birth，love，marriagealso—bringresponsibilityandtheriskofloss.lovemaynotlast，sexisn’talwaysgood，lovedonesdie.foradults，happinessiscomplicated.

mydictionarydefineshappyas“lucky”or“fortunate，”butithinkabetterdefinitionofhappinessis“thecapacityforenjoyment.”themorewecanenjoywhatwehave，thehappierweare.it’seasytooverlookthepleasurewegetfromlovingandbeingloved，thecompanyoffriends，thefreedomtolivewhereweplease，andevengoodhealth.

iaddedupmylittlemomentsofpleasureyesterday.firsttherewassheerblisswhenishutthelastlunch-boxandhadthehousetomyself.thenispentanuninterruptedmorningwriting，whichilove.whenthekidscamehome，ienjoyedtheirnoiseafterthequietoftheday.

later，peacedescendedagain，andmyhusbandandienjoyedanotherpleasure—intimacy.sometimesjusttheknowledgethathewantsmecanbringmejoy.

youneverknowwherehappinesswillturnupnext.wheniaskedfriendswhatmadethemhappy，somementionedseeminglyinsignificantmoments.“ihateshopping，”onefriendsaid.“butthere’saclerkwhoalwayschatsandreallycheersmeup.”anotherfriendlovesthetelephone“everytimeitrings，iknowsomeoneisthinkingaboutme.”

igetathrillfromdriving.onedayistoppedtoletaschoolbusturnontoasideroad.thedrivergrinnedandgavemethethumbsupsign.weweretwoalliesinaworldofmadmotorists.itmademesmile.

weallexperiencemomentslikethese.toofewofusregisterthemashappiness.