The engagement ring. The wedding. The promotion. The birth of a child. The award. The long-term project that’s finally completed, signed off and approved. The first home. The second home. The car.
All life-changing moments that should definitely be celebrated.
But, as Glinda sang in Wicked:
No, I couldn’t be happier
Though it is, I admit
The tiniest bit
Unlike I anticipated
But I couldn’t be happier
Simply couldn’t be happier
(spoken) Well – not “simply”:
(sung) ‘Cause getting your dreams
It’s strange, but it seems
A little – well – complicated
There’s a kind of a sort of a cost
There’s a couple of things get: lost
There are bridges you cross
You didn’t know you crossed
Until you’ve crossed
And if that joy, that thrill
Doesn’t thrill you like you think it will
Still –
With this perfect finale
The cheers and ballyhoo
Who wouldn’t be happier?
So I couldn’t be happier
Because happy is what happens
When all your dreams come true
Well, isn’t it?
But sometimes getting your dreams is a little bit more complicated. It’s never quite like you anticipated.
The picture in your head doesn’t always match the reality. And waiting for happiness to arrive only when you achieve your dreams is always a lesson in unhappiness.
Because happiness happens when you choose to acknowledge how good life is just as it is—even when you’re sitting alone eating dinner, even when you’re stressed out over another late night at the office, even when you haven’t seen your family for months, even when you’re spending an extra hour in traffic.
You can choose to be happy knowing that you’re eating a delicious meal and enjoying some precious quiet time. You can feel gratitude for the work that you do, even if there are some sacrifices you have to make. You can find joy knowing that you’re journeying somewhere more interesting than where you’ve been.
So, yes, celebrate the biggies but know that joy can be found in the everyday moments, if you just make the time to notice.
