Imp, that's from Jean-Paul Sartre, and one of my favorite quotes from him.
"Happiness is not having what you want but wanting what you have."
It has spared me from envy on many an occasion!
Jn
The Ideal Life
-
Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46145
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
I just experiencing a real life corollary to that rule. This morning Beth asked me to please clean the master bathroom upstairs, "including thoroughly cleaning the tiles." Now a few of you will recall me saying in the past that cleaning the grout between the tiles in the shower is about my least favorite thing in the world to do. Well, I grumbled through the early morning, cleaned the rest of the bathroom (which is piece of cake, of course - even the toilet), and then made myself a cup of coffee (I usually drink tea) and read here for a while, until I could put it off no longer.
But a funny thing happened on the way up the stairs. I didn't consciously think it, but all of the sudden I found myself saying out loud "this is going to be fun!" And you know what? It was. I really managed to turn this odious task into a fun challenge to do the best job that I could, and I am quite sure that I did a better job at it then I have before.
Happiness is not doing what you like but liking what you do.
* another key is that I got Beth to admit that I wasn't going to make it perfect, no matter how hard I tried. That was a critical part of the equation, to remove that impossible expectation.
But a funny thing happened on the way up the stairs. I didn't consciously think it, but all of the sudden I found myself saying out loud "this is going to be fun!" And you know what? It was. I really managed to turn this odious task into a fun challenge to do the best job that I could, and I am quite sure that I did a better job at it then I have before.
Happiness is not doing what you like but liking what you do.
* another key is that I got Beth to admit that I wasn't going to make it perfect, no matter how hard I tried. That was a critical part of the equation, to remove that impossible expectation.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."