Happiness is......

"What is the meaning of life?  To be happy and useful."

                                                Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

So with all of this talk about recession and debt ceilings and the doings (or not doings as the case may be) of our government it makes me wonder what it takes to be happy in today's society.  One school of thought is that you need to have more stuff and have all the toy and luxery items you could ever possibly desire and once you attain them you'll have happiness.  Unfortunately, the pursuit of "stuff" can lead you to feel like a rat in a maze:

(And we keep on going....where's the cheese?)

But what happens when you do get all the money and the stuff?  What would you do with it?  Would you purchase the world's most expensive yacht?

(At least gold doesn't tarnish!)

However, as I have a tendency to get seasick - a fact that causes my wife (who grew up sailing) no end of chagrin - that probably wouldn't be so feasible for me.

Or possibly you could purchase the world's most expensive home?

(I always wanted a home where I could park my 160 bikes cars)

And I have to say it would be great to have all that space but as it is in Mumbai, India it would be a real pain to commute by bike.  I'll have to pass on the house.

Ahhhhh but what about the bike?  Despite Lance Armstrong's assertions in his book, sometimes it is about the bike! And this sweet little ride, priced at a mere $102,417.60, is a gold fixed-gear from Aurumania;

(Forget the teeth bling, ride this through the 'hood)

Now I have to say I was hoping Andy Schleck would be able to pull it off!  I was really rooting for him and his brother to pull off the 1-2 on the podium of the Tour but alas it looks like Cadel Evans (yes, of "touch my dog and I'll kill you" fame)



will be the winner.  Despite Andy's amazing ride on Thursday he and brother Frank will take the podium 2-3 instead.  So its clear that all their money and the backing of the new Leopard-Trek team did not bring them happiness.

Or, for those of you with the 160 bicycles to park in the house in Mumbai, would you prefer to have one of these little babies custom installed on your property?   Would that make you happy?

So its clear that money can buy you lots of stuff?  But will all the stuff make you happy?

(This guy is obviously in search of some minimalism)

Its' truly hard to tell which side of the fence George Carlin is on;

Now according to my wife, I fall into that category of having way too much stuff.  Of course, I don't quite fall into the "Mythbusters" category of happiness that can be summed up in this Marine Corps bumper sticker;

(Not practical but I sure would like to shoot one - at targets, of course)

No, I think I adhere more to the warm puppy and surrounding yourself with family school of happiness.  Its taken me a long time to get there and I really am trying to be more "content" with what God (or fate, or karma or the Great Spirit or Earth Mother) have given me.   Perhaps a trip back to our youth and the simplicity of "Peanuts" would be a helpful reminder;



14 Happiness (From _You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown_).m4a

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Perhaps its as simple as that.  To have someone who you love to be with and not worry about all the stuff and the what, just the who!

I'm reminded of this every day this summer at Sunrise as I go into the building we call "The Cooler".  There is a sign posted outside the trooper room (which are the kindergarten aged campers) that says, "Happiness is not something you experience, its something you remember".  And maybe its as simple as that, its about making memories of happy times that can last you when all the stuff loses its charm (or gets lost, broken, sold, worn out, boring).

For instance one of my all time favorite riding moments happened just this morning as I was riding back home.  I was about 18 miles into a 30 mile ride when a rabbit that was on the side of the road got startled by my presence.  I was cooking along at 25 miles an hour so I thought he (she?) would just hop into the bushes and that would be the end of it.  However, my bunny friend ran along side me only three feet from my bike for a good 50 feet.  Ultimately, in our impromptu drag race I think the bunny one, but only becuase it jumped into the bushes.  I've had lots of great bike memories and many of them are chronicled in the pages of this blog (including gorgeous sunrises, climbing mountain passes and finishing my first century) but of the memories that will cause me to smile for a long time this has got to be up on the list.

I'm hoping that next summer we'll have a lot more of them to show as I replay the greatest hits in my mind.  We are getting closer every day to our departure date from San Diego.  Right now I'm in the process of starting to use all the gift cards I've been given over the years to outfit Pearl for the journey.  I'm still hoping for an angel or two to come forward and help us with our sponsorships but I know we'll be able to get Pearl ready for her journey.

In my many eclectic readings I have come across another quote that I think describes the missions of Connor's Army perfectly.  It is by the writer Leo C. Rosten and he writes, "I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be "happy." I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter and to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all."

My fellow counselors and specialists at Sunrise do this every day during the summer.  I'm hoping to take it one step further next summer and make just a bit more of a difference that I have lived.  If I can do that and make some memories with my family on the journey, then that will be happiness.

Well that's all for now.

Stay well and I'll see you on the road!