A few years ago there was a rumour circulating at work that I was independently wealthy and only came to work for my own enjoyment.
That was quite fun as long as it lasted.
^ Similar.
I moved a good bit as a kid, 5 places in 6 years, but then spent the rest of my childhood in the same spot, where my mom and step dad still live. Even from the beginning always had family and friends around though. Had a roof over my head, clothes and food, and a Grandmother who loved to buy whatever toy was the craze. I don't think being happier than I was then is possible. We've all gone on to lead our own lives, and some have gotten much more material wealth, but I treasure that period in my life because it taught me that the fundamental interaction of loved ones is more valuable than anything when it comes to happiness.
Last edited by The_Shooman (2014-02-13 00:49:26)
Last edited by 4F Hepcat (2014-02-14 11:50:41)
^ So true Nick. I actually have friends who live about 4 hours away by car ( an hour by plane!) in NYC, and I haven't seen either in years except one in Munich for Oktoberfest and another by utter chance in Hong Kong! I think the chances of hitting the lottery were better than randomly seeing a college buddy on the opposite side of the world when neither of us lived there and were just in town for a few days.
As to the last, the world happened. Happens to us all.
I find it interesting that happiness becomes a much more nuanced concept as you age. I think if people spent a lot more timing figuring out what happiness meant to them as opposed to chasing some base notion of it, they would be a lot happier in the long run.
What intrigues me is those whose physical appearance and character has changed beyond all recognition, and there's a few of them, mainly for the worse. And yet others, if I bumped into them by chance, I would still recognise them instantly, even though I haven't seem them for 25 years or more now. Linkedin is a good place to track down old chums, but of course, a lot of people are not on there, particularly those with dead-end jobs, or no jobs at all.
I found my old best mate at primary school on Linkedin and we got to talking to each other, he still lives on the Wirral, and we talked at length about his mum who use to take us in her Mini estate with the wooden side panels all over the place on days out and he said it was really good to be able to talk about his mum to someone because none of his current friends or wife ever knew her and he feels sad that no one remembers her. The last time I saw him was way back in '87.