We, as human beings, are complex in many, many ways. We are made up of trillions of cells, tens of trillions of gut bacteria and too numerous to count DNA/RNA sequences and chemicals. Layer on top of this environmental factors such as how we were parented, relationships we develop, life events that are thrown at us, etc and we can all see why we are so complex in nature.
I would bet that 99.99% of us all strive for “happiness” in our lives. Due to the complexity of our makeups both organically and environmentally, our “happiness factor” is not dependent on only several contributing factors. As an example, how often do we hear about famous people worth millions or billions of dollars dying early from drug usage, suicide or becoming reclusive in nature? We have all heard the expression: “Money does not buy happiness” and time and time again we bear witness to this with either people we know or famous people we read about that are clearly unhappy despite their wealth.
This entry was prompted by several patients that I saw this past week that were about to embark on a trip to stay with their children and grandchildren that live out of town. These people came in smiling from ear to ear telling me about excited they are about hanging with their most precious loved ones. Their happiness weas almost contagious as I felt myself being very happy for them. Clearly, at this point in time, these patients could care less whether the stock market was up or down, which party was the majority in Congress or whether their favorite sports team was in playoff position…their “Happiness Factor” was at a very high level.
We discussed how much nicer it is for them to be able to independently transport themselves to see their loved ones than having their loved ones have to come see them either due to a health issue or difficulty in traveling.
Being at a healthy state is the most critical factor for human happiness. Although we are complex in our genetic and environmental make-ups, this much is shared: Good health will translate into happiness and poor health into unhappiness. Fame and fortune? Not even close to being as important as good health. Stay focused on your weight control efforts and your health AND happiness will soar.
As because I used the word “Fame” in the last paragraph, how could I not post Irene Cara’s from “Fame”?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1gMQ_q3FSM
