happiness is not an illegal practice

i don't think we need much in this world, in fact we are truly creative magicians of the minimal.  the ingredients for happiness, a forgotten brew, can be gathered in the form of one guitar, a bucket, red wine, a campfire and a handful of your closest friends.  it makes me smile to think of the time i didn't think i knew how to sing.  actually i'm a pretty terrible singer but i love to do it.  i'm also a terrible dancer but if you heard the music i listen to you could never stay in your seat.

but when did it get so complicated?  why is it that some of us have to struggle to find an excuse to sing and dance?  i set out to write this entry being certain not to list complaints about the culture i have come from but i couldn't help wonder how differently things could have been.  i don't know why it is that our time spent together enjoying food and each other's company has turned into a gathering around a television that spits fear into our eyes and ears.  i could only imagine a place where family time is spent in long dinners followed by rounds of coffee and wine while talking about stories from our past and present; i still hang on to my firm belief that there actually is no future outside of the illusions we have created for ourselves.

i'm a little bit uncomfortable here but i can manage.  i have a strong heart.  it is just strange that a few weeks ago i was told i smile too much.  in fact, my trip to USA has been really awesome however all i had to do was cut away everything i feel out of place in and surround myself with my friends and family, those who i truly care about the most.  the rest of this place is doomed.

i'll say it first, it is my fault.  i was raised and educated here to be a teacher and i have come to know this place (knew a place) so well i could navigate it with a blindfold over my eyes.  yet i ran.  i left to learn about the world and prove to myself that there are different ways to live and different ways of course to love.  perhaps i was gone for too long, as i've been told 'the real world has passed me by long ago.'  however i am happy and the last bit of me that has ever been unhappy has been vanquished long ago by an impenetrable spirit.  i've learned that positivity, like all other things, is a practice and likewise so is happiness.  it's perfectly legal and not expensive.  in fact all you really need is a guitar, a bucket, red wine, a campfire and a handful of your closest friends.  if that is out of your budget you can always climb trees :)