When I think of a happy ending, I think of the American Dream and having that great house where all the good schools are, in the neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and our incredibly young-looking and radiant moms get together every week to talk about the new hot plumber man who just moved in across the street...wait, that's the plot of "Desperate Housewives." Anyway back to the dream...we want everything to be our version of perfect. That dream is more than just a destination, it's a journey. I take this out of Ellen DeGeneres' last book, Seriously...I'm Kidding, "Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey." Ok so I basically just copied that and replaced happiness with dream, but you get my point. We work and work and work so we can reach the dream, but its not something we can reach apparently. We can see it in our minds, and we feel like we know how to get there. But when we do all that work we think we know will work, somehow our happy ending is still just a little longer than an arm's reach away.
When you really think about it, most people's lives don't end happily. How many people do you know who died with a big smile on their face? No? Well that would be a perfect example of a happy ending. How about someone who valiantly helped a group of lost chipmunks find their way back into the forest? No? Just another amazing example of what a real "happy ending" would look like. Who dies the most? Old people. What makes old people happy? If we apply this rule to how old people have been dying these days, we could assume that old people love sleeping. Many old people die in their sleep. And many young people hope to one day die in their sleep. What's the fun in that? I want to die some exciting way like...in my sleep. No, but seriously who thinks dying in their sleep is fun and would make you happy? They say sleep is peaceful. But is peaceful always fun? It was peaceful at work today and I hated it.
Why are we always trying to make a happy ending for ourselves? Is it a clever scheme to make endings a good thing? Here's a story:
One day I went to see a political movie featuring an actor who we always see in political movies and also stars in a trio of movies about robbing casinos. It was weird at first, and then it got kind of good. Then I was really bored and earnestly wished it would be over. Finally, when it ended, I was happy.
In this story, the end was happy. However, if I for some reason fail to mention the part where I was happy when it ended, people would say something like "Oh, that sucks!" or, "I'm sorry dude." This made me realize that if we tell a story without also telling the part where the end made us happy, I just completely lost my train of thought. Moving on...
The point of this is to encourage you to make your happy endings short term. Make the end of this day a happy one. Do something simple, but fun. Go look at one of those funny websites or look up stupid videos on YouTube. Jump on your bed (carefully) or go roll someone's house! Don't do things that hopefully lead up to a happy ending, make your ending happy on purpose. Say to yourself, "oh, it's the end of the day, but before I go to bed...LET'S GO STREAKING THROUGH THE HOUSE!!" (Obviously this scenario can only work if you are a young couple with no kids or an old couple who's kids have all moved out.) Wouldn't that be a happy ending! Maybe not for the neighbors who, to their great misfortune, chose enormous windows for their remodelling, but for you - pure naked* happiness!
*the word naked in this sentence is meant to mean simple
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