Life - Good Or Bad

[fotoman]

no seriously phoband, tell me what you really think

[swdivad]

Life is great! But I could always be happier...

[KB]

Maybe I'm living with blinders on, maybe it's false optimism, but man... my life is GOOD. I have a fantastic family, I have a wife that loves me to pieces, I have friends, I've got 4 boys in my troop *that* close to making Eagle Scout, it's 18 degrees outside, I get to ride my mtn bike in that, and there's ice on the pond. I live right next to 600,000 acres of wilderness, and I've tromped much of it. I get paid for doing what I like, with people I like working with, and I have a great flexible schedule. I have so many things to be thankful for it just humbles me sometimes. A big part of how great life is, is because of you guys out there too!

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."

You should be allowed to win a PoM for that Bob, extremely well written and although i have had a bit hold me back in recent Months I do share your optimism for life and family.

"For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother;"

Quote

Ken

[jonthebhoy]

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." -

-- Winston Churchill

[dadog13]

"Life is good" -- Klink

[Everythingape]

I love your optimism, nanuq!

There are enough people in the world with a great life and they still whine about minute details, and make it seem and sound like they are under the whip 22 hours a day. Lately I have got a real good feel of how it is to be a positive person when people around you all expect the worst.

My 28 years of life have been pretty much free of adversity and trouble. The few small walls I've had to climb or walk around are not worth mentioning, at least not when I see good people who's had so much go against them through the years.

I grew up on a tiny island on the norwegian coast, surrounded by water and about 80-90 relatives and friends. I see now that it was a great community! I'd love for my daughter to grow up like that, but it can't be done as the island is all but depopulated now, and people, including my better half, will not risk being the first to go back.

But to justify clicking on the "Life is great" button: I have a wonderful little daughter and a girlfriend, totally devoted to me as I am to them, we are all in good health, I have a big, loving and helpful family, my friends are many and lojal and I live in a place where I can pretty much do what I want. Watersports in the summer, skiing in the winter.. Fishing the lakes and the fjords all year 'round. I am building a home for life next year, and I can afford to get it done just like I want it.

They pay me well to go to sea, and I get 6months + at home every year.

Life ain't too shabby!

[ryyannon]

Maybe I'm living with blinders on, maybe it's false optimism, but man... my life is GOOD. I have a fantastic family, I have a wife that loves me to pieces, I have friends, I've got 4 boys in my troop *that* close to making Eagle Scout, it's 18 degrees outside, I get to ride my mtn bike in that, and there's ice on the pond. I live right next to 600,000 acres of wilderness, and I've tromped much of it. I get paid for doing what I like, with people I like working with, and I have a great flexible schedule. I have so many things to be thankful for it just humbles me sometimes. A big part of how great life is, is because of you guys out there too!

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."

I'd like to know how much of this happiness you feel is specifically related to conditions in the U.S. - and whether you think that you could have enjoyed the same life you're leading in Europe.....

On second thought, and aside being a heavily-loaded question, I think I know the answer......

[Blindman]

When you have good health you got it all, - the rest is up to you.

[fotoman]

so cometh forth this thread as a tribute to the happyness of this forum

[Linder]

There ya go. Reps bring happiness!

[gran]

Life is good

-klink aka Schulz aka Phil

[fotoman]

That's a great question. I think happiness and gratitude comes from the heart, not from outside circumstances. As long as your "heart is in the right place" it doesn't matter what place your heart is in.

The things that matter to me are not "things" - they are people and sharing experiences with them. So from that perspective I could be just as, or more happy, living in a small cabin on a fjord or in a yurt in the Alps or (God forbid) in a desert. Sharing a simple existence heavily relying on time outdoors... hopefully time in the mountains... that's what puts a smile on my face.

Cheers!

yes - its not "things" that make you happy - BUT, its the "THINGS" we take for granted as americans that make a difference, access to food, acess to jobs, acess to health care - Central Heating and Cooling - i am not familier with contrasts in Europe, but i know if i lived in cuba - i'd be a reck, cause i wouldn't be able to get my drugs (prescription) Physically i would be more of a nightmare than i already am - and all the smiling happy family faces in the world wouldn't keep me from being miserable.

having said all that - i think i'd be happier as a Canadian

[Everythingape]

Don't knock it till you tried it, Phoband.. Sometimes a simple life is much more gratifying than what most of us have now. I have a dream of growing/hunting/fishing my own meals in the future.. I don't really know why, it's just the survivalist in me I guess.. We get lazy from having everything put in front of us.

I love to get away from the city, and just hang out in the mountains alone for a couple of days. I do bring a few potatoes, some chocolate and a bag of potato chips. Other than that, I eat what I catch and find.

I can see how this is a strange thought for some people though, but it makes coming home a lot nicer.

There's a chance the cubans are happier for it, not the lack of health care of course, but the simple life with a few less 'worries'..

[ryyannon]

That's a great question. I think happiness and gratitude comes from the heart, not from outside circumstances. As long as your "heart is in the right place" it doesn't matter what place your heart is in.

The things that matter to me are not "things" - they are people and sharing experiences with them. So from that perspective I could be just as, or more happy, living in a small cabin on a fjord or in a yurt in the Alps or (God forbid) in a desert. Sharing a simple existence heavily relying on time outdoors... hopefully time in the mountains... that's what puts a smile on my face.

Cheers!

A wise answer to a rather sily question, Nanuq.

Wouldn't have expected anything less from you.... :-)