You Never Know Who You May Meet
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]Have you ever met someone unexpectedly? We were on holiday in New York and making our way to the top of the Empire State Building when we met Bob in the elevator.
Bob was dressed in his uniform and worked at the Empire State Building. He overheard us talking and immediately posed the question in his fabulous New York accent, “Melbourne or Sydney?” Very surprised we replied, “Perth.”
This lead to an interesting conversation about Australia. Bob told us that his favourite movie was The Castle and gave us an impromptu rendition of classic oneliners from the film:[/vc_column_text][mk_image src=”https://happinessofpursuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The-Castle.jpg” image_width=”250″ image_height=”350″ crop=”true” svg=”false” lightbox=”false” group=”_general” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”right” margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”center” margin_bottom=”0″]
spacespacespacespace
“that’s going straight to the pool room,”
“tell him he’s dreaming,”
“why would you wanna go out?”
“It’s the serenity.”
[/vc_column_text][mk_image src=”https://happinessofpursuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BobEmpireStateBuilding.jpg” image_width=”600″ image_height=”350″ crop=”true” svg=”false” lightbox=”false” group=”_general” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” desc=”Me with Bob at the top of the Empire State Building” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”center” margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]What a fantastic surprise! Somehow, here we were, riding in an elevator, sharing something in common with a New Yorker in the most unexpected place. It’s amazing how warm and fuzzy it made us feel. Bob told us how he had been given the film years ago as a gift from a friend and that he just loved the Aussie humour and expressions. He also told us that he was a New Yorker, born and bred, and had never travelled overseas.
It was such a surreal experience to meet someone in New York who was so familiar with an Aussie Classic. If you haven’t seen the film, I totally recommend it for a great laugh!
If you’re going to the Empire State Building anytime soon, please say hi to Bob for us!
What unexpected encounters have you had?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Dreams are achievable
Follow Your Own Inner Wisdom
If you listen carefully to that little voice of wisdom within you, you will always know what to do. Have a wonderful day.
Hillary Beach, Perth WA
This is what our local beach looked like this morning. Absolutely stunning. Feeling so grateful to live here. 🙂
Happiness of Pursuits
Have you ever worked really hard, enduring ups and downs in order to achieve a goal you set for yourself? Maybe a goal like wanting to get fit, lose weight, run a marathon, do a triathlon, complete a degree, have a baby, get married, buy a house, travel overseas or get a better job. You finally achieve your goal and suddenly you’re faced with the anti-climax of it all being over! Suddenly all that energy and focus is no longer needed and you don’t know what to do with it. What was supposed to make you really happy is done and dusted. Achieving the goal happens in a moment, the journey to get there takes a lot longer.
Sure you are happy because you achieved it, but what do you do then? What do you focus all that energy and drive on? What’s next? Well, usually you set another goal or challenge and actively engage in another pursuit.
I think we do this because it’s in our DNA. We are made to strive, to grow, to enjoy overcoming limitations and discovering our own potential. Each pursuit we undertake provides opportunities to grow, learn about ourselves, engage with others and feel truly fully alive! It’s what makes us happy. I’m not talking about Hollywood happiness with a “white picket fence,” “once upon a time” or “happy ever after.”
I’m talking about hard work, struggle, triumph, stretching your mind and body to reach further than it ever has before. I’m talking about being focused, engaged, feeling every part of your being present in the moment, working towards achieving that goal. It’s that feeling you get when you are so engaged in what you are doing that time stands still. You are no longer aware of anything other than what it is you are doing. You are in flow. This is true happiness. It’s what we all aspire to. So much so that the pursuit of happiness is enshrined in the constitutions of many countries as a basic human right.
But what is often not mentioned is the joy of the journey leading to the attainment of happiness. True happiness comes from striving to live life to the fullest. That includes having goals, dreams, challenges, struggles, triumphs and learning curves. It’s about engaging in pursuits that have purpose and meaning to you, more than actually achieving the goal you’ve set.
You can probably tell from what you’ve just been reading that I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, deliberating and reflecting. I really believe what I’ve written here and try to live it everyday of my life. You may not share my beliefs or have the same perspective. I’d love to hear what your thoughts are.