The Ugliest Happiness I've Ever Seen

Would you really seek out happiness if it looked like this? Part of the problem with a happiness culture is that some of the imagery surrounding it does not appeal to people like me. It looks glitzy and bright and glamorous. In this case, it looks like a potato made of dough and palm fronds. If my mother were reading this, she'd say : "Jilliannnn, you're really searching for a reason to not like happiness?"

Well, yeah, imaginary mom phrase- I am. I'm speaking from a purely American point of view, where we watch awards ceremonies of celebrities with insane money getting trophies for their amazing accomplishments. This is also a token for them to ultimately get more money. Of course I know the phrase "money can't by happiness" is the most overplayed phrase on planet earth, but doesn't that sound like some cruel joke when you're taught that you need to live in a safe neighborhood in a nice house since an early age? How does that need become a reality until money is part of the equation?

How can we reclaim happiness so it doesn't chase after us, giggling like this little creep would? How do we turn around to that potato dough frond and look at him as something totally different, something tailored to a happiness we can relate to?

What if we could earn a little more than making ends meet? What if we could find ourselves in a new location, getting to explore and indulge something new without going into debt?

If we all had access, maybe we would become a more tolerant and less hateful society. One where we give and share. Am I talking utopian socialism? Maybe, I don't know. I'm not trying to give a name to this idea. Instead, I just want us to be good to each other. I want it to be easy to be happy because so much is going right for you. I want despair and struggle, sure. That's how we all ultimately thrive (when we emerge from the muck). But we all deserve a little reprieve and we all deserve a chance to reshape what happiness can look like, made just for us.