This is one I've been meaning to write for awhile now... The original idea was to write about a reflection I had while taking a shower a few weeks ago, but since I have to leave in 30 minutes, I'll need to be concise, which might be tricky, since I tend to ramble.
Okay, so I was in the shower reflecting on the question my sister often interrupts me with when I'm wondering aloud to her about options, courses of action, etc., which is: "If you could do anything you wanted, what would make you the happiest?" Now that is a nice question to reflect on... but it conflicts with what I've often told my kids (and myself); the idea I got from the Rolling Stones - you know: "you can't always get what you want, but if you try..., you might find you get what you need..." I ended by rinsing off the whole thing with one of my all-time favorites, which is simply: 'So what?' and then thought: save it for a blog.
Now how do these things fit together? Well, in answer to my sister's question, it's not that easy! What would make me happy? If I could do whatever I wanted, what would make me the happiest? Hmm, seems easy to pick and choose on the surface, but each decision has consequences... could be in terms of economics, logistics, ecology, or a million other factors, but there are always consequences... and if you stop to think about them for a moment, you might find it necessary to change your mind about what would make you happy. So you have to do some critical thinking in there before you give a snap answer.
Which brings me to the RS concept of getting what you need, which is almost equal to getting what you want, which would probably make you happy. Sometimes I think that's the closest best answer to the whole 'be happy' philosophy. When you have what you need, you can feel pretty good, don't you think? And that's where 'so what' comes into play. Because if you're getting what you need, then so what if you're not totally happy???
Okay, that's all I have to say about this. It really sounded better in the shower, when it seemed important for some reason! But so what?
