Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Happiness

Last year as I was leaving, I worried a lot about not processing: not processing what I had seen, not processing what I had experienced. However, this time, it’s the leaving that I’m not processing. The goodbyes have been said, our luggage has been weighed and tagged, and it still doesn’t seem real. Here I sit in the Nairobi airport, and it doesn’t feel real. Not only does the departure not feel real, our trip in general seems unreal, like a dream.
The concept of going home is a blur and, frankly, so is much of our trip at this point. However, what I do know, at this very moment before I rush to my plane and fly away, is that it’s just about happiness. Everything, really, is about happiness. This may not be universal – for some it’s about money, for others it’s about possessions or food. For me, it’s about happiness. Life is about happiness. I believed this before I left, that it’s about finding what makes you happy.
What Kenya has taught me, though, is that it isn’t about your own self-happiness, but it’s about making others happy at the same time. Because what meaning does your life really have if you never made anyone happy? This doesn’t have to be by way of a gift or action but, possibly, by simply being happy yourself. It’s the itty-bitty tiny moments, the small movements of life that seem monotonous or inconsequential, that create this happiness.
So, amidst this jumbling of words and sentences, is what I’ll come home with. My thoughts will most-likely become more confusing after 30 hours of flying, and the realization that our trip is complete. Somewhere, in the heart of all this processing, is happiness. That’s what counts, I think.
Off we go. Thank you for reading our random thoughts and for your continued support. See you in the snow!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Callie & Annie, for sharing your moments -- large and small -- with us! We're all looking forward to your return.

    Traveling mercies,
    Teri Crouse

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