Tag: revelation

The Pursuit of Happiness

“You okay?” 

“Yea.”

That reply had become so second nature to her it didn’t really matter whether or not it was true. Talking about feelings wasn’t her forte, and she didn’t like it when people started asking questions. She’s come to understand that people mean well, but sometimes things are better left alone.

Alone.

That word was profound to her in so many ways. It’s been the defining part of most of her life — although she knows she’s never actually been alone. She has plenty of friends. She’s had her fair share of relationships. A social butterfly, she made connections everywhere she went, and people seemed to flock to her without any conscious effort on her part. Strangers opened up to her all the time, (sometimes becoming a little too open) even when all she had done was smile at them. Yet, when she laid in bed at night she couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming emptiness. No matter how great life seemed on the surface, she never felt the joy that she’d seen others experience…at least not that she could recall. She’s heard people say that happiness is a choice. She wrestled with this thought constantly but could never quite grasp the concept. Who wouldn’t choose to be happy? Who doesn’t want to feel fulfilled? I mean yes people go through things — things that may feel unimaginably terrifying and never-ending. They experience the pain of loss. Loss of a loved one, loss of a dream, loss of something as trivial yet undeniably needed as money. But some sort of adversity is to be expected, because no one’s life is perfect. Life goes on even if we’re not ready to. People still need to get up and go to work, take care of their children, and most importantly — live their lives. Choose to remain positive and know — or at least hope — that the bad won’t last forever. But is that really choosing to be happy? Or just suppressing the sadness? “Fake it til’ you make it” she tells herself all the time, always failing miserably. Anyone with the ability to read her thoughts would probably feel sorry for her. Hell, they probably wouldn’t even last an hour in her head, wondering how someone can seem so normal — yet be so excruciatingly complicated, emotional, and maybe even a little bit crazy. 

Her problem is that her happiness has always been dependent on the people around her. Her motto is: if the people she loves are happy — then she’s happy. Her friends who are excelling in their careers and/or aspirations. That family member who is finally getting everything they worked for. That ex or crush who’s moved on or just doesn’t reciprocate the same feelings. Wanting happiness for the people she cares for regardless of where she is in her life, or how she feels. All her life she’s been a people pleaser. Never wanting to make anyone angry. Afraid to do or say anything that might make her lose those close to her. Sometimes holding on so tight she ends up losing them anyway. Willing to risk her health, her sanity — to keep others happy. Biting her tongue, swallowing her pride, and sucking it up because it’s not about her — it’s about the people around her. Because isn’t that what life is? Wanting people you love to be happy?

Her definition of love might be jaded — depending on who you ask — but her definition of happiness is definitely biased. What life has taught her about love, has somehow intertwined with her definition of happiness. 

Keep everyone happy and there will be peace. There will be no arguments, no feelings hurt, no one walking out on her. Continue to give all of herself to everyone by any means necessary, until there’s nothing left and she’s left feeling empty. Alone. Until she’s successfully avoided causing any pain, and instead has absorbed it all herself. Until she’s drained of happiness because…she has none left.

She’s become so focused on the people around her, that she’s not even sure she knows what it truly means to be happy. To be loved. To be proud of the person she is, and the woman she has become. To be happy she has people who are there for her. To have people who love her and that haven’t left her. To be happy she’s alive and to be willing to live not for other people — but for herself. 

She realizes that it’s time to allow herself to be happy. To not feel guilt or sorrow for the things she cannot control. To realize that people are human, they make mistakes, and get upset. To understand that maintaining everyone else’s happiness is not only unrealistic, but unhealthy. To know that just loving oneself should be enough happiness to last a lifetime. And learning that you can never truly be happy, until you put yourself first.

“Hey, you okay?”

Her reflection smiles back at her.

“Yea. I’ll be okay. So long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Suddenly the word alone brings on a whole new meaning. The true pursuit of happiness. And she’s okay with that.

Copyright 2019 Christiana Parisien

Posted on by Christiana 0

Revelations

The eyes are the windows to the soul
The true representation of ones self
The ability to see someone for who they are, beyond the physical

The sound of a girls’ cry can be heard in the distance. From afar all she can see is a small skeletal frame, huddled in a corner. Unable to walk away from such a disheartening sight she approaches the little girl. “Are you okay?” The girl looks up but says nothing. Upon closer observation she can see the girl can be no older than 7 or 8. “Where are your parents?” The girl stares blankly at her, maintaining her silence. Her face is stained with tears and her hair matted. Her clothes look as though they’ve had their fair share of use and her feet are bare and caked with dirt. Growing impatient she tries once more to connect with the big brown eyes staring back at her, “My name is Anabelle, what’s yours?”

The girl says nothing and lays her head between her knees, her back against the wall of the abandoned building facing the river. Anabelle sighs and looks up to the sky. The dark clouds and heavy overcast seem to correlate with her overall mood. She plops down next to the girl, careful to not sit too close for fear she’ll run away. A chill runs through Annabelle despite the warm August day. It’s almost as though she’s met this girl in a past life, she feels a connection to her, almost like a gravitational pull. “Are you hungry?” Met with silence, she removes a bottle of water and sandwich from her bag and offers it to the girl. Without hesitation, the young girl diminishes the goods almost as quickly as it was handed to her. Trying to hide her sympathy, she stares out onto to the river. She turns to find those brown sad eyes looking up at her, saying thank you. Nodding her head in acknowledgment, she turns back to the river as to not stare.

She’d never seen or met this girl before today, before this moment, but she couldn’t fight the compelling desire to speak about her innermost feelings. “It feels like my life is at a standstill, there’s all this pressure to be something I’m not. To conform to everyone else’s standards and ideals when I already have values of my own.” The little girl inches closer to her but does not speak. “I want to live a life that is my own, one that is not dependent upon my surroundings and situations, one where I determine my future. I lost someone a while back…and I’ve never come to terms with it, never knew what to do with those feelings. I’ve felt lost ever since and came here in hopes of finding some answers, maybe even closure. The problem is I have no idea what I am searching for and feel more out of touch with reality than ever.” The little girl reaches out, her small delicate hand touching Anabelle’s face. Their eyes meet and Anabelle notices that the girls’ eyes have transitioned from what seemed like a sad dark brown, to a compassionate and empathetic hazel gray. Without uttering a sound, the girls’ eyes seemed to say, “I understand, I can see right through you.”

Before long, Anabelle is no longer staring at a pair of eyes, but at a younger version of herself. Somehow the scenery has transformed and she has been brought back to the past. She watches the visual movie reel as her life flashes before her eyes. All the hard times, the painful memories. It stops in an instant and everything is still. She is now staring at the one she lost, the reason she has been on a journey to find answers. Having dreamt of this day for so long, she wants nothing more than to hug them, to say everything she’d never had the opportunity to. But instead she is speechless. She is about to mutter “I love you”, but as soon as she opens her mouth to speak, they vanish. Instead she is brought back to the present and she is staring once again into the eyes of the young girl. Except now the young girl has changed her appearance, she almost looks like…Anabelle.

She closes her eyes and the realization hits her as clear as day. The answers she has been seeking, the person she wishes to find, is the one that lives within. She opens her eyes. There, along the river, are a bed of lilacs- a favorite of the one she’s lost. She looks up to see the clouds have given way to a bright sunshine and align in the shape of a heart. She can see the faint distinction of the words, “I love you too” written in the middle.

She smiles, for the one she longs for, the one she misses, remains engraved in her heart. Anabelle turns to say bye to the little girl, only to find she has vanished.

She is no longer the girl that once was.

Copyright 2015 Christiana Parisien

Posted on by Christiana 1