Happy Girl

If you’ve seen this year’s Up in the Air, you’ll know that this question is basically the overall theme of the film. This might be a spoiler alert, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. George Clooney’s character travels the country for business, and prefers doing it alone. He seems content and satisfied with his lifestyle. It’s not until he goes to his sister’s wedding that he realizes something different. He sees that his sister and her husband haven’t traveled like he has, they haven’t seen every city in every state, but they have each other. He’s seen everything, but he does it alone. Which begs the question, is happiness only real when it is shared?

I think yes. Sure, you can experience and live your life any way you want it, and if you’re happy doing it on your own, then good for you. But I truly believe that laughing, screaming, crying, talking, or any other human emotion is appreciated so much more when you share it with someone, even if it’s a stranger.

Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, chronicles the true story of Chris McCandless, a young man who traveled to Alaska on his own and lived there until his death. He had a divine passion for life and nature, and believed he didn’t want to have anything to do with today’s society. He burned his cash, social security card, and lived as frugally as possible to escape the world as he knew it. However, shortly before his death, he scribbled in the margin of one of his books, “Happiness only real when shared.” It’s as if he came upon this devastating realization after endless days of loneliness and solitary.  I believe that McCandless might have lived his life differently had he survived Alaska and returned home.

So yes. Happiness is only real when it’s shared with another. It’s the reason why we are all here, co-existing in the same place. Every person we meet comes into our life for a reason, whether it be significant or not. We are here to learn from others and our experiences and above all, live life happily.

"Happiness only real when shared"