Life presents us with several opportunities throughout the duration of our lives. Some people miss those opportunities because of some reason or another. The one reason that can be prevented exists within us. We need to open our eyes, and our minds, to all of the experiences that exist out there. We cannot close these doors before they are ever open, for we will miss some of the most wondrous things life has to offer.

Some of these opportunities may not be as obvious as others. Some may seem too risky, or crazy, to even attempt. Others may be right there in front of us, bright as day, and we never even notice them because we forget to look. Sometimes, we just need to stop thinking for a second, and just start doing. I know, we are taught that rational actions involve proper thought before acting. But, to achieve some types of happiness, you can get caught up in rational thought. One type of happiness is Love.

Maybe we would be protected from the dangers and risks involved with love if we just took a step back to rationally think about what it is we are doing and experiencing. Maybe it is completely irrational to put yourself in such a situation, to experience such high, to only set you up to the hard crash. Then again, most people experience the tragic lows of losing someone they love, and deal with the grief and sadness that follows. These highs and lows in life is what makes life what it is. It is these very things that allows us to live, and experience life to it's fullest; to feel and grow as we age.

What is life without love, or some form of it? Can one truly be happy without feeling love at all? Or would they just become cold and numb, and simply exist? Some people become too damaged from experiencing the loss of a loved one, or being hurt by someone they once loved, to trust anyone enough to leave themselves that vulnerable ever again. Their lives become a sad reality, one that they hate to live within. They hide deep within their emotional shell and hide from everyone, emotionally. By doing this, they are not only protecting themselves from further pain and suffering, they are preventing themselves from experiencing true joy and happiness anymore as well. 

The point I am trying to get at, and this goes beyond simply love, is that to truly experience life, you must be willing to experience all of the highs and the lows that it has to offer. You must be willing to take chances, and get outside of your comfort zone. 

In short, just live life without regrets. Sometimes make thoughtful decisions, and don't act on impulse. But on the same token, don't let your thoughts prevent you from doing something that could potentially make you, and those around you, very happy. Uncertainty isn't always a "bad thing" to feel. In fact, it can feel quite exciting at times. I will just share this last thought with you to help emphasize what I am trying to explain.

Time and time again, I have noticed this re-occurring theme. Whether it is in movies, or from what I have heard from friends and family, they have generally said the same thing. There was something that they had wished they had done when they were younger; they had some regret that they didn't live life the way that they wanted, or had hoped for. I believe that you can think about this in two ways.

The first way is that, yes, you can hold some level of regret or disappointment because life hasn't turned out the way you had hoped for. And maybe there was something that you could have done differently, something you could have changed to make your present existence "better". You can live everyday in the past, and just live the remainder of your days miserably. With thought process, though, you will be missing out on the present, and the life you could be living today. This is similar to when we are younger, we have this problem of always wishing we were older and grown up, and we tend to not enjoy today for what it is, precious. In both instances, we miss out on living.

The second way is to live in the present, and not have any regrets. This approach would make it almost impossible to have, or linger on, regret. You would just be focusing on the here and now, and what can be done to make each day as pleasant and enjoyable as you can. It becomes easier to enjoy the littler, and simpler things in life. You will be able to look back in the past and understand why you took certain actions, and why life turned out the way it did. You will, almost certainly, live a happier, and more fulfilling life this way.

Life is like a invisible river that we exist within. Either we can fight against these natural forces, or we can just go along for the ride. Sometimes, something will come along in our life that may not "fit" in our plans. This could be a surprising job opportunity, or the potential love of your life. The key is keeping your eyes open  to these opportunities, and potentially life-changing events, as well as being willing to take risks. Live your life everyday without regret, understanding that you made the best decision that you could given the circumstances. Few decisions or actions are really crazy or unreasonable once the context surrounding them is understood. Sometimes, you won't even be able to explain to someone else why you did what you did. 

Anyways, I will end this blog post, but I am certain that I will talk about this topic again in the future.

Peace and Love,
-Daryl Simons Jr.

Whether it’s committing to be with someone, or choosing a career path, or even a long-term mortgage, making these decisions can be tough sometimes, especially when the direction you want to go in life is not so clear. So how do we make these decisions, and actually be happy with them?

I think it boils down to passion, even with the house (I mean in the sense you would be living in an area that you truly love). You shouldn't even be considering commitment to a person if you don't have passion with them. It is the same with a job/career. I mean, you can always force yourself to, without the passion. But, chances are that neither situation will work out, nor even if they did happen to work out, things wouldn't be that great and you wouldn't be all that happy.

If you are ever in a situation in which you are doing something that you aren't passionate about, or at least working up to doing something that you will be passionate about, I think it should be time that you sit down and re-evaluate what you are doing with your life. Our lives are not meant to be lived simply upon the basis of "living" and accumulating possessions -- that sounds like a nightmare.

You would be just living day to day, functioning no more than a zombie would. You wake up, brush your teeth and shower. Eat breakfast. Go to work. Put up with bullshit. Drive home. Eat. Do something. Sleep. And then it repeats all over again. This is not the formula for living happily.

I will say that if you are stuck working a job that sounds like that, having someone by your side that you feel passionate about can make life so much better -- give you a reason to live, and a sense of meaning in life. True, it might not fulfill this grand purpose of wanting to do something "great" in the world, but maybe our idea of doing something great doesn't have to be at a grand scale: just being that someone that makes another smile can be a great thing in-and-of itself.

So back to commitment, what is it, and why do we do it? Some people commit for good reasons -- they love someone, or they love something (job, hobby, etc). And others commit for the completely wrong reasons -- feel like they have to, societal pressures, impatience to wait for the right one (whatever the reason) -- you would know in your heart if you didn't commit to something for the right reason.

Commitment is a way that humans, we create a sense of stability in our lives. It’s a way that we focus much of our energy on one (or a few) things over an extended period of time. That is why it is scary, to some. We can feel trapped if we commit to a job or another individual. But, at the same time, it can feel like a new beginning, and provide us with a sense of purpose. Like when you get married, or have a kid -- these things can redefine your outlook on life, and who you are living it for.

When you love someone, or something, making a commitment to it is much easier than if you didn't -- that should be obvious. But some people never find that love, that passion for someone or something. These people often commit, though there are still some that do regardless of not finding that passion. Both instances (of not finding a passion) are very depressing, and I could only imagine that it would make your world look and feel dark and bleak, and practically meaningless. You would be placing value upon valueless things, using energy towards things that deserve no attention, and living a life in a way that is not living.

Though these concepts and ideas can be open to interpretation, and are very subjective to each perspective, these are simply my own views. I am sure that there will be people who disagree with what I have wrote, and I am fine with that. All I was trying to do is to make people think: "Am I happy? If not, then why?" -- I ask myself this from time to time. This allows me to step away from my life, and maintain a clear perspective on where I am going. It is too easy to get caught up in your daily and forget about your own happiness.

Hope you enjoyed reading this, and maybe took away something helpful.

Peace and love,
-Daryl Simons Jr.

Good time to vent... I think that I am starting to figure some things out. Happiness, for example, is based primarily on our own perceptions of reality. How we perceive everyday actions and behaviors, including our own, seemingly has a big impact upon our mood. Lets say, for this instance, that if I am paranoid about my friends and the people I love, in regards to trust, it would be difficult for me to live a happy life. I'd always feel as if someone was going behind my back...

Friendship. That's a fun topic to talk about. Friends certainly come and go. People live and move on. Things change. That is simply a common theme in life. Friendship, I would argue, is sometimes harder to maintain than a romantic relationship. The dynamics are just different. You aren't friends, or good friends, with someone because you are attracted to them, or always that you share the same interests, or because you want to be with them all the time. Good friends, like good romantic relationships, are however you make them out to be.A sense of balance and peace is difficult to achieve, and even more difficult to maintain.

Though I am still in the process of figuring out how to do this myself, I believe that the answer lies within yourself. The ability to be comfortable with yourself, and to be loving and trusting. When this is achieved, maintaining healthy relationships become alooooootttt easier, I would have to imagine.... A sense of balance and peace should equal some level of happiness as well.Someday, we all have to make decisions that will take us one way or another in life. Not just in terms of career direction, but the direction of our selves, what kind of person are we building up to be.

Every action, every person we meet, everything that happens in your life adds another small piece to your ever accumulating self. It's like the idea of the butterfly effect, one small action can cause a ripple effect in the future; though it is very well possible that we never find out what that eventual effect was. Maybe a simple pat on the head of a small child could mean the difference between becoming a juvenile delinquent to being a future honors student in college. That could seem out there... but the possibilities are endless.

Our reality... What do we value, and why? Why is our culture so obsessed with obtaining and worshiping money? Is it the objects that we want; the materials? Are the materials supposed to make us happy? Why are we so unhappy then? We really need to take a look at ourselves, at our loved ones, to those around us, and to those around the world. We need to recreate our perspective on life, especially when we are sweating the little things. We need to realize that we are all in this existence together. To think that sooooo many people seem to be "okay" with letting billions of people starve around the world just so they can live their comfortable little lives... this scares me.

I'm fine with not having much, but I realize that the little that I have, the little that I am content with and appreciate greatly, is still far more than probably what 80% of the worlds population doesn't have. I feel like I will take this mentality with me as I age, and won't become materialistic-zombie. Hopefully, instead, I can use whatever I make to do something good in the world. Call me naive. Call me idealistic. Call me a dreamer. Nothing spectacular is ever done without someone dreaming about it...

Peace and love,
-Daryl Simons Jr.