My Happiness Machine

 

Reading Bradbury, I came across the term “Happiness Machine”, as in someone should invent one. Now, I may be old-fashioned, but I can't imagine a machine making me happy. Well, many reading this may disagree. Machines, they'd say, have made our lives easier. Some have certainly caused happiness, like massage chairs, DVD players, TVs, stereos (do people even call them this anymore?), phones, and the list goes on and on. I may shock you by saying this, but I think I would be happier without most of these things. If you would have asked me 10 years ago, I might not have said this. So what's changed? A lot, I'd say. I guess I have been longing for a more natural lifestyle. I realize most people, though, like and enjoy the machines that do everything for them. Life is busy. Who has time to hand wash their laundry or sweep their floors? When you get home from a hard day, it is so easy to turn on the TV to relax for a little, or put your headphones on and listen to something to zone out for a time. Sure, I get that. We live in a world where everyone and everything relies on electricity, on or off-grid. Off-grid living often boasts of solar power, or generated power of some sort. It is necessary to keep up with life, right?

Let me play devil's advocate for a minute. What if you came home from a hard day at work and sat by your garden or walked in the woods? Would that refresh you or relax you? How about swimming in a lake or river, paddling a kayak in same body of water, and fishing while you were at it? So, you don't live near the water, or even near a wooded area, how else could you detox from your day? Take your dog for a walk, go spend time with your horses, or maybe your neighbors, plant some flowers or do some bird watching. Every time I walk my dog, I am amazed at the lack of people outside. It is so so sad. I know I don't spend enough time outside, but my body tells me I need to. It's like a deep-seated need deep inside my bones that is calling out to me Every.Single.Day. It is a guilt-ridden, long lost love that has never forgotten my name, but tries again and again and again to motivate me to come out and play. There it is again. Nature is calling me out to play, like a child. I go out as an adult so many times, tending my gardens, walking my dog, shoveling snow, things that are work. Why is it so hard to just enjoy time outside without thinking up chores that need to be done? Some of you are probably thinking I need to grow up and act like an adult. The point is, I have grown up, I do act like an adult, but my mind and body are telling me to shut up and go outside and just be. Be what? Human. Being human is enjoying nature for nature's sake. It's discovering new things, even if they're not new. New to you, new to me, new today for all to see. Life is a world of discovery. So even if the weather isn't gloriously sunny, and the sky is gray, that is different than it was the other day perhaps. The animals outside don't stop living because the weather changed (unless they hibernate!). The birds are very active this time of year and the squirrels are still up to all their antics. The deer may seem distant, but who can blame them? Remember the 10 point deer you saw last summer? Well, he probably knows he needs to hide right now. If you see him, he hopes you're only a hiker! And yes, hunting is a part of life for many. This, though, is usually seen as an adult activity. Seems when needs take over, fun is over. Doesn't have to be that way. I'm not saying all day, we act like kids. Contemplate, imagine, relax, breathe, investigate...these are actions of adults in a state of play. 

I realize the Happiness Machine theme seems to have collapsed, but it hasn't. If you forgot about that, maybe you can see that machines aren't necessary to happiness. Sure, driving is nice and essential. I do it. Does it make me happy? Perhaps, if I think of the places I can now go. I still long to go places. What if I saw them all on a horse? I know, horses are expensive, but so are cars. I'd only go so far, though, I realize. Not going to the Grand Canyon on a horse, that's for certain! (Not from Pennsylvania at least.) I have so much I want to see. My eyes are consumed with the hope of seeing many things, which likely will be made possible by a machine. I hope to enjoy many hours, days and years of seeing things in new ways, though, wondering about things I never saw because I wasn't paying attention. So, getting out of that machine, at some point, is what will make it worthwhile. Happy is the life that is full of life. We are busy creatures. Why not slow down and do something different? Outside. Outside can make you happy, if you allow yourself to be. Perhaps my Happiness Machine is the one that takes me outdoors. Planes, trains and automobiles? Maybe a bike, a horse, or better yet, my own two feet.