My not so Subtle Bliss
... worries. Sounds better than a day spa, I know. When I have a rough day, I can always perk it up with a simple trip to the range. It’s a quick simple way for me to keep my sanity. When I get behind a gun and start firing, all I can focus on is the immediate task at hand. Whether or not I’m at the pistol range just plinking away at some paper circle, or at a national level precision rifle championship I grasp the weapon, stare down the sights, line up my intended point of impact and squeeze a shot off. In those moments, everything external is shut out of my mind. There’s no though about next months rent, if I fed the cats, if my boss read that e-mail criticizing him, or anything. The only thoughts and concerns are whether or not I’m accurately hitting my target, and it’s a refreshing brake from real life worries. I don’t want to portray this as a “how to” of happiness, merely to suggest to you that happiness is not something you do or others do for you, it is something you feel within. I think Helen Keller said it best, “Happiness cannot come from without, it must come from within. It is not what we see or touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves.” (Johnson) And I think James Openheim alluded to my point when he said, “the foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” (Guillemets) Please don’t read this and take my advice literally, that’s not the intent. I don’t expect everyone to go shoot a gun and instantly feel carefree, just as I don’t expect everyone to go out and...