“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” ― Dalai Lama XIV
Last night I went to see a show. Claude Brazeau, our photographer and good friend, is also a musician/singer. During the show Claude asks us, then me in particular, "What is the cost of happiness?" My answer, "I'll put it in my blog." This got me thinking though. The cost of happiness is not necessarily the price of happiness. So what are we really talking about here?
In the monetary society in which we live, we equate things to a price tag. I often say, "The price does not determine value." The best argument I have for that is the fact that I did not purchase my children but they are priceless to me. Let's turn to the dictionary, shall we? Price: the cost at which something is obtained. Cost: 1, the amount of money, time or energy required to obtain or produce something; 2, suffering or sacrifice. Value: the desirability of something. I find that the dictionary with it's inherant ability to distinguish the details of words can enlighten us. I love words. I am a singer. I spent my life singing words, studying their meaning, the different ways to interpret them. Now that I am a writer, it is even more pertinent. Money, time, energy, suffering, sacrifice with a soupçon of desire. Musicians who are happy playing music will sacrifice time, energy and money towards their art. They may suffer physically from hours of practice. The happiness that comes from their process however, is priceless.
Happiness is a choice. When we are filled with desire then the amount of money, time, energy, suffering or sacrifice seems irrelevant. So if I may offer an answer to a paraphrased question my dear friend Claude put out to us all last night, I think the cost of happiness is to love ourselves enough to live our desires and dreams. How badly do you want to be happy?
Namaste!
Bianca
P.S. Congratulations to Claude Brazeau for a wonderful evening of music, elegantly performed with grace and style. His choosing to make himself happy reverberated to all in attendance. Lucky us.
This personal blog was written by Bianca Pittoors. You may “share” it in its entirety. I respectfully request that you respect it as the intellectual property that it is. Thank you! All photos by Bianca Pittoors unless noted otherwise.
Bianca Pittoors & Marc Langis are Bianca Basso. Creators of original music with a vintage flavor, they are distinctive in their contemporary style. 