“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” - Mary Oliver

From the moment we are born, we are urged to take the path most traveled. When we start college we are urged to pick a major and eventually a career path that will lead to a high level of financial stability. We are urged, due to our heteronormative culture and gender socialization, to get married and have children before time runs out. This is the way in which many people live their lives, and while there's nothing necessarily wrong with it, this already pre-planned trajectory our lives are pushed into can occasionally drown out any other thoughts or ideas about what we might like to do with our lives. Society wants us to conform to their expectations, instead of following our own path. It is very rare that someone actually talks to us about going out and doing what makes us happy.

And we have busy lives. Quick lives. We dash from one situation to the next without much thought, as if we were on autopilot. Sometimes we move so fast because of school, work, relationships, and other activities that we lose sight of some very important things.

Take bliss for example. This little concept can mean so much, and can affect people in so many different ways, and yet it seems to be something we don't consider very often. Think about it, really think about it. What makes you happy? Do you take the time to pursue that happiness, whatever it may be? We have plenty of time to gaze blankly into our smartphones every twenty seconds, (and hey, if that's what makes you happy, more power to you! Gaze away!) but when it comes to spending time making ourselves happy we tend to be grossly negligent.

Why is this?

I think the answer is multifaceted. Much of it has to do with our obsession with financial gain and success. In and of itself that's not a bad thing, especially if you love what you do for a living. But according to the International Labor Organization, Americans work 137 more hours per year than Japanese workers, 260 more hours per year than British workers, and 499 more hours per year than French workers. That's a lot of time spent working. By the time we blink once or twice, our lives are over. I also think it has to do with our inability to relax properly. The United States spends billions of dollars every year in the pursuit of various entertainment activities, but being entertained is not quite the same as being relaxed. We are constantly overworked and overbooked.

There is something skewed in our perceptions of what is important and this really needs to change.

So what makes you happy? Is it spending time with your family or friends? Maybe it's hiking, mountain climbing, hunting, or fishing. Maybe it's reading comic books, painting, studying the stars, or even collecting stamps. It doesn't even have to be an act of doing, sometimes just sitting in a patch of sunlight while watching clouds pass by can fill you to the brim with joy. It may not sound like much, but we truly need these bliss filled moments to help put us back in touch with ourselves. What are you passionate about? Do you want to compose a symphony? Hike across the Appalachian mountains? Write a book? Well, what's stopping you? Life doesn't get in the way of those things; those things are life. If you're passionate about something, and you love doing it, go do it! (Unless of course, what makes you happy is murdering people. In that case I would probably suggest maybe taking up a new, less homicidal hobby. Basket weaving perhaps?)

What is my bliss, you ask? Books and writing. Writing and books. There is nothing I love more than settling down with a small pile of books and an empty notebook (and plenty of tea) and spend the afternoon reading and writing. And as much as I try to make time for these things, I know I don't do it as much as I should.

And yes, success is important, as well as financial stability. But passion is just as important. And I'm afraid that sometimes we lose sight of that.

So slow down. Take a deep breath. And follow your bliss.