I recently read the book Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert, and he said one thing that really captivated my interest. He said that it is very difficult to imagine the future as anything other than the present with a twist, but that the future tends to be different from the present in ways we couldn't have imagined. He brought up as one example certain advances in science and technology that would have been unthinkable a century ago, but I find it's equally true of my own life.
This time last year, I had just gotten the idea in mind to return to the Big Apple instead of staying in the Bean when I lost my job. In the past year, I've visited three new foreign countries (Peru, Guatemala and Russia) and one new U.S. city (Chicago), met a few new friends, met the man I consider my soul mate, and generally had a host of experiences that I would not have predicted. In fact, if I'd sat down on this date in 2009 and written down what I thought I would be doing today, the only thing I know for sure that I would have said is that I would be working at a permanent job. That's the one thing that hasn't happened to me.
I suppose you could take the view that the future might differ from the present in unexpected ways both good and bad, but I find it comforting nonetheless. Sometimes, it feels like my life will be an endless succession of days spent fruitlessly emailing resumes to job postings that promise secure employment and deliver nothing but rejection. It feels like my life will be spent cobbling together various temporary jobs to be able to pay my expenses and enjoy the kinds of things I like to do, like travel. Don't get me wrong -- I have been more fortunate than many downsized employees to find the work I've had and afford the things I've done, but it's still a tiring, grinding, stressful existence. Permanent jobs offer the illusion of, well, permanence. It is a very comforting illusion.
Gilbert's statement is one I cling to when I am tired and downtrodden. It's exciting to think that the future holds possibilities beyond my imagination.
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2 comments:
It was an interesting read alright, the theory that beyond having a fridge and a tv, further increases in wealth have no correlation with your happiness was particularly thought provoking I thought.
That's super insightful :)
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