“Happiness is like a butterfly
which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down
quietly, may alight upon you.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
Who knew Nathaniel Hawthorne was such
a Zen guy? This sounds more like a quote from the Dalai Lama than one of America’s
pre-eminent nineteenth century novelists, and the man who brought us The
Scarlet Letter. However, in modern America, where busyness is often equated
with happiness, it bears consideration.
We rush, rush, rush to accomplish as
much as possible, but does accomplishment bring happiness? Sometimes, yes.
Sometimes, no.
Think about your writing career.
Completing a piece of writing—whether a novel or a blog post—brings a certain sense
of satisfaction. I don’t know any writer who doesn’t enjoy the feeling of having written. The journey has its ups
and downs, but the ending is sweet. At that point, do you take enough time to “sit
down quietly” so happiness “may alight upon you”?
Career success these days stresses
quantity. We are told we must be prolific in order to succeed. Every successful
marketing strategy I’ve seen stresses the importance of producing multiple
books every year, year after year. The best example is the three-book series,
released back-to-back in three successive months. Obviously, each book is not
written in a month, but one would still need to crank them out pretty quickly in
order to be ready to do it again next year, and the next.
If a writer is capable of this level
of productivity, it’s an excellent way to build a readership. It requires
dedication, organization, and a tremendous level of plain, old-fashioned hard
work. But does it allow time to re-charge, to sit quietly and let happiness
happen? For those of us who are not Nora Roberts, this can be a quick path to
burn-out. We think the frantic pursuit of higher sales will bring happiness,
but will it? We’re all in different places. Only you can answer that question
for yourself.
I don’t have an answer, but I do have
this photo of a hummingbird at my lemon tree. To capture this image, I had to
be still, sit quietly, and simply wait. I invite you to take a few minutes from
your daily rush, take a deep breath, and let a little happiness find you.
Alison
http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com
