Post-Sickness Reflections

I know I've said this before, but after an extended lull, I'm back. The day after my birthday, I caught a nasty cold while traversing the streets of Kofu in an attempt to fix my glasses (see previous entry), which turned into a nasty inflammation that plagued me for most of the month and lead to a fever that had me down for three days.

It's amazing how much brighter the world looks after you've been sick. Excruciating pain and discomfort that make boiling teawater an extended chore are now replaced with the same healthy everyday feeling you've taken for granted your whole life--though now, the world seems ripe for the taking. Going through terrible experiences (sickness, unemployment, middle school) make the world seem so much more inviting. I always thought that overcoming tragedy must be the secret to true happiness, because I never feel so good as when I've put something terrible behind me.

However, someone recently pointed out to me the utter idiocy of this viewpoint. Overcoming tragedy to take pleasure in the mundane may be a quick fix, but it quickly leads again to discontent. Then we find ourselves looking for more problems to get over to regain that pleasurable feeling. No, real contentment lies in being satisfied, or even happy, with your life as it is and where it's going, not in mundane obstacles you've surmounted.

Damn. There I go again thinking things were going to be easy.

In the meantime, I've fallen behind on everything, chiefly the Mix CD Swap, the Carcrash Parker script, my Japanese study, and this blog. Never fear though; in the coming weeks, expect more of the usual ramblings, plus some more themed pieces, and an chance to introduce some Guest Bloggers further down the road. Stay tuned for further developments.