Pursuit of happy-ness

Life isn't always easy. Specially when you grow up and are constantly reminded how your decisions will affect the coming days and shape them. In all the chaos of what job to take up, whom to love, whom to marry, where to live, where to settle down, I think happy-ness always takes a back seat. As the theory of cognitive dissonance says we program ourselves to believe that if you do a certain somethings you will definitely achieve that state.


But what about the child playing by the sea shore and his sense of achievement in finding the weirdest shaped pebbles ? What about the sense of wonder ? What about that joy ?


I think you can either always follow your heart and be happy with the consequences. Or follow the norms as defined by someone else and hope to be happy, as everyone around you seems to be so. But are they ? I see a lot of people struggling to make a bright future at the cost of their present. A lot of people relocating against their wishes, taking up jobs which they would have never imagined themselves doing, marrying someone just because they have no other option, leading an unhappy life just because it would be unwise to do otherwise.
In today's world of economic downturns and recession, has following one's heart, taking decisions because that's what you would love to do or like to be, become such a big risk ? You rather choose the safe options or do what you think will make you happy ? 


For someone who has always believed fooling oneself to do something that you dont like, is the biggest betrayal of any kind, life seems to be at crossroads.


Time shall definitely tell.


~nightflier