“I’ve seen rainbows that could take your breath away / The beauty of the setting sun that ends a perfect day / And when it comes to shooting stars I’ve seen a few…”

Pretty lyrics to pretty song, but they got me thinking…

I have a lot to love about my life. I know that sounds corny and cliché, but the truth is that I have a lot to appreciate. I’ve been fortunate enough to see the world in ways that people dream of seeing it, and I’ve gotten to appreciate things that some people may never have the opportunity to see. I was inspired to reflect on this often when I was in New Zealand, as I was gazing over the beautiful, breathtaking scenes. I thought about the other places in the world that I’ve been, and the experiences I’ve had, and what that has done for me.

Last night, at the Crystal Ball where the Cape Henry Jazz Band performed (remarkably well, I might add), I continued to reflect. The chance to play for an event of that magnitude is arguably once in a lifetime, and I’ve done it twice so far. Even beyond the prestige, I was doing something that I enjoy doing, doing something that brings me great happiness, and I realized that having that kind of opportunity was another thing that contributed to my overall satisfaction with the life I live.

Yet, as I pondered all of these wonderful things in my life—the events, the opportunities, and the experiences—I realized that none of that was what really made me happy. I realized that I had never truly acknowledged where my happiness and my appreciation for my life comes from. So, I started to try to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes my life worth living. I took traditional ideas of happiness and held them up against my life, to see if one of those ideas fit.

Some say that the media and society tell us that happiness comes from material possessions. Happiness comes from the nice house, the nice car, the luxuries such as eating at restaurants, and overall just being able to make ends meet easily. While I am fortunate enough to have these things, I am absolutely positive that those cannot make a person happy. They can surely keep a person from being stressed and angry, but they cannot bring satisfaction to a life when they are the only things in it. The traditional conclusion these days is that money cannot buy happiness, and I’m inclined to agree with that.

Instead, some say that we should look to ourselves for happiness. By enjoying the talents and personal characteristics we have been granted, we can find happiness within ourselves. This is a slightly more feasible explanation, as it invites a more spiritual outlook on life. However, based on observations of people who are extremely talented in certain areas, have special abilities, or just are just all around good people and should be able to draw happiness from the people that they have become, I decided that happiness doesn’t come from there either. Too many people are not happy when it seems that they should be. Those who make the grades, go to the top schools, get the scholarships, and win the awards are sometimes the ones who go home and throw them away because they realize that the rewards for their success and hard work are extremely unsatisfying.
In the end, I decided that my happiness comes from having people to share life with. I don’t mean this in a romantic way, though it may sound like that, but rather in a sense that for me, life is not about what you do, it’s about who you do it with. For example, when I went to New Zealand, some of my best memories were not of what I did, but rather the fact that I shared it with my family. When we played at the Crystal Ball, half of the fun came from reveling in the experience as a band. I think one of the things I heard on my trip sums it up best, in terms of my life:

“If you were to ask me what the most important thing in our world is today, I would simply reply: ‘It is people, it is people, it is people.’”

I realize that I am not any of you. I realize that what makes a person happy differs with the person, and that you can’t necessarily apply my strategy to your life. However, if I can encourage you to do one thing, it is to try and find out what it is that makes you happy. You might find that what you thought it was may not really be what it is, and it seems pointless to waste your life trying to find satisfaction where it cannot be found.

To conclude, I’d like to say that I have no idea what I did to deserve the people that are in my life. Another corny and cliché moment, forgive me, but another true statement. It’s also a very important one, because, even though it is people that make me happy, it is the particular people that I know—whether I know them well or just in passing—that are the ones who really make my life what it is.

I have seen rainbows that could take your breath away, and magnificent sunsets that, if they were my last sight, would be a worthy one, and I’ve seen a dazzling show of shooting stars, but what I remember best about each event was the person or people that I spent it with, and those memories will always make me happy. So, look for the things in your life that make it what it is, and appreciate them, because you just might find that acknowledging those things makes them multiply.