Proust Question 3

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I think this is one of the tougher questions. It probably arises from my doubts that anything is ever perfect. You can be happy in the extreme but I don't know that it would reach perfection. We have chosen to live at least part of the year in Georgia. It separates us by about a 1,000 miles from our friends in Illinois. It isn't just the separation in miles but in time that is significant. It is not the separation that makes me happy. It is when we get back and have the chance to visit with old friends again. Sometimes months or even years pass between opportunities to see some friends yet we can sit and talk almost as if no time has passed at all. The conversation is easy, no topic seems off limits and we don't feel any need to hold back on any opinions. It is that easy familiarity that makes those moments happy and as close to perfect as I can recall.

I walk a good deal for a couple of reasons. First, it is good exercise. From time to time I think about joining the YMCA. It seems silly after I think about it because all I would do there is walk on a treadmill or ride and exercise bike. If I am going to walk it seems like walking outdoors is a much better alternative. It is the second thing that I find gives me almost perfect happiness. Somehow walking in the sun, seeing the world at a slower pace brings some clarity that other activities cannot. I am often surprised by how much you miss driving a car at 30 miles an hour or even a golf cart at 15 miles per hour that you see walking at 3 miles per hour. The flowers in the yards. Squirrels in the trees. Art or other decorations people put in their yards. The sound of gravel crunching under your shoes. The wind blowing in your face. The sun on your back. The solitude of your thoughts. The opportunity to think about anything and or nothing as the miles slowly pass you by.

The last thing would be sitting at home with Rose, Lily and Carol. We don't have to be doing anything. Just sitting and being with each other. There is no place I would rather be and no one else I would like to be with as much as them.

Happiness, friends, walking and home. Who could possibly want more?