John Lennon's Mistake

“Happiness is the key to life,” insisted John Lennon’s mother.

This is the mantra that inspired him to list “happiness” as his main goal in life

At the age of only five years old.

Facebook friends love to regulary share this anecdote,

But I believe that Mr. Lennon did a disservice to the mindsets of these Facebook friends.

Why should happiness be a final destination?

Happiness is an emotion,

Much like sadness,

Anger,

Disgust,

Fear.

And what is an emotion’s function?

To come and go, to be here and then to leave,

To adapt to how you perceive each thing that happens to you.

So this is where I am calling out John Lennon.

Happiness is not my main goal in life, for that belongs to peace.

Peace that comes from accepting.

Accepting that there will be good songs,

Songs that make you dance and forget that you don’t know how to sing,

And there will be bad songs that all your friends somehow love and make you constantly replay.

Accepting that there will be days full of sunshine to be spent lying serendipitously on a beach,

And there will be days where storm clouds interrupt that serendipity and your summer tan.

Accepting that sometimes people will laugh at your jokes, and sometimes they will not.

Accepting that you will jump in head first to some of life’s opportunities,

And sometimes you will hestitae on the shoreline.

Accepting that it is alright to make happiness a goal, but that you shouldn’t forget about

Sadness, anger, disgust, or fear.

Accepting that everything truly is awesome: the good and the bad,

For it takes both parts to make a whole life.

Perhaps Mr. Lennon missed his chance to make “peace” his life goal,

But that doesn’t mean you have to.