the happiness project by gretchen rubin

this book was not a mad love affair.
but
it was intriguing enough that i continued to read it.

i must admit that i brought
a certain level of skepticism
to this book which probably
tampered with the overall experience of reading this book.

why?
because i am torn in two very distinct directions

a) rubin, an obviously talented writer, is a middle-class, white woman with no pressing or obvious problems in her life. what does she know about being unhappy? ouch. i know.
b) we all have ups and downs but we all, eventually, end up somewhere near happiness and, therefore, rubin's opinions about happiness are valid. we cannot all be happy all the time.

and, thus, we arrive at the big question

is happiness attainable for everyone?

recognizing that not everyone has the same definition of happy
and acknowledging that not everyone has equal opportunity
how can i even begin to answer this question?
i simply cannot.
and it becomes obvious in rubin's analysis of happiness
that happiness is a very complex topic
that is grappled with
by philosophers
authors
celebrities
doctors
and on
and on...and on...

i do appreciate that rubin called upon her blog readers
and included their definitions and ideals of happiness
throughout her book.
in fact, my favourite part lists the mantras of happiness
from her blog readers

i.e. Own less. Love more.

something i did notice:
reading about happiness
did not make me happy.

go figure.