Are you happy?

[teddymeow]

I thought more about this and, in the broadest way possible, yes I'm happy.

I have a wife who I love, two amazing children, a mortgage that will be non-existant by the time Nancy starts school and a job that gives me a certain degree of freedom with regards to how I complete my tasks.

I've had some pretty ****ty periods in my life which have caused immense pain and made me far more cynical than I wish I was. I always look for the ulterior motive or negative outcome in most things which is seriously damaging at times.

Trouble is that without the negative stuff I wouldn't be where I am now with what I have so I really should just forget about it and crack on but I'm not wired that way.

[charlesr]

[MENTION=2540]teddymeow[/MENTION] Your avatar makes me happy. Not even sure what it is - please enlighten?

[teddymeow]

[MENTION=2540]teddymeow[/MENTION] Your avatar makes me happy. Not even sure what it is - please enlighten?

[Blobcat]

I'm at one of the happiest point of my life at the moment but I still have my lows with my social anxiety and self esteem issues which have improved so much since I left school.

I struggle to focus on certain things in life and make the most of moments that occur. I have spent far too long procrastinating when I have such wild ideas and plans in my head I want to move forward with. Gaining the confidence to make the first step and keep momentum was and is still brutal but I'm still working on it.

I have a bit of a hording problem as I like to collect and make too much stuff without the space or time to appreciate them. I am taking more control in my actions with this and hope selling a fair chunk of what I am now willing to part with will not only help fund future projects but give me a sense of relief of being rid of just STUFF physically and emotionally that may be holding me back.

Right now I have an amazing fiance who is my best friend for life, I am earning enough to start saving a little a month at least. I love my job (perhaps not Mondays) but I do need to take the next steps to try and keep improving my skills and experience there. The big M word and somehow finding a permanent home to call our own are our next big hurdles in life. That and I really really want a pet!

[JazzFunk]

Life is absurd, life is random, randomly brilliant, it gives one no warning, it does what it does, it's not always nice but mostly it's kinda cool, especially in those bits that feel boring but are actually nirvana.

Life is a BEAST but is all we have to play about with. Snuff yasen out and you are missing out on one of the luckiest, randomest things of all. We are blessed to exist, we should not be having this, we are all lucky.

[charlesr]

I like the smile thread. People seeing happy things in the small things of every day. I hadn't noticed it as such until now, but I think it helps.

[JazzFunk]

It's all about love in the end.

[charlesr]

Could you sit quietly in a room with no distractions by yourself for 5 minutes? If so please do so and report back on how you feel after the experience.

Forgot to mention, I gave this a shot. My mind just goes blank pretty fast and I think of nothing, apart from my breathing. I do this for hours on end while running though (apart from navigation and not falling over). I didn't feel anything different.

[replicashooter]

Forgot to mention, I gave this a shot. My mind just goes blank pretty fast and I think of nothing, apart from my breathing. I do this for hours on end while running though (apart from navigation and not falling over). I didn't feel anything different.

Thanks for that. I can see how running would help in focusing the mind on the present moment so am still interested to see how everyone else fared with the challenge and what they experienced.

[BigDeadFreak]

My wife and I are coming to terms with the fact that we'll almost certainly never have children. She suffers from endometriosis which can affect fertility plus we didn't meet until slightly later in life so we've probably left it too late.

We both always wanted to have a family more than anything so it's kinda heartbreaking. It's on our minds almost constantly and I can feel us both descending into depression. I think the hardest thing is the feeling that life has suddenly become purposeless. I now most people who have kids dream of things that that we take for granted (like, you know, sleep, free time and having money) but it all seems a bit soulless and empty.

In every other way we both couldn't be happier. I love my job (although it can be stressful at times) we've got a nice house, with plenty of friends and family around us and we genuinely love each other. It's just this one issue that hangs over us like a black cloud and feels like it wants to consume us.

I think we're going to look into counselling as the issue is not going to go away. Hopefully that will help us get some perspective because things could certainly be a lot worse.

[DeathAdder]

My life is extremely good in most ways, but the gloom since my mother's sudden illness and passing away shows no sign of lifting two and a half years later. I can enjoy the present but get sad when I think about the future.

[nakamura]

Good thread this.

I'm relatively happy. Last year was an all time low, sleeping on my mates couch as my whole life came crashing down on me. The main source of everything was my job, so I finally broke out of 17 years of being an off course bookmaker and started a new career in corporate finance. I'm not even out of my probation period yet and I have won and award for motivational speaking. I am on less money currently, but no more evenings or weekends helps immensely. Back at home too, all good.

However, life is a lot more complicated as Colin suggested. For me, the current political state is extremely painful. The anti foreigner rhetoric is extremely hurtful and upsets me a lot. I try to block it out now but it still seeps through. Also, my Crohns disease is always there in the background and ****ed up my day out yesterday. Annoying but that's the way it is.

It's a strange old life.

[kryss]

My wife and I are coming to terms with the fact that we'll almost certainly never have children. She suffers from endometriosis which can affect fertility plus we didn't meet until slightly later in life so we've probably left it too late.

We both always wanted to have a family more than anything so it's kinda heartbreaking. It's on our minds almost constantly and I can feel us both descending into depression. I think the hardest thing is the feeling that life has suddenly become purposeless. I now most people who have kids dream of things that that we take for granted (like, you know, sleep, free time and having money) but it all seems a bit soulless and empty.

In every other way we both couldn't be happier. I love my job (although it can be stressful at times) we've got a nice house, with plenty of friends and family around us and we genuinely love each other. It's just this one issue that hangs over us like a black cloud and feels like it wants to consume us.

I think we're going to look into counselling as the issue is not going to go away. Hopefully that will help us get some perspective because things could certainly be a lot worse.

You're not alone. We're trying to save up for a potential 2 rounds of IVF. $15000/time is not something to be laughed at. I always knew I had a strange kinship with the old guy from Up, at least I know why now.

[charlesr]

My wife and I are coming to terms with the fact that we'll almost certainly never have children. She suffers from endometriosis which can affect fertility plus we didn't meet until slightly later in life so we've probably left it too late.

We both always wanted to have a family more than anything so it's kinda heartbreaking. It's on our minds almost constantly and I can feel us both descending into depression. I think the hardest thing is the feeling that life has suddenly become purposeless. I now most people who have kids dream of things that that we take for granted (like, you know, sleep, free time and having money) but it all seems a bit soulless and empty.

In every other way we both couldn't be happier. I love my job (although it can be stressful at times) we've got a nice house, with plenty of friends and family around us and we genuinely love each other. It's just this one issue that hangs over us like a black cloud and feels like it wants to consume us.

I think we're going to look into counselling as the issue is not going to go away. Hopefully that will help us get some perspective because things could certainly be a lot worse.

Adoption an option? Or a Husky, which is like having a petulant child that also kills stuff.

Biology is so amazing but so fragile. Hope you figure things out.

[Wools]

My wife and I are coming to terms with the fact that we'll almost certainly never have children. She suffers from endometriosis which can affect fertility plus we didn't meet until slightly later in life so we've probably left it too late.

We both always wanted to have a family more than anything so it's kinda heartbreaking. It's on our minds almost constantly and I can feel us both descending into depression. I think the hardest thing is the feeling that life has suddenly become purposeless. I now most people who have kids dream of things that that we take for granted (like, you know, sleep, free time and having money) but it all seems a bit soulless and empty.

Try to focus on the positives and remember that kids aren't the meaning of life, your own happiness and love is.

My Wife and I wanted kids but because of various issues, we can't. My Wife took it badly because it was from her side but after the initial shock, I realised I did not really care. We could have a chance but it could possibly jeopardise my Wife's health, and that's not on the cards in my eyes.

Although kids are great, I know friends who have divorced or broke up because of them or killed a great relationship because 1 wanted them and 1 didn't or couldn't.

After several failed relationships and girlfriends, I realised how important my Wife is. She is the reason I want to have fun, the reason why I have fun and coming home each night to cuddle her and talk about life, **** and make each other laugh, that's the meaning of life in my book: Love. Finding someone who gets you and you get them.

**** kids, just focus on what drew you together in the first place, we're here for a fun time, not a long time.