Age and happiness

Yesterday, as we were skiing with a friend of ours, the question “what’s been the happiest period of your life?” was somehow weaved into the conversation and my response to it was a genuinely spontaneous “now!” I was more surprised by what I blurted than my chairlift companions, and this got me seriously thinking, starting of course by how we define happiness. To me, this ethereal value remains one’s ability or gift to get as close as possible to his or her dreams; so that’s about it, my candid statement would mean that I’ve got everything I wanted, and I truly believe it. Today, my life is stress-free, I am surrounded by folks I love and appreciate, I live in a perfect place and I can do whatever pleases me. Most importantly perhaps, my insecurities and the tensions that have escorted me through most of my life have lost much of their potency and I feel that I’m almost floating on a cloud. Wow! I’ll stop everything there and pause for a while to seize the moment…