A Moment of Bliss

I am the sort of person who doesn’t like to wish for something unless there is a chance of it coming true. So when I think of a moment of bliss, I naturally think of something that I could conceivably have someday. With that knowledge I will tell you my moment of bliss.

I am sitting curled up in a chair on a beautiful summer’s day. The house is clean, the dishes are washed, and the clothes are ironed and put away. Cookies are baking in the oven and the sweet smell is floating pleasantly through the house. The sun shines through a window and onto me as I sit in my chair reading and sipping iced lemonade.

Whenever I think of this moment of bliss I think of myself in a quaint cottage somewhere by the sea. The house is decorated with soft blues and greens. Everything is crisp, fresh, and lovely.

Now my practical side comes in. The house would’ve had to have been cleaned, the dishes would’ve had to have been washed, the clothes would’ve had to have been ironed and put away, and the cookies would’ve had to have been made. I would’ve had to have done all that. Then I think, well it wouldn’t be so bad to do all that, after all the sun would be shining and the house would be so pretty…you get my point. Now my practical side pushes its way in. Where I live, unless it’s the summer, the weather is almost always rainy or cloudy. Also, why would I be anywhere besides my own home? So now I have to change my perspective a bit. After my practical side making my moment of bliss more of a reality, this is what it looks like.

I am washing dishes on a drab cloudy day. The house needs to be cleaned, the dishes need to be washed, and the clothes need to be ironed and put away. Cookies need to be baked. The sun stays behind a cloud as I stand and scrub oil off the frying pan.

When I think of this ‘moment of bliss’ I think of myself in my house. The house isn’t decorated with soft blues and greens. Everything is completely normal.

Now my practical side is completely satisfied. Of course, this isn’t very blissful. But this is reality. If I’m not satisfied with reality, what makes me think I’ll be satisfied with anything else? I’ve always been saying things like, “When summer comes…” or, “When my sister has her baby…” or, “When I graduate…” then I’ll begin doing stuff. Then my moment of bliss will come true. I can never seem to be satisfied with what I have here, now. There will always be days, even in the summer, when a cloud comes and blocks the sun. There will always be times, even after I graduate, when I will be too busy to get the dishes done early. If I learn to be happy on the drab cloudy days, how much happier could I be on the sunny days? If I learn to be happy when the dishes aren’t washed, how much happier could I be when they are? If I am happy now, why would I need a moment of bliss?

Sincerely,
Miss S.