Paige Langton

Coming off of an awe-inspiring weekend in Grindelwald, I entered a week that felt heavy with unsolvable problems (the fires in Northern California, to name one).

Yet the older I get, the more comfortable I have become with “heaviness” being a part of life. I don’t intend for that to come off maudlin. I think the only way to explain myself is through this quote:

I actually attack the concept of happiness. The idea that—I don’t mind people being happy—but the idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to me a really dangerous idea and has led to a contemporary disease in Western society, which is fear of sadness. It’s a really odd thing that we’re now seeing people saying “write down three things that made you happy today before you go to sleep” and “cheer up” and “happiness is our birthright” and so on. We’re kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position. It’s rubbish. Wholeness is what we ought to be striving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are. Happiness and victory and fulfillment are nice little things that also happen to us, but they don’t teach us much. Everyone says we grow through pain and then as soon as they experience pain they say, “Quick! Move on! Cheer up!” I’d like just for a year to have a moratorium on the word “happiness” and to replace it with the word “wholeness.” Ask yourself, “Is this contributing to my wholeness?” and if you’re having a bad day, it is.

-Hugh McKay, the author of The Good Life

What makes you whole? Travel contributes to my wholeness, as does the stress that comes with it (two times the stress for each additional child you bring with you!). Meanwhile, here are a few links for your weekend:

You can help Northern Californians. Here’s how.

I am endlessly fascinated by the idea of living in a ‘tiny house‘…

…that is, until I come across a big house I want to live in

These pants would be perfect for long flights

I don’t have a TV, but this is the one I’d buy

Let’s book a trip to Italy!

Or Palm Springs!

We should all be ok talking about this

The importance of making your bed (your mother was right all along)