Happiness vs Hopefulness

So my thought is this. People say that for true happiness to be had, you must be content with where you are right now. But then a contrasting thought is that hope for a better tomorrow comes from a place of discontent with where either you or the world around you is at.
Beginning this post, I actually have no set outcomes of this thought. I am gettting some thoughts into words and seeing where it goes.

So happiness. We need to be happy. We must be happy at least some of the time. The human state demands this. If we aren't happy, depression and frustration sets in, and literally makes the body sick. Unhappiness is not a good constant state to be in. And there is an aspect to happiness in realizing that where you are right now is a good place. Counting your blessings even if there's some crap going on around you. It's realizing that there are good things in everything.

Hoping for a better future can be frustrating at times. This can happen especially if the future you are hoping for seems out of reach. Humankind finds this to be true every year at the beginning of the year in the form of the New Years Resolution. But on the other hand, nothing will get better without hoping for better. Every great thing that has happened is because of a frustration with a current reality. There have been some great changes in the world from this.

I begin to think, however, that these aren't so much contrasting ideas as they are a balance that should take place. Instead of solely bonding to one of these ideals, a need to have both begins to surface. Keeping entirely to one of these could cripple you in your thinking, and either you will never be happy, or you won't realize that you need change in your life.

In conclusion I bring an ancient proverb to mind. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life."

Let this bless you as it may. Stay excellent.

I like this just a bit. Call me crazy...

"You think fairy tales are only for girls? Here's a hint - ask yourself who wrote them. I assure you, it wasn't just the women. It's the great male fantasy - all it takes is one dance to know that she's the one. All it takes is the sound of her song from the tower, or a look at her sleeping face. And right away you know - this is the girl in your head, sleeping or dancing or singing in front of you. Yes, girls want their princes, but boys want their princesses just as much. And they don't want a very long courtship. They want to know immediately."

- David Levithan and Rachel Cohn.