Happiness Is a Warm Donut
We put a lot of pressure on an emotion that can be just as easily evoked by a warm donut
I grew up in Houston, Texas, which is to say, I have tasted the world’s best donut. Shipley Do-Nuts: sweet, pillowy poufs of buttery gold that make all other donuts taste like old tires. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but only a little.
One morning during a lull at work, a coworker and I drove to Shipley’s for breakfast. Waiting in line, I clapped my hands like a small child waiting to ride a pony. My coworker raised his eyebrow. “How sad,” he chuckled, “that a donut makes you so happy.” For a moment, I felt ridiculous. Then, I had a thought. “How sad,” I snapped back, “that a donut doesn’t make you happy.”*
*I did not actually say this. Like all my comebacks, I came up with it several hours later.
It’s not that my coworker was a jerk. It’s just that, like so many of us, he had a hard time with happiness. It can take a lot to feel happy sometimes. And sometimes it seems we never get what we want because the moment we get what we want, we want something else. We’re all prone to this, I suppose. Maybe because happiness is not a constant state of being; it’s a fleeting emotion.
We put a lot of pressure on an emotion that can be just as…
