Happiness is real when it is ORGANIC

Some people profess ‘I climb because I love the mountains’ or ‘I climb because I wanna achieve peace of mind’. But it appears these are all empty clauses that they have gathered from the many hours they have spent loitering on Facebook pages and groups.

I find it amusing how some new climbers leave the city with the pretext of seeking solace in the heart of Mother Nature when in truth, they can’t live a single second without their city life. They head for the mountains with thoughts still stuck on their city friends—their IG and FB audience. So, a quarter of their backpack is occupied by a camera, a smart phone, a portable speaker, a charger, a monopod, a power bank (things that their parents can’t even name) and a whole lot of props for their ATM posts—a make-up kit, a bottle of wine or probably a Spiderman costume.

These are things that make their climb fun. These are fertilizers for their happiness.

And this leaves me wondering ‘Why do some people need to outsource happiness?’ Why can’t some people be happy without a bottle of Red Horse that they even have to order their local guide in Mt Tenglawan to go down and buy another case of beer when they run out of booze at 2 am at the camp site? Why can’t some people relax when they can’t smoke a cigarette? And others have to have marijuana to attain good vibrations. Why do some people need a loud laugh to warrant that the joke is hilarious? Why do some people need a joke to be happy? Why can’t some people stop looking for electrical outlets every time they reach a house or a store in the mountains? Why can’t some people stop looking for signal every time they hit a take-five spot? Why do some people leave in order to stay connected with the people and things they’ve left?

It is true telecommunications have made us all stay connected…whenever, wherever. But we’ve failed to notice that as we try to reconnect with the people and places that we have left, we lose our connection with the place we have come to and the people we are actually with.              

Why can’t we just be indigenously happy?

Stop looking for happiness elsewhere. You can find it within you and around you.
Let’s learn to hear the music of the rustling leaves, the whispering breeze and the chirping birds.
Let’s get intoxicated with the cool sweet taste of natural spring water.
Let’s marvel at the panorama of the landscape right in front of us and post it in our memory.
Let’s enjoy the quaint little conversations with the locals whose stories remain frozen in time.
Let’s learn to enjoy a story without pictures for attention.
Let’s savor the peace and quiet of being alone.

I guess I’d have to disagree with another empty clause adopted by many outdoor enthusiasts. How could happiness be real only when it is shared? Does that mean you can’t be happy alone?
I think happiness is real when you don’t need anything that is not present. It is real when it is derived from you alone and the place you’re in. Only when you’ve achieved indigenous and organic happiness can you truly share that happiness. The people around you will feel that you, in fact, are happy. And this happiness becomes contagious.  Happiness should be real first before it can be shared.

And happiness only becomes real when it is organic.