I have to be honest, I am not sure to begin with my comment. I listened to the whole interview and I found it fascinating indeed in many respects of the matter. I want to give Penelope the benefit of the doubt in why she says or believes some of the things she does.

I definitely agree with a lot of what she said, like the fact that yes, true “happiness” is about the relationships we have. But I have to disagree that it is all about marriage.

I have made amazing relationships online with people that definitely add to my sense of happiness. Also, some of my co-workers are today close friends who I see regularly even though I am not at that job any more.

So this is coming from a person that is in a super happy marriage, when I say that it is so much more than about marriage. In fact, I think it is more important to have a “unity” with your partner, which is possible even if you are just dating or living common-law. Marriage to me is really just about a paper and contract, which enough businesses do that. And I definitely don’t think it should be held onto at all costs. And this is coming from a person who used to not believe in divorce for many years of her life.

Today I know that if we box ourselves in, in any relationship, we stop growing, we limit ourselves. Today I respect highly couples who are “big” enough to look at their relationship consciously and know that they have come to the end of their journey together, they have reached the maximum way in which they can grow together and part on loving terms, not once they have grown to resent the other for limiting their growth and happiness or simply from not being able to express or seek what they need. And I am in no way advocating for higher divorce rates, the reason for that is a whole other story.

So yes a great dinner with your wife is an amazing aspect of happiness, but what if a person really does not like their spouse, then couldn’t maybe their job environment bring them more happiness?

Gosh, there is so much I want to say here….basically I believe that what makes people happy is when they truly know who they are, and that no matter what job they get, or what partner, they can still maintain a base level happiness. Naturally an awesome job, or awesome partner can make us happier, but there has to be some core sense of self that we are completely happy with, with which we go out into the world.

So I really like the examples you used too from your past, and how you are handling situations like that today.

In the end, I guess each person has to ask themselves – what is it that I really want in life right now (not for life, as we change) and why do I want it?

Once we start to decipher that on a deeper and deeper level, what we find may really surprise us and cause many shifts to the path that we were so sure we wanted to be on.

I think blogging is another channel where we can enjoy the fruits along the way, while we might be working towards a larger creative effort.